Political Organization of Society

the system of political institutions in a society organized as a state. The organization of society takes on a political character with the emergence of classes and the state.

In the course of history, the political organization of society grows more complex. The political organization of a highly developed society includes not only the state, its keystone, but also political parties, trade unions, the church, and other organizations and movements with political aims. In addition, the political organization of society is bound into a single system by political traditions, norms, and standards that ensure its functioning. The activity of the institutions included in the political organization of society encompasses all the social relations that emerge as political power is exercised. The phrase “political system of society” is a synonym for the “political organization of society.”

The political organization of an exploitative society reflects the society’s antagonistic class character. The dominant role in this type of political organization is played by the mechanism of the dictatorship of the ruling class. In contemporary capitalist society this mechanism includes the state, the bourgeois and reformist political parties, the employers’ associations (pressure groups), religious institutions, “yellow” trade unions, and various other associations and movements with political aims. The mechanism of dictatorship by the monopolies is opposed by the working class and other strata of the toiling people through their political organizations, especially the Communist and workers’ parties.

Pointing to the multilevel character of the political organization of society under capitalism, bourgeois and reformist ideologists make inferences about the “pluralistic” character of political power in capitalist society and about the “dispersion” or “diffusion” of power among the organizations associated with various classes. In reality, monopoly capital seizes the key positions in the economy and does not share political power with anyone. It controls the state, which has a monopoly over political power in the society. The state apparatus interacts closely with other links in the political organization of society, especially the principal bourgeois and right-wing socialist parties, which serve as the main levers for influencing the masses ideologically and manipulating them politically.

Under state-monopoly capitalism the machinery of state interacts increasingly with employers’ associations and other promonopoly pressure groups. Monopoly capital uses every possible means to limit the role and function of the organization of the working class and other toiling people in the political organization of society and to reduce to a minimum the influence of the working class on government and politics. This is strikingly demonstrated by the persecution in a number of countries of Communist and workers’ parties and related organizations.

The victory of the socialist revolution leads to the formation of a new type of political organization of society, which reflects the social, economic, political, and ideological unity of the new society.

The political organization of socialist society is made up of the Communist Party, its leading and guiding force; the system of the bodies of state power and administration; and public organizations, such as trade unions, the Komsomol, the cooperatives, and unions of creative workers. Under specific historical conditions, the political organization of society in a particular socialist country may acquire special features. For example, in some socialist countries there are several political parties, as well as special bodies such as the national front or the people’s front. Under socialism, the political organization of society passes through several stages of development. In the period of transition from capitalism to socialism the political organization of society functions as the system of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Improvement in the political organization of society is characteristic of developed socialist societies. The Communist Party, which originated as the party of the working class, is transformed into a party of the people as a whole, and its leading role is strengthened. The state mechanism comes to reflect the character of the socialist state system as the state of all the people. As a result of the increased consciousness and activity of broad strata of the population, the role of public organizations increases. The most important aims of the political organization of socialist society are the involvement of the toiling people as much as possible in decisions affecting society and the state and, on the basis of this, the creation of an orderly, efficient system for administering social processes.

The fundamental law of development of the political organization of socialist society is the consistent improvement and development of socialist democracy. The struggle to build communism is inseparable from the comprehensive development of socialist democracy, the strengthening of the Soviet state, and the improvement of the entire system of the political organization of society.