The 100 year long and very distinguished history of the Communist Party in USA (CPUSA).
A commenter notes the CPUSA central leadership was inactive regarding opposing the War in Vietnam. While clearly it represented terrible US imperialism, it was also thought to represent action against Maoists, whom the leadership also detested. However these mixed feelings were not shared as much by the membership, and the Young Communists were a significant contributor to making antiwar organizing effective.
The apparent limits to Democratic Centralism are probably a good thing not just in this case but generally.
Meanwhile, organizations lacking Democratic Centralism can have a top-down feel that's even more constricting.
In my very limited experience with Anarchist organizations, they seem the most totalitarian of all. Ironically, consensus decision processes, which nominally let anyone speak as long as they like, seem the ones most likely to empower extremists--it's basically rule by the people who never stop arguing.
With the seemingly looser type of Democratic but non-Centralist organization, like DSA, social pressure can push a wider spectrum of demands than could be agreed nominally and centrally.
A commenter notes the CPUSA central leadership was inactive regarding opposing the War in Vietnam. While clearly it represented terrible US imperialism, it was also thought to represent action against Maoists, whom the leadership also detested. However these mixed feelings were not shared as much by the membership, and the Young Communists were a significant contributor to making antiwar organizing effective.
The apparent limits to Democratic Centralism are probably a good thing not just in this case but generally.
Meanwhile, organizations lacking Democratic Centralism can have a top-down feel that's even more constricting.
In my very limited experience with Anarchist organizations, they seem the most totalitarian of all. Ironically, consensus decision processes, which nominally let anyone speak as long as they like, seem the ones most likely to empower extremists--it's basically rule by the people who never stop arguing.
With the seemingly looser type of Democratic but non-Centralist organization, like DSA, social pressure can push a wider spectrum of demands than could be agreed nominally and centrally.
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