Ask Lemmygrad

Is the pro-China M-L position that the CPC leadership is merely an independent vanguard class benevolently working for the good of the proletariat to transition the state to a socialist mode of production, or is it that the CPC themselves form a dictatorship of the proletariat?

• If the former, what material motivation does the CPC have to side with the proletariat when classes come into conflict? Does their socialist movement ultimately just hinge on the good will of those selected by the party to lead the party? Is this system simply benevolent class collaboration with a disempowered bourgeoisie, thus distinguishing it from past class collaboration failures?

• Otherwise, if the latter, what makes the CPC's dictatorship 'of the proletariat'?

  • Does this imply the CPC must be a democratic organization? In most provinces, direct voting by the masses exists only at the local level, but only between candidates pre-approved by the CPC. The proletariat is therefore not in control of these local candidates, and therefore not in control of the subsequent levels of elections. Surely, this would make it as much of a democracy of the proletariat as a liberal democracy is.
  • What power does the proletariat itself hold over the party's rule? If the proletariat truly does not approve of their representation, do they have the power to reject it?

The results speak for themselves, but is the PRC at this point in time ultimately a victory over capitalism, without the proletarian dictatorship that Marx assumed necessary, instead forming a stable non-bourgeois state?