Translation and introduction by Tom Anderson. For sake of brevity, certain sections of this handbook have been left out as they are of little interest to the modern reader. However, it is our hope that the sections translated and included will give both practical and historical insight into how past communists have organized. Original in Swedish can be found here. 

Introduction

The following handbook was written for the Socialist Party in Sweden somewhere around 1930 under the editorship of Karl Kilbom. More biographical information on Kilbom can be found in a previously translated article. While there are many similar handbooks written for other parties, this one is special because it also carries the experience of being the result of a purge led by the Communist International. The split with the minority loyal to the Communist International within the Communist Party primarily occurred due to organizational questions around trade union struggle and relations to the Social-Democrats.

This work has two primary roles. On one hand, it justifies the desired structure of the communist movement in the eyes of the founders of the new party, specifically how to create various “threads” among the different sectors of the working masses that all tie back together to the fight for a socialist program. On the other hand, this work was written to help build cadre, in the sense of someone who can go anywhere in the country and from there start building a party organization, whether it be in a city, industry town, or a village. The work describes in detail the tasks of the movement in all both areas, their characteristics, and the core systematic method of building a base. 

While some aspects of the work might now be outdated and demand a new analysis, the work still holds many lessons and core concepts that are still necessary today. For example, the large changes in the agricultural labor sector which the communists then tried to organize through village cells. Today agriculture has moved away from “traditional” farmworkers and towards the exploitation of immigrant labor. In Europe, they are often employed by international staffing agencies protected by the EU. Hopefully, this work will also act as inspiration for organized communists in the present to write their own handbooks.

It is worth describing at the outset some specific characteristics of the Swedish labor movement. One is the concept of the arbetarekommun, or in English, the labor commune. While one might be tricked by the Swedish word for municipality as the local administrative institution also being just “kommun”, but in the case of the labor commune it was actually inspired by the Paris Commune, which was held in high regard by the Swedish Social-Democrats very early on. The labor commune as an organizational instance had quite a rocky road. It was first formed in 1890 in the city of Helsingborg, and soon a string of other places like Eskilstuna, Gävle, Malmberget, Norrköping, Västerås, Sundsvall, Luleå, Örebro, Hässleholm och Kävlinge would follow. All of these places had strong industry or a high concentration of port and transport workers. These labor communes would act as a “center” for all other organizations in the given area, this at the time included both unions and party organizations themselves. At the party congress in 1900 it was also decided that this form of organization would become the standard form of organization, since before that each local organization could decide themselves what form of organization they would use. Later these labor communes would also come to include youth organizations and women’s clubs.

The early issue with this structure was that it interfered with party discipline by having the members of organizations like unions be members with full rights. The execution of important decisions was ill-planned and responsibility was not decided in a democratic manner. This was overcome by breaking away from having economic organizations organizationally merged with politics, one of the early decisions made by the Communists. Today only the Social-Democrats still use this structure, but even for them economic organizations are no longer treated as members. Interestingly “tendencies” are also organized under the labor commune in the modern Social-Democratic party, acting as party organizations that are tied to views instead of geography (within the labor commune’s area) or around one’s union.

In this text, the labor commune is, therefore, the “center” for the different party cells, political union clubs, women’s clubs, youth clubs, and union fractions within a given area.

It is also necessary to note the specific labor relations in some sectors in Sweden at this time, which influenced the view of who should be organized in what way. In the agricultural sector, many farmworkers were not really “free” wage workers but were instead “statare.” These “statare” were hired on one-year contracts where they would live in multi-family houses owned by the farmer with other “statare” and were primarily paid in kind by the farmer instead of normal wages. In different periods it was also illegal for “statare” to organize into unions, which led to their unions being more militant than other unions. These unions were also often more common in parts of Sweden with more centralized agriculture, like Skåne. “Statare” was first abolished in 1945, partly because of objections to their working conditions but also because it was a shrinking group of workers. Another exception to labor rights on the labor market was housekeeping, which was primarily “women’s work.” A woman who had this job would live under the same roof as her employer and would therefore often be subject to the employer’s will outside of work hours. They also had 12-14 hour working days even after the 8-hour working day was put into law since housekeepers were seen as an exception. It would only be a decade later that housekeepers got the same labor rights as workers in other sectors. 

Art of organizing

“The art of organizing is success”

I. Purpose of communist organizing 

Why organization? Is it necessary to have such complicated forms of organization? Labor commune, trade union clubs¹, women and youth leagues, workplace- and village cells, neighborhood organizations, sections, and fractions – are they all needed? Can’t we settle for the first one? It is how Social-Democrats (outside of the larger cities), the farmers league², the enlightened, and the right-wingers are organized. Sometimes they are even satisfied with one organization in every county.

The question is justified. It gives us reason to clarify why we have such a developed network of organizations. Organization is in and of itself not a goal. Its purpose is to unite all those who want to carry out the program of our movement. We are grateful for all our sympathizers but they will be of no consequence if they walk their own way.

Sympathizer or organized. It was easy to break each stick on its own. Bound in a bunch it is impossible. Their different strengths were merged, it had been organized. Those who commit themselves to the communist perspective are not totally powerless by themselves but they represent a multiplied power when they are part of a cell, club, labor commune, sphere³, district and party. Only through the party can communists have the possibility of becoming a deciding force in politics. Only through the party can communists seize political power and with the working people build a socialist society. 

Sympathizers make us happy. Organized communists make us twice as happy. Those who have taken the full step have become part of an unbreakable union.

Why the party’s organizational structure? The precondition to seize political power is that we have support from a majority of the working masses. It is impossible with a minority. Our party is an opponent to the elite theory – the theory that you should only organize “the best”, those who already are revolutionaries. To reach the stated goal the party must become a mass organization. We can not be satisfied with the apparent industrial wage-workers, we also have to win the poor rural people: farmworkers, woodworkers, torpare⁴, small farmers and farmers who use leased land. But this also does not suffice. We also need to win all possible support from the “cuff proletarians”, in other words, office employees, salesmen, and those who practice “free” professions. After all teachers, doctors, engineers, bank employees, office employees, and so on are still needed after the proletariat seizes political power. But, of course, workers are the core of the communist movement both through its mass, class position, and its class consciousness.

To actually do this work properly the party must be “embedded among the masses.” Our organizational structure needs to be so developed that it is able to encompass everyone. It needs to be tied to workers in their everyday life through strong threads – it needs to be active in their workplace, in the home, in their mass organizations. The party needs to stand tall in prosperity and adversity. It needs to be able to carry out offensives as well as retreats. The revolutionary movement has to remember both its victories and losses. At the same time, the party has to be shaped in such a way that the individual member’s energy, enthusiasm, method, and ideas find their use, through which the party can develop its collective strength against its enemies quickly and tirelessly. In Social-Democratic or bourgeois organizations the best workers are only mobilized during elections. The continuous self-organized and self-mobilized struggle of the masses is only possible through organizational work in the deepest parts of the working class. The more people that are involved in the work the better. The larger the cadre, the larger and more powerful the army.

Form of organization. The form of organization plays no little part. The leading organs must have constant contact with party members and divide work among them, give them directives, control their work, and so on, to pull them into the regular and daily party work. Through the members, the party organization spreads the party’s slogans and carries out its tactics among the masses. At the same time, the party organization is updated by the members about the situation that the working-class finds itself in and what the mood is among the masses that the members are active among. 

The party organization and its leadership should organize fractions in all workers’ and farmers’ mass organizations. These fractions carry out the party’s line in these organizations. All campaigns need to be organized in such a manner that all parts of the organization, all organs, act in as unified a manner as possible. Therefore it is necessary for leadership to give all organs clear and determined directives alongside specific instructions about how different campaigns are to be carried out. Mistakes or unclear orders have caused the downfall of many armies.

Our goal. In our statutes, in the first paragraph, it is stated that our party is “part of the international revolutionary movement” and our goal is to “carry out the working people’s revolutionary mass-actions, to topple capitalist society and with the help of the dictatorship of the proletariat (which is a tool, not a goal) build a socialist society.”

For this purpose, the party co-operates internationally with all those who fight on the fundamentals of revolutionary socialism and work for the realization of a socialist society. “All men and women, who agree with this goal and the party program, statues and congress resolutions and commit to carrying them out, can gain admission” to the party.

II. The principle of our organizational structure

Democratic centralism. What is meant by democratic centralism? That the party outwardly, in relation to its opponents, is centralized and acts in unity according to congress- and leadership decisions. Internally the party members elect all leading organs – committees and so on –  under normal conditions. These formulations are in a party organizing sense decisive. 

Members commit by entering the party to a discipline based on unity in perspective and interests, which in turn is based on a voluntary submission under the members’ collective duties. Members feel that the politics of the party overlap with their own views, politics which are at its utmost level a result of their own decisions. Because of this the individual submits to all decisions and puts all its power into carrying the politics of the party to victory – members have locally during membership meetings decided on actions to carry out, they have also elected leadership in their cells, clubs, and labor commune, and delegates for congress on sphere-, district- and party level. In later cases, delegates have also decided general lines for political leadership to carry, as far as it is not decided by the party program. Democratic centralism means members’ right to decide when it comes to forging the politics of the party (small practical questions can be solved by leadership) but also the most stringent discipline for all members, submission under and assimilation into the party’s interests in the struggle. Communists act, wherever they are, in a unified manner according to a beforehand thoroughly discussed plan. They have no private interests and are not divided.

Mechanical centralism. In contrast to democratic centralism stands mechanical centralism, which in practice means that the right of decision is pushed aside. Sillénarna gives us many examples. Starting out from the Soviet government’s interests (i.e the interests of the Soviet state) the Russian party has a deciding influence over Comintern. It is where their analysis of the political situation comes from. Politics and actions in the different countries should be based on this analysis but adapted to the different conditions. They are, after all, very different countries. The situation is differently developed, the revolutionary movement has unevenly matured, and so on. Sillénarna generalized the situation. They interpret it in a mechanical way. Actions should be carried out in the same way and everywhere at the same time. No regard for the workers’ psychology, traditions, and organizational power. The result is predictable. The workers’ action fails and they lose faith in the organizations, a thing that only the enemies gain from.

Most serious of all is that mistrust and disunity spread among the communists themselves. Agonizing internal discussions start where personal accusations cause a much larger spread of internal dissatisfaction. A “reset of leadership” follows after the failure. Personal scapegoats are needed even if the Comintern-leadership realizes it’s a failure due to wrongful tactics. (It is worth noting that all revolutionary organizations face failures but the effects are much harder if the organization is under mechanical- instead of democratic centralism. Democratic centralism creates the largest possible number of members with experience and decisiveness, mechanical centralism destroys the individual initiative, it turns everyone into political parrots who only repeat what everyone else says).

International leadership also offers “purges.” From cell leadership to party leadership they put in one or more new people who through intrigues have gained the highest leadership’s confidence. “Purges” among leaders can be proper and necessary sometimes but they must come from the opposite direction, from members, who best know the work of the party and the activity of different comrades. The result of mechanical centralism is that the highest leadership with the most responsibilities, the international leadership, never gets “purged.”

Mechanical centralism is therefore a centralism where leaders decide the politics of the party. The result is that the life of the party, the reciprocity, goes away. Members become tired, constant new “six month communists” are pushed ahead due to loyalty to current leaders while long-term members are pushed aside. The party loses its experience.

Our organizational principle has to create a constant life in the movement, put the largest possible number of comrades to work, and give them experience through more responsible and trusted positions in leading the struggle. 

Party democracy. Statutes paragraph 3 expresses the organizational principle as follows: 

Clause 1. The Swedish Communist Party⁵ is built on the foundations of democratic centralism (party democracy). Party members’ affinity is built on revolutionary will and the communist perspective, more specifically the party program. Their duty lies in voluntary work for collective tasks and unbreakable unity around made decisions. The foundational principle is:

1. all party organs, from the core organizations⁶ to the central commitée, are elected by members through conferences and congresses;
2. the party organ should regularly submit rapports to its constituents;
3. decisions passed by higher party organs are binding for lower party organs. Strong party discipline, quick and proper execution of guiding directives. Organs that have responsibility for a specific area should be regarded as higher than higher party organs responsible over other specific areas;
4. members can discuss questions only until they are decided upon in the relevant party organ. When a decision has been made at a party congress or in a leading party organ the decision should be carried out by members and party organs regardless of if one agrees with it or not. 

Clause 2. Party organizations are independent in local questions as long it exists within the directives of the district steering committee and central committee. 

Clause 3. Every organization’s higher body is the general membership meeting, conference, and congress respectively.

Clause 4. General membership meeting, conference, and congress elect the corresponding steering committee. This committee serves as a leading organ and as an executive body for daily work.

Clause 5. The scheme of the party structure is as follows: 

1. For the entire country: party congress – central committee.
2. For the district: district conference – district steering committee.
3. For the sphere: sphere conference – sphere steering committee.
4. For the local organization: labor commune meeting – labor commune conference – labor commune steering committee.
5. For the workplace, city neighborhood, and smaller geographical areas: The cell, association and section meetings, union and women’s club meetings – the corresponding steering committee.

III. How to create new organizations?

Independent initiative. In an area, there is a group of Social-Democratic or unorganized workers who want to create an organization that is connected to the Swedish Communist Party. They have read the primary paper, Folkets dagblad⁷, or maybe youth-wing paper, Avantgarde, or have in some other way come into contact with the politics of the party. Can they really create their own organization? They both should and will! The party will on request send all the necessary materials. Even without the help of the party, these sympathizers can form a local organization. Firstly names of those who are interested should be collected. It makes for a great start if one or two comrades can get their acquaintances to sign up. Preferably it should be a few dozen to start a labor commune. A soon as enough people have signed up a meeting should be called. One should not put up posters or similar for the first few meetings as it will alert the enemies to what is being prepared. They will start to agitate against the party and even disrupt meetings to make sure the local organization is never fully established.

During a gathering at a comrade’s place, advertised privately, the organization can be calmly and peacefully formed. A steering committee should be elected – the tasks of the members on the steering committee will be dealt with later – time and place of the next meeting should also be decided, a commissioner is elected for the party organ, and most important of all: participants are to be instructed to have at least one new comrade with them to the next meeting. The second meeting should happen within 14 days and preferably a comrade from the sphere- or district steering committee should also participate to hold a talk on party work. The quicker an organization can start its activity the better. It should already at the start host a “comrades meeting” to invite comrades from other local organizations and sympathizers. 

During the first meeting, a membership fee to the labor commune should be decided. Immediately after the meeting party material should be requested (if it has not already been done): statutes, membership books, protocol books, accounting books, instruction books, and so on. The new labor commune is reported to the party and district immediately after its creation and the affiliation to the party and district is automatic. Before the 15th of the next month, it has to hand in its first monthly report alongside a subscription to the party, which starts the month it was created. 

The first monthly fee to the party is also its admission fee. If the labor commune itself wants to pay a small admission fee it can, but it should not be higher than 50 or 75 öre.

Creation of new organizations on the initiative of comrades from another place. Every district should be divided up into different agitation areas. The municipalities are responsible for their areas. The district and sphere steering committee supervises that the work is being done by the local organizations. The labor commune steering committee has to report its work. Agitation in new areas should be carried out by an agitation committee that consists of the most well-spoken and experienced comrades. In every case, they should be leading these committees. Of course, newer comrades should also partake in the agitation in new areas but the experienced comrades have to play a leading role. 

In these new places, agitation has to be carried out systematically. Agitation should if possible be connected to local conditions. You should first aim to win the personal trust of the locals. Make them comfortable enough to start talking and discussing their problems. Act decently – don’t smoke a cigarette when talking to someone – don’t swear and remember that you could in front of you have a worker with much more experience and knowledge than you. The worst are young comrades from industrial cities that come out to the rural areas who try to act as if they are better than the locals because they are from the city. Remember that in many aspects people who live in rural areas often have a different perspective in many ways. This is because their surroundings and type of work are different. You are there to win over fellow workers, not to “impress people with a lower standing” and your manners must be adjusted to that. And above all must know what you are talking about to convince people. You should have studied the subject you are discussing.   

We assume that a basic understanding of the local conditions can be obtained during the first visit: who are right-wingers, liberals, farmers’ league members, Social-Democrats. You should also know who has an oppositional mindset, who “leans towards our party” or “wants opposition.” Seek to win the confidence of the second category of people. At the same time you should never assume someone is impossible to win over. It depends mostly on you if you succeed or not. Try to distribute agitational pamphlets but remember that spoken word is always the strongest tool. 

During the second visit, a new organization should be formed, but the place should be visited until this goal is reached. But firstly you should start knocking on doors and handing out literature, though this can also be done during the first visit. The acquaintances from the last visit will be affected further. These should also be invited to meetings of local organizations close by to get a closer tie to the organization. If it is appropriate you should also hold a small agitational meeting where someone performs a brief and concrete speech about the exploitative conditions of the working masses and the way out of it. In other words, it should deal with day-to-day demands while questions of principle should be dealt with later. To get people to gather you can also host a small party and carry out personal agitation. 

By going to the same place multiple times during the summer to carry out a thorough and planned work you can build a new organization for our movement. If it turns out to be impossible the people that were won over should be put into neighboring local organizations and form a village cell that holds its own meetings. 

What organization should be formed? Is it the most appropriate to form a cell, youth club or labor commune? It all depends on the circumstances. If you can only get 5 or 7 members it is most appropriate to form a cell and have members be part of a nearby labor commune. It should have its own steering committee that consists of three people that take care of the cell’s work and takes up its tasks. Alongside this, it should seek to sell the party papers, first through selling loose numbers on Saturdays (the same person gets an issue every Saturday so that he gets “used” to the paper) but one should as quickly as possible set up a subscription at the post office. For economic reasons subscriptions should be done every quarter. If a village cell gets enough members it can form its own independent labor commune, but only if it is more practical, like it being too far away from another labor commune or exists in a larger village that can carry a labor commune. 

A youth club should be started if it is mostly young people that are interested. Members can at the start be over 23 years of age but it is not age that is important, it is that we win over the most amount of workers. A youth club is often more appropriate because it can work more efficiently and attracts young people easier. As soon as the club gets enough members, and older members, it should form a labor commune. The youth club should still maintain strong leadership, some more mature comrades with organizing experience and a bit of authority to lead young people. 

A labor commune should be formed if the place consists mostly of older workers with an interest in municipal politics – participation in elections, demands on welfare, school, and similar. 

Regardless of what organization is formed older comrades should always help new comrades to get to work. This help can last up to six months if it is a comrade with no experience of organizing. Giving help is always better than having new comrades “scrap together” an organization that either collapses after a period of time or never gets started. If that happens it will take a longer period of time before we can form an organization in the same place again. To “help” means that you participate in their membership meetings, take part of their steering committee meetings, helping arrange the program of their parties and meetings, arrange comrade meetings, teach the leading comrades how to manage their tasks, and so on. A “child” that is raised in this way will be happy because of their “foster parent”, and it will principally help the party. At the same time, you should never forget that teaching is not only “lectures” and preaching but is helping comrades become independent in their studies.

The purpose of our organizational and educational work is to make our movement wider, to make as many organizations as possible to start building strong cadre. We must have thousands of leaders, comrades that without hesitation can take quick and sound initiatives and know-how to mobilize the masses to carry them out. Enthusiasm, wisdom and activity for our cause!

IV. Steering committees, other committees, bookkeeping

1. The steering committee should be elected once a year; committees elected every half- or quarter year will not have the time to become comfortable with their position. It is also best if half of the committee is re-elected. This is of course not a must. A good and hard-working comrade should of course not have to step down due to formality. Substitutes should take part in committee meetings to get an understanding of the work. 

The steering committee is responsible for its work, not just this or that decision but for the work and actions of every committee member. All committee members, therefore, have a responsibility to check up on each other.

The steering committee should also amongst itself elect different functionaries: chairman, secretary, cashier, chief over literature, and paper commissioner (in larger organizations a leader should be elected for trade union work and one for work among women). Among the substitutes (in a labor commune) a leader for young-people can be elected. The chairman should also be correspondence secretary, whose address alongside the cashiers should be reported to the party.

The steering committee is responsible for making sure reporting to the district and party is done, it has to make sure it is done by the commissioner and committees, that meetings are being called for and led, that statutes and decisions are being followed and carried out, and in general that everything is in order in the organization.

Remember that where the best and most trustworthy comrades are elected to the steering committee, where they hold the most confidence of the members, the organization also functions the best. A position on the committee can not be done on improve, not “something that can be done in the time over after doing other assignments.” The steering committee of a labor commune is responsible for if our movement has any political and trade union influence in the area it operates. A position on a steering committee goes before all assignments outside our movement.

As a general rule our most hard-working comrades need to concentrate their efforts on leading our party organization. Without a strong party organization, we lose all influences in the mass organizations. 

Chairman. The organization’s representative is the chairman, who can also carry the role as correspondence secretary. The organization’s function depends on the chairman’s capability, initiative, sense of order, but also the comradelyness and good nature. No sleepwalkers on the position of chairman!

The chairman calls the committee for meetings, creates the proposal for the meeting agenda, leads the committees and organization’s negotiations, makes sure that statutes and decisions are followed, that bookkeeping is correct, makes sure that committees are doing their tasks and in time report their activity and the chairman reports over the activity to all functionaries and the committee itself and within the statue set time limit reports to the labor commune, sphere, district, and party.

Cashier. […]

Secretary. The secretary writes protocols from all the committee’s and organization’s meetings that recite the meeting’s negotiations in an unbiased, correct, and concise way. That means he should take notes of all proposals and all decisions made, economic actions, elections, and reports alongside whatever else is dealt with during the meeting. Discussions don’t have to be written down in the protocol.

Every issue is dealt with in its own paragraph so that the election of an accountant is mixed with the arrangement of a party, but also so that one discussion is not split into two different paragraphs. Well done protocols are a trophy of an organization! 

If nothing else is decided upon the secretary is also responsible for advertising activity, like posters for meetings or parties being up in time. They are also responsible for reports being written for the district and party, and documentation of activity, and making sure questionnaires from the district and party are filled out.  

Chief of literature has a very important role to fill if done right. They are responsible for having contact with the party regarding what literature is being put out and what is available at the party press, and are also responsible for the distribution of the literature by the local organization. As soon as a pamphlet is published the chief of literature should get their hands on it and get to know it and its content before proposing to the literature committee how many copies they should order, which should then be distributed in a planned manner. During some special occasions, like bazaar, summer parties or military training, there should be extra emphasis on getting the literature out. 

In smaller places, it might also be appropriate for the same person to lead the party press but in larger places, it should be delegated to multiple people to make distribution more efficient. There should be a commissioner at every workplace, in every village, and so on, who every month, quarter, half-year, or year energetically tries to raise the reach of the literature.

If such a division has been made it is the chief’s responsibility to keep track of the sub-commissioners who are helpful when it comes to selling the paper during Saturdays, at workshops, in public places, during expeditions, and so on. They are also responsible for a presentation of how well every number of papers has done each month. All liquidation of papers should at least be reported to the cashier and noted in the labor commune books. Otherwise, the steering committee will never know how it is going for the paper firm.

All pamphlets should be paid in advance. It is appropriate to appoint a chief over literature or literature committee, alongside a 10 or 15 öre in liquid capital to secure the money for the first batch of pamphlets. After the sales have started the money should be made back to finance further orders.

Youth-leader should be elected in every place where a youth club is missing. The task is of course revealed in its name. It is a vital task of our party to gather young people. Clubs should everywhere be formed in which the youth can be schooled as communists. The work should be adjusted to the nature of young people, a variety of fun and seriousness. 

Committees. The amount and size of committees depend on the size of the organization itself. The largest benefit of committees is that they can activate members who otherwise might not have become active. Of course, every organization needs at least a committee for literature and the paper along with an agitation committee, with 3 or 5 members on each. A larger organization might also need committees for economy or arranging parties. A member should preferably only be in one committee, but steering committee members should be chairman of one committee each. Cooperation between committees, under steering committee management, is beneficial for larger parties, agitation expeditions, and so on. Committees should have a large degree of autonomy but are still firstly responsible to the organization, and secondly the party. Every committee has to submit a report every month, and a full report of all activity after it is dissolved. 

V. Member duties – party discipline

Member duties. Of course, it is not only committee members who have duties. All members in a communist organization have duties that they have voluntarily accepted as members. In the statues paragraph 4 says the following:

Clause 1. Party members are in all their public appearances duty-bound to act as disciplined members of a fighting organization. If a difference of opinion does arise about how to go about things it should be dealt with within the party organization itself and then should work according to that decision. If every party decision of all party organizations and members are to be able to carry out these decisions swiftly and energetically they have to be put in front of all members for judgment and decision. Members should remember that in their public appearances the gravest mistake is to damage or even break the unity of the common front.

It is the duty of every member to defend the party. Those who forget this and attack the party are to be treated as an enemy of the party.

Clause 2. Breaking party discipline carries with it disciplinary actions from the corresponding party organ. The type and degree of the punishment should be proportional to what position the person has within the party and the labor movement at large. 

Clause 3. The question of expelling a member is brought up by the affected organ to a higher steering committee. The decision can be appealed against a higher party instance. Until a decision has been reached the member being expelled will be removed from all their posts. 

Outside of cases with very serious breaks with party discipline and party interest, where expulsion comes as soon as it is confirmed, a warning or suspension where a person is removed from the party for a time can be given instead. No one should be judged based on rumors and these questions should not be taken up during membership meetings, it has to be investigated thoroughly by the steering committee first. There should be a meeting with the accused for them to give their side and defend themselves. In cases where the situation is so clear that the steering committee decides the punishment, the member has the right to complain during membership meetings. Every member has the right to appeal against decisions on punishment to the central committee.

VI. The party’s organizational structure – Core organizations

Cells: Paragraph 5 of the statues say the following about our core organizations: 

Clause 1. The core organization of the party is: workplace-, village- and neighborhood cells, trade union clubs, women’s clubs, city party associations, comradely associations, and organizations of similar character, along with the labor commune, where it has not been organized on the basis of cells.

Clause 2. At workplaces, where there is a cell, all party members have to be members of it.

Clause 3. Party members who’s workplaces don’t have a cell should belong to another core organization.

Clause 4. The task of the core organization is: party work among the working masses and mass of farmers through systematic agitation and propaganda. Recruiting new members and getting new subscribers to the party paper, spreading party literature, cultural and enlightenment work among the party members and workers, slow and persistent work to conquer functionary posts in the workers’ mass-organizations, intervention in workers’ economic struggles and push a revolutionary perspective on the struggle and conquering leadership over class-struggles through tireless work for the working-class interests.

Clause 5. To carry out continuous work the cell elects a steering committee of 3, 5 or 7 members. The steering committee is responsible for the work.

It should not be forgotten that the organization has to be efficient. The primary task is to win over as many workers as possible. Cells that are formed in larger communities should at least have 5 or more members. Otherwise they can not work. A labor commune can not be split up in a mechanical manner just to get as many cells as possible. The labor commune steering committee should help them along the way. Meetings should be held every other week. Where meetings are held once a month the cell fades away. The cell – and the trade union and women’s clubs – should also hold an open meeting every quarter that invites all sympathizers, subscribers and their families. These meetings should be pleasant: a speech, singing, music, and so on. New members should be found. 

Social character of the cells. All cells are equal in the sense that they are all core organizations, they have the same responsibilities and are therefore equal to each other. 

When it comes to the social content of the cells it is arranged as follows: workplace-, village- and neighbourhood cell.

The workplace cell is the most valuable to the party. Why? The workplace cell gets industrial workers to organize in the party. They are socially the most equal. They work for the same wages, often the same amount of hours and under similar conditions. This proletariat is the most advanced, the most mature and powerful and through this they become the elite vanguard of the party. Industrial workers are the most valuable in the daily struggle but they are especially powerful in the final and decisive battle against capitalism. 

Even under the construction of socialism, when the working-class has toppled capitalism and established their dictatorship, the industrial workers will make up the core of the revolutionary army. 

The village cell is the next most valuable cell in terms of social content. The village cell is actually a combination of the workplace- and neighborhood cell. It is related to the workplace cell in terms of it organizing the workers that stand the closest to the industrial workers: the wage-workers on the large farming properties. All statare, farmhands, precarious farmworkers, and other wage-workers are to be organized in the village cell. On top of this it should also include all craftsmen, colonists⁸, torpare⁹, arrendatorer¹⁰, åbor¹¹ and small farmers who live within the area of the village cell. Through the latter’s inclusion, it becomes similar to the neighborhood cell.

The neighborhood cell comes in third in terms of social content. These cells include members who are for example craftsmen like shoemakers, barbers, tailors, and so on but also housekeepers, office employees, shopkeepers or workers who have not yet formed a workplace cell at their workplace.

Here it should be clear that the social content of the neighborhood cells varies widely. The members work separately from each other. The length of the working day can be anything from 8 to 10 hours or even for housekeepers be up to 12 or 14 hours long. The wage and conditions likewise are also different.

It is natural that the composition and unity of these cells are not as mature or class conscious as that of the workplace cells. This on the other hand does not mean that there are multiple types of communists: “better” or “worse” types. Of course not. All members of our movement are equal, have the same rights, and are just as “bad” or “good” as each other regardless of what type of cell they belong to. 

Trade union clubs: Without influence in the workers’ mass-organizations the party will never win any real strength. This is especially true when it comes to trade unions. The Social-Democrats are trying to turn these workers’ organizations into pure party organizations. They are intent on tying the politics of the trade unions to the politics of the Social-Democratic leadership, in other words tying them to the capitalist state. Instead of fighting for the interests of the workers in the struggle for daily demands, to become a tool in the fight against capitalism and for socialism, the Social-Democrats preach of taking the needs of the capitalists “into consideration.”

While the communist trade union clubs are core organizations for the party, with the task of organizing communist trade unionists, they also have the task of strengthening the trade unions both organizationally and ideologically, along with strengthening the party’s influence. The trade union clubs should therefore be created in every trade union. They should still work under the labor commune steering committee in the question of actions that are relevant to the entire labor commune but when it comes to questions of their own trade union they should be as independent as possible (their role of building fractions will be dealt with elsewhere in this text). It is also of great importance that the trade union club draws in sympathizers to work for the party through easier events like open meetings. Trade union clubs should have a steering committee of at least five people. Proper accounting is also important, an accountant should be elected at every workplace who regularly reports expenses to the club cashier, who in turn reports it to the labor commune. The club should also elect commissioners for the corresponding party organs for party literature. It is of extra importance that the trade union clubs spread the party’s trade union literature. 

Women’s clubs. Before 1924 women’s clubs worked within our party.¹² Through Comintern directives, these were dissolved. After 1929 women have again started to work within their own organizations in some places. The party congress of 1932 also decided that women can form women’s clubs as a core organization. The congress meant that it would be easier to organize women if they had their own core organization. This can not be done in a mechanical way. Through the creation of women’s clubs you activate more comrades who start to talk more during meetings, take an interest in the committees and their tasks, general party work, the party program, and specialized work – in other words, we get more cadres among women. They play a very large role in our work and their value can never be overestimated.

The women’s club is a core organization of our party and carries the same political and organizational tasks as other core organizations. In regard to this, we point to the party statutes and the resolution on women’s clubs passed at the 1932 party congress. Women’s clubs should be established everywhere where a labor commune sees it as beneficial for recruiting more members. 

1. Membership in women’s clubs and so on. Membership in the women’s clubs is not obligatory for women in the party. Trade union and party work can not be replaced with membership in a women’s club. Only those comrades who are interested in the work of the club and through this are pulled into general party work should belong to these clubs.
   
   The club is not a “competitor” to the labor commune, it is not a special organization with independent activity, it is a component of the local party organization. The labor commune steering committee should, when it is needed, help the club with venues and speakers and so on. At the same time, the club should help the labor commune by schooling new members and therefore strengthen the collective work, and help the party self-finance through hosting parties, and so on.
   
   In propagandist work outwards the club also helps a lot in a very crucial area, among women and in the labor commune’s general activity. This work is of course not something that just women and the women’s clubs has to carry but a collective task. Like with how women elected into steering committees and committees in general aren’t just “representatives of women” but representatives of all comrades in the party.
2. Forming a club. When a labor commune or labor commune steering committee decides to form a women’s club a few comrades, men or women, shall be selected to lead and prepare the creation of a club until new comrades have been schooled to lead the club. An energetic campaign of house agitation and pleasant open meetings with short speeches about local issues and in general questions that affect women. The open meetings should be directed towards specific groups of women, for example, the working women at a specific factory, seamstresses, housekeepers, friends of women party members, and so on. A short agitational pamphlet with time and place for the meeting and about women’s clubs creation does a good job of getting people interested. Likewise women from the party should start the meeting with a short lecture or fiery speech. If there is a youth-club it should also participate. During house agitation, interest surveys should be filled out with names and addresses of those interested.
3. Club meeting. The club should have a venue and regular time for meetings. It makes the work much easier. In most places it is suitable to have two meetings a month. One about work and one more social. The steering committee should make sure that their meetings don’t overlap with labor commune meetings or otherwise. All party members, even male ones, are allowed at these meetings, just like how the members of women’s clubs are allowed at all meetings arranged by the labor commune, the youth league, or any other sub-organizations.
   
   It is necessary that the steering committee and members in general pay special care to new comrades, you greet them welcome to the organisation, show interest in their views and their situation and seek as soon as possible to give them an appropriate task that would strengthen their involvement and interest in the club and party.
   
   Club meetings should start punctually and the steering committee should be the first to arrive and the last to leave. The committee makes sure the venue is ready for a meeting. A red flag should be draped over the speaker’s podium or over the table, preferably also some flowers. The chairman opens the meetings with some nice and welcoming words before declaring the meeting opened, the meeting should start and end with a song so bring the songbooks.
4. Work meetings. On top of discussing received circulars and writings, propaganda from the labor commune or youth-club meetings, and so on, there should also be an introduction or lecture on an issue, preferably with a debate about it afterwards. It is neither suitable or necessary to seek a party “star speaker” or leader to hold these lectures. It is more important to school one’s own members in holding lectures and speeches. There are plenty of topics to discuss: communism, communism or social-democracy, question of unemployment, militarism, the working-class stance towards religion and sobriety, (church) confirmation education, questions of sexual liberation, pension, the sick pay law, poor care, childcare, school and other labor commune questions, women and the trade union work, cooperation, the Soviet Union, why one became a member of a women’s club, what the task of the women’s clubs are, and so on.
   
5. Social meetings. Social meetings should be arranged in such a way that they attract women outside of the party. No long or heavy lecture, instead it should be an agitational speech or a shorter lecture on a relevant or interesting topic. Furthermore there should also be music or a skit. If coffee is served the cooking should happen so that the coffee committee also can listen to the lecture and participate in the debate. The venue should be made pleasant and people on committees should wear a read scarf. Red flags and flowers should not be missing and the speaker’s podium should be dressed in red, and so on.
   
   The meeting should of course be prepared in good time and everyone should participate in agitation, ticket sales, and so on. Everyone can agitate for the club and its meetings.

The women’s club is a core organization and is therefore tied to the labor commune, and not to the party directly. Our women’s clubs also don’t have any special nationwide organizations like the Social-Democrats.¹³ On a nationwide level special women’s questions are dealt with by the working committee and secretariat. Under the working committee, there is sometimes a women’s committee that prepares these questions for counsel. 

City party associations, as the name implies, only exist in cities. They are in turn a sub-organization to the labor commune. The task are as follows: gathering members, organizing propaganda and related work in the area (for example it has the special task of trying to start neighborhood and workplace cells in its area where it is possible), preparing and carrying out rallies, preparing for church council elections¹⁴, using local dissatisfaction about local issues for positive work, and so on. Examples show that the city party association could be of great use for the party if they are led actively and effectively.

The labor commune is both a core organization and gathering of core organizations. They have the primary responsibility of the party in the bourgeois administrative unit, the municipality council. Therefore the second part of the organization’s name. The party statues paragraph 6 say this about their function:

Clause 1. The labor commune is the party’s local geographical unit and should encompass all core organizations in its area.

Clause 2. A general members’ meeting or municipality congress, which is the highest instance of the labor commune, elects the steering committee. The steering committee is responsible for all the work of the labor commune. All work for the movement in the area is thus controlled, organized, and led by the steering committee.

Clause 3. The labor commune can expand its area by appealing to the central committee.

A labor commune with cells and trade union clubs stands on the ground with multiple feet so to speak. It works in multiple areas of struggle and constantly builds a larger and larger group of cadre. Progress is almost a given. General members’ meetings in a labor commune should be kept to once a quarter. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with having them more often, given that they are well prepared and not drawn out. The steering committee has the task of making sure the cells, trade union clubs, and women’s clubs are kept active in their areas. Of special importance is electing collectors who gather the debts of members, if a member is indebted for a longer time they should be shamed from going to meetings, the road out of the party is stepped on. The labor commune cashier should call collectors and sub-cashiers to meetings, where the purpose of their work is reaffirmed and they are taught how “to deal with members.” Capable and comradely collectors can get all members to pay their dues and do their party work, slow and apathetic ones can destroy the members.

The labor commune steering committee should have regular meetings with delegates from the trade union and women’s clubs. For these, there are plenty of interesting topics of both political and trade union nature. Every member should see it as their duty to recruit new members.

Labor commune sphere. Where there exist two or more different party municipalities within one bourgeois municipality they should hold joint meetings if there is a reason to do so. This should especially happen before municipality elections, municipality meetings, before church council elections, and so on. During these meetings collective methods for success should be discussed, candidate lists should be made, the municipality should be divided up into different areas for agitation, and so on. The work of the municipality group should be supervised – representatives on the municipality council or any other institution are not there to carry out their own personal politics, they are there to carry out communist politics. Of course, this cooperation should also be done in the most comradely forms.

The municipality sphere steering committee should also supervise the agitational work in its area, both literature, and verbal agitation. If a trade union is active in a municipality all party members, even if they belong to different labor municipalities, should have preparatory meetings before trade union meetings. Party statues paragraph 7 say this about the labor commune sphere:

Clause 1. If there are two or more labor municipalities in one bourgeois municipality these are put into one organizational unit – the municipality sphere. 

Clause 2. The municipality sphere holds a meeting or conference once every quarter. 

Clause 3. The municipality sphere steering committee is elected during the sphere meeting, or where distances are too large, during the sphere conference. The steering committee should be placed in the most central place.

Clause 4. The municipality sphere steering committee leads, organizes, and controls all party work in its area and is the leading organ for all actions carried out within the bourgeois municipality.

Clause 5. At least two members from the municipality sphere steering committee should take part in the meetings of the municipality council party group.

Sphere organization (which encompasses county): The party statutes say this about the sphere: 

Clause 6. Districts with a lot of labor municipalities can, if a district conference allows it, be divided up into spheres that encompass larger areas than the bourgeois municipality. The sphere has a leading role in organizational- and general party work, arrange comradely meetings, study courses, and so on.

Clause 7. The sphere work is led, organized, and controlled by a steering committee assigned by the district steering committee.

Clause 8. The sphere administration is decided upon during sphere meetings or sphere conferences.

As has already been said, this sphere, which spreads across multiple bourgeois municipalities, encompasses a county. In districts where cities make up a county, they should belong to the sphere in which it is located. During an election year, the district steering committee appoints a labor commune that will lead the election campaign in the county. The sphere steering committee is elected during the sphere conference that should happen twice a year, during spring and during autumn, and also plan the work for those periods. On top of joint agitational and educational tasks and the organizing of agitation and educational tours, which is much more efficient to organize together when it comes to things like getting speakers, the sphere also has the task of agitation and making a joint candidate list for the county election. Leadership should put focus on building party sections in all important areas within the sphere. 

District organizations are explained in the party statues, paragraph 8:

Clause 1. The highest party organ in a district is the district conference. The district’s organizations are summoned for a conference once a year. Extra district conferences can be called for by the district steering committee, central committee or if a majority of the district’s organizations call for it. 

Clause 2. The district steering committee is elected during the district conference and is the highest party organ in the district between district conferences. The size of the district steering committee and the various committees are decided on by the conference.

Clause 3. The district steering committee appoints a district secretary (functionary). The appointed person should have been a member of the party for at least two years. The decision has to be approved by the central committee. 

Clause 4. The district conference elects an accountant that has the role of supervising the entire district’s administration and economic activity. 

Clause 5. The district steering committee carries out the decisions of the central committee and should appoint special organs for the realization of some tasks. Members from the district steering committee should spearhead these organs, the organs carry out the work under the leadership and control of the district steering committee.

Clause 6. To heighten the ability to carry out actions and strengthen the unity of the party and make efficient leadership and control over the labor commune possible, the labor commune should receive directives from its district steering committee. 

The district steering committee is the second most important leading organ after the central committee. The members of the district steering committee are up to their necks with carrying out their functions. It is not something that can be “done on the side.” We should strive to get the most energetic, experienced, efficient, and knowledgeable comrades to sit in district steering committees. Of course, this is not something we can reach immediately but it is our long-term perspective. Just think of the task at hand of the district steering committee: the chairman has to lead and supervise the work, they should especially lead agitation in new areas; the secretary and cashier hold contact with the organization; if there is no educational leader the former should also lead the educational work; the cashier has to make sure all labor municipalities pay their dues; the trade union leader has to supervise the work within the trade unions – just imagine the workload ahead of trade union congresses; the youth-leader should maintain contact with the district steering committee of the youth district(which preferably should be in the same place) and to continually make sure this contact is expanded and leads to good work. A comrade should lead the work for winning over working women. On top of this, there are tasks that can not be forgotten for a well-functioning district steering committee. The district steering committee has to know its district from every corner and it should know the members in its different organizations. It must be able to animate and mobilize its members to make sure that activity never dies out. A district steering committee that is always spearheading activity pulls people with it but a steering committee that is passive can kill the interest from the most lively comrades. Therefore the most important aspect of members of the district steering committee is activity and systematic actions: a sense for organizing.

The district steering committee should not be moved every year, just like new members should not be elected every year. Electing new comrades should happen successively. It is impossible to get to know a district in one year and if the steering committee is moving around. The work would suffer immensely from this. It should be our goal that all members of the steering committee live in one place, it is much more efficient and cheap. There is no democracy in the entire district steering committee being spread out all over the place, it only creates a worse working capability. A district steering committee should consist of 7 members.

A fully paid functionary. As large as our districts are growing they should in general transition to fully paid functionaries. A proper and skilled comrade can get their own payment. Besides the fees to the functionary fund, which is decided during the conference with a specific fee for every labor commune based on membership size, the functionary can also arrange parties in the municipalities to collect extra money. The functionary, who should also be the district secretary, should not sit in the expedition more than necessary. They should at least meet a couple times each year visit every organization in the district, and if possible the first visit should be during an open meeting (even better if it is a social meeting) and then internal meetings where they should hold an instructional lecture. It doesn’t always have to be agitational speeches, it can also be lectures with slides – an opaque projector is both cheap to buy and maintain. Is it hard to acquire a functionary? This can never become an obstacle. We should try again and again until we succeed. A skillful comrade, unless he has a secure state- or municipal job, might as well be paid 50 kr a week as an employee of the movement rather than working an insecure factory job.

Never forget that functionaries are the basis of the continued stability and success in our districts – given that we put forward our best comrades.

In the larger districts, there should be a special functionary for Folkets Dagblad alongside the regular party functionary. The paper’s functionary is paid for by ads, pamphlets, subscribers, and loose issues sold. The paper’s functionary should live in the center of the district since that is where they can collect the most ads for the paper. Of course, they should also visit all other parts of the district. Firstly the functionary should raise the number of subscribers and sales of loose issues in all parts of the district where there is an organization. As soon as a place is visited a delegate should be appointed for the paper, this delegate has the task of collecting subscriptions and selling loose issues, at least on Saturdays. It is of special importance that the functionary also delivers news to the paper. 

Party congress.The party statues, paragraph 10, say this about the party congress:

Clause 1. The party congress is the highest instance within the party and should be held every three years. An extra party congress can be called for by the central committee or if half of the membership demands it. The decisions of the party congress are considered binding only if half or more of the party is represented.

Clause 2. A summoning to the party congress should be sent out by the central committee three months in advance.

Clause 3. The party congress obtains a report from the central committee and accountants, it decides all programmatic-, tactical- and organizational questions, it elects a central committee and accountants.

Clause 4.  Only elected delegates have the right to vote.

Clause 5. Every labor commune gets to send one member per every hundred members. Costs are paid for by the labor commune. Allowances for expenses will be applied. 

Clause 6. The labor communes themselves decide the form in which to elect delegates.

Nothing else has to be added to the above except to emphasize the need for all labor municipalities to be represented as much as possible. The propositions for the congress need to be dealt with by delegates before the party congress and the decisions made should be reviewed after returning home. Every party- and organization member should make themselves familiar with the congress decisions and be proud to help carry them out. After the congress decisions – or between congresses the decisions of the central committee – are not to be discussed but to be carried out.  

Central Committee. The agency and function of the highest leadership between congresses are discussed in paragraph 11:

Clause 1. The central committee is the highest party instance in between congresses. The central committee represents the party, leads all political and organizational work, appoints the central paper’s editorial board, all firms important to the party work under the leadership and control of the central committee, distributes resources and controls the central finances, the central committee controls the parliamentary group. 

Clause 2. The size of the central committee and the amount of reserves is decided by the party congress. 

Clause 3. The central committee elects a secretariat among itself that executes the continuous work.

Clause 4. Party functionaries are elected by the central committee, as is the chairman.

Clause 5. The central committee decides how the country is divided into districts and can change their borders if it is needed.

Clause 6. One central committee member needs to also be a member of the Communist Youth-League’s central committee.

Clause 7. The central committee members that live in Stockholm, or close to Stockholm, make up the working committee. The member who is also on the Communist Youth-League’s central committee should also be on their executionary committee. 

The working committee deals with the practical tasks of the party, organizes actions, sends out manifestos and circulars and is the executionary agency of the party program and decisions of the party congress.

Clause 8. The working committee hires needed technical specialists.

The Communist Party is built on the basis of collectivity. Its leadership is collective, The members of the central committee and the members of the working committee between its meetings are equally responsible. Social-Democrats elect their chairman and secretary, decide their wages, and so on, during their congress. This is not how we do it in the communist party where we elect a collective leadership. The central committee elects its chairman and other functionaries after its first meeting who are responsible to the collective leadership. The collective leadership is in turn responsible to the party congress. It is of both practical and psychological importance that leadership is collective. Through this, it is made clear that all work and responsibility alongside determination does not lie in the hand of individuals.

 VII. Work in the municipal institutions.

Our members in the municipality organs have a very important task to fulfill. Properly implemented municipal politics can win the party a large amount of respect and trust. At the same time, the precondition for proper communist municipal politics is a tight cooperation between the elected officials and workers’ organizations, primarily the labor commune and its steering committee. 

Public meetings should be called for when important questions are on the agenda in the municipality. The communists elected to municipal councils or other municipal institutions should constitute a group that has group meetings to discuss municipal affairs. During these meetings, the labor commune steering committee should be represented. If possible the municipal group should discuss and make statements on larger issues. The municipal representatives should submit a report as often as needed for labor commune meetings. A communist mandate in the municipality is not private property, it belongs to the organization. Every member of a party organization should be informed on municipal issues.

Resolutions demanding work and social support should be submitted in conjunction with it being submitted at a state level and as soon as possible so that city- and municipal councils can discuss it. Communists should specifically fight for the following demands: 

1. Work for all unemployed, with wages equal to the collective bargaining agreement.
2. Welfare checks without the need to re-pay for those who can not work.
3. Municipal construction of housing.
4. Free school material and books.
5. Concrete critique of municipal bureaucracy, fight authoritarianism, unwillingness to carry out resolutions among bureaucrats and multi-tasking bureaucrats. 
6. Make the administrative apparatus more inexpensive by merging industrial activity.

Study groups on municipal politics are very educational and a great help, especially if scheduled alongside the practical issues being dealt with within the municipality. All resolutions, motions, proposals, and reservation should be submitted by the municipal group to the labor commune steering committee. The records should be used during elections but can of course also be useful for all actions.

VIII. The economy of the organizations

[…]

IX. Written agitation

Work for the party press. The party press is our best agitator. Folkets Dagblad is a daily paper that gives news and discusses all political issues from a communist perspective. The communist press is independent in all aspects. It only represents the interests of the working masses. It is our best helper. On top of this Folkets Dagblad is one of the best-edited papers – undoubtedly the most well-done workers’ paper – so it is clear that it is in our interest to put thorough work to spread Folkets Dagblad and our other papers.

In every organization, there need to be special comrades who are responsible for the party press being spread. A chief commissioner should spearhead this effort and to their help have a sufficient amount of sub-commissioners. They should be distributed in such a manner that the paper reaches every workplace and geographical location. The paper committee – comrades on this committee should be freed from other party work – their primary task is to make the number of subscribers double the number of organized communists. Of course, they should also aim beyond this milestone. From an economic and workload perspective one should focus on getting annual, half-year, or quarterly subscriptions. The paper and the workers benefit from giving a smaller workload on the paper committee. Only in the last instance, and preferable to nothing, should monthly subscriptions be collected.

Loose issues should be distributed at least on Saturdays – Folkets Dagblad is especially easy to sell. One member should not have to sell 100 issues themselves. In instances where so many papers are brought in, they should be divided equally between members of the papers committee. These should not have to stand on a street corner to sell them, preferably they should have regular takers, who once and for all declare themselves willing to take the loose number. The seller then only has to hand out the papers, the work is done within minutes. This method is very good as it makes people used to the paper and makes them eventually subscribe.

The paper committee should try and obtain delegates in the local area to continuously expand the area of distribution. They should also seek to sell subscriptions to cafés, restaurants, and barbershops. Through this, we can reach more people than the working class.

Within the paper committee, one comrade should be appointed to be the news aggregator. It would be unreasonable to expect people to read the paper if there is no local news. Calls like “go to the municipality meeting”, “present the paper”, “buy literature”, “visit this party” and similar should be advertised, in other words, it has to be moved away from the text section. News is everything that affects the larger public and is newsworthy. Everything! But of course, we should not advertise political opponents’ events. The editorial board will decide what news articles make it into the paper in the last instance, there is no other way to edit a paper. All articles should be short and concise. No redundant side-tracks, it just gives more work to the editorial board as such articles can not be published. The news aggregator should also not write political articles – then the paper would be filled with them. Important things should be phoned into the editorial board – like large fires, serious accidents, scams, firing of workers, strikes, expansion of work in a workplace, and so on. When important news is published then extra issues should also be ordered.

The foremost task of a news aggregator, besides quickness, is to be well informed! False news will damage the paper for years to come. Our detractors will use it to justify saying “Folkets Dagblad always lies.” It is to unnecessarily give them a weapon to be used against us. Our cause is strong enough that we don’t have any need to lie.

Remember, we will make our press the most well-distributed press, Folkets Dagblad will be the largest workers’ paper.

Literature distribution: The party publishes an array of popular pamphlets on varying topics. The purpose is of course for them to be distributed. Therefore every organization should have its own literature committee (if necessary the paper committee can also deal with this task) that has a stock of pamphlets. How are they to be distributed? Is it an art to sell literature? Yes. To put some pamphlets on a table next to the meeting entrance will most likely not yield results. Instead, you should walk around the benches before the meeting starts and “show” the pamphlets. Those who don’t want to buy one don’t have to. But an interested worker will always buy some pamphlet when he gets it in his hands for viewing. There is always some topic he needs to get a grip on. And in discussions at his workplace, the pamphlets should be upheld as enlightening on the topic. Naturally, party members should also be encouraged to buy pamphlets, before anyone else they have to understand the political issues at hand. The pamphlets of the party include the guidelines on the issue it deals with, it is, therefore, necessary to study them to understand how the party is “portraying” the issue. 

For the ability to quickly order new pamphlets the literature committee should have its own small fund that should be reviewed by an accountant to make sure it is correctly used. The smallest economical issue or imperfect handling of money can destroy even the best organization. 

Both paper- and literature sellers should always get a small cut of the proceeds for their own needs. They always lose some money, though they have to do their work properly and report sales as soon as possible. The chief commissioner has to make sure this happens and in that way also school comrades to do their work properly.

 X. Factory- and trade union papers.

Every workplace cell should as soon as possible establish a paper for its workplace. The paper should be adapted to the circumstances of the workplace, depending on things like size. These are the most common types:

Wall papers. An especially easy type of paper to establish. A comrade in the workplace should draw a vignette with the paper name and if possible a trade symbol or similar. On this paper you should paste appropriate articles from the communist press – this is a good advertisement for our press – or critical articles from regular press, funny bits, and so on. A lot of variation is possible. The paper can never be made neutral, it needs to always have a tendency. The paper should be put up in an appropriate location in the workplace. In this way workers that don’t subscribe to the communist press also get to read it, which is a good counter against Social-Democratic and capitalist press. Especially ahead of elections, this tactic should be used to counter lies from the enemy. 

Hectographed or machine typed papers. This type has the benefit of being able to make multiple copies. Contributions regarding working conditions must flow to the paper so that the paper can affect the opinions of the workers. The paper should consist of both contributions from members and sympathizing workers. The hectographed paper can also be sold, this way it is both a tool for agitation as well as funding for the cell.

“Trade”- or industry paper. For larger workplaces where there is an active cell a regular paper should be established, both its own workplace but also for other workplaces within the same industry. It should be edited in such a varied way that it becomes popular among the workers. Here it is also key to collect contributions to the paper’s content from sympathizing workers. This paper should not exclusively have the character of a workplace paper. The paper should deal with the employer’s profits, notify about actual dividends, who owns the firms, and so on. It should expose finance capital’s domination of industry, it should not just deal with the workers’ economic situation but also that of the foremen, office workers, specialists, and engineers. The price of the paper should be reasonable and then sold within the industry.

An excellent example to follow on how such a paper should be run in terms of editorially and economically is the one established by our comrades working on the tramway in Stockholm. Their “Trafikmannen”¹⁵, which is published once a month, does a proper job. It should be distributed among all workers in traffic: tramway, railway, chauffeurs, sailors, and so on.

XI. Reports.

Reports on membership size and amount of subscriptions. On the 15th of every month a report should be handed to the district- and party steering committee. A lot of organizers are slow on this task. This is the result of bad work. The chairman is not supervising the work properly, he is a “slowpoke.” His slowness infects the entire steering committee, in the end, they start waiting for others’ initiative and back-talk each other – “I shouldn’t have to do that, that is his task” – and in the end, the organization is dissolved. “It is not functioning, it is best to dissolve the municipality.”

In such a situation the municipality steering committee has to intervene in a failing cell or union club with the goal of getting a new steering committee elected. A district steering committee should do the same for a municipality steering committee that is failing. Wrong and sloppy reports create difficulty on the entire line. The higher party instances are hindered in their work since they can not get a clear image of the situation in the organization. Report in time! And do it proper! Do not just write down half of the members! Do not report more unemployed than you actually have. It is unworthy of communists to steal membership subscriptions from their district and party.

Reports on the political situation and the organization’s work. Even if the report form doesn’t mention it the situation within the organization has to also be reported. How many new members have joined, how many are organized in the women’s club and the youth club, what union clubs exist, and how many members do they have? How is the situation with other organizations in one’s own area and nearby? How large is the party’s base in the surrounding rural areas? How is the work for the party press? How many members participate in the study groups and what topics are they studying? Most important of all: how is the mood among the non-party and Social-Democratic workers? Report what has been done to win them over. All this and everything else that might contribute to giving a clear image of the situation has to be reported by any functioning organization. The first part every month, the second part at least once every quarter.

XII. Our organization meetings.  

How they are now. In lots of cases, our organization meetings are painfully long. Same song and dance every time, no life or energy in it. The steering committee hasn’t prepared the meeting. The agenda brings up protocol review, reports, questions and then finishes. The proceedings are drawn out. Members leave the meeting bored. The result is that fewer people attend the meetings.

Membership meetings. The organization should be made into something to look forward to. Never start a meeting by saying something like: “We are few today. Why isn’t comrade N here, or so and so here.” This will put the participating comrades in a bad mood. 

Never cancel a meeting because only 6-7 comrades turn up. It can turn into a worthwhile meeting even if it is not a mass meeting. It is the beginning of the end when you start to cancel meetings. The agenda is to be fulfilled regardless. Every meeting participant should be made to feel as if they have gained something after sacrificing 3-4 hours of their spare time. After that, every meeting agitates for itself. Every meeting should be led by a meeting chairman but it would be unwise to elect a new meeting chairman for every meeting. The steering committee should prepare a meeting agenda several days ahead. Meetings should start with a song. There should be no waiting or debate about what song to pick, the meeting chairman should resolve the issue. After that, the agenda should bring up protocol review. Then any new members should be greeted by the chairman. The chairman should describe the point of our movement, what is expected of new members – good comradery, work after ability and studying the party’s principles and politics – along with hoping that they are able to recruit the people they know. The fourth point on the agenda should be “correspondence from the steering committee.” On this point, you should bring up circulars from the district- or party steering committee. Only larger and important topics should be dealt with at the membership meeting. It is improper to do as has been happening in some places, where there are long debates if the organization should for example order 5 or 10 copies of the People’s calendar. These tasks should be dealt with by the relevant committee, and the steering committee has to make sure they are fulfilling their task, that is to say, ordering and selling the highest amount possible. The fifth point on the agenda can be music to lighten the mood. The sixth point on the agenda should be a discussion on a prepared topic, the steering committee has to beforehand appoint someone that introduces the topic. The appointed comrade should give a proper introduction on the topic that animates a debate. The discussion topics should also vary. Sometimes it should be about questions that regard the whole party, programmatic, political, organizational, or economical. Other times it should deal with questions that regard the district and lastly topics about local issues, like municipal politics, unemployment, how to help the unemployed, union work, what the Social-Democrats are doing, how we are to win over the non-party and Social-Democratic workers, and so on. To finish the meeting it might also be fitting to read an agitational story or a poem. It is wrong to have an endless amount of questions for discussion, not all members want to just keep discussing. Before the meeting ends the meeting chairman should advertise the next meeting so that members can reserve the time and bring along new people. Lastly coffee and tea should be served. New questions can be raised for discussion but these should also be prepared by the steering committee.

Always strive to have new members at every meeting! 

Open meetings are a good opportunity for propaganda. Either the public or only sympathizers are invited to deal with some local issue (construction, school, taxes, unemployment, and so on), the question should be introduced properly, and preferably two different perspectives should be presented. In the latter case, the meeting should be more festive: singing, music, poem readings, agitational speeches, skits, theater and so on – something from this should be presented. The participants should also be served refreshments like coffee or fruit. New members should be noted and voted in. A membership book should as soon as possible be printed and handed to the new members. 

Discussion meetings with Social-Democrats – it is pointless to have discussions with “movements” that don’t represent any workers – should be organized as soon as an important question is on the agenda. It should be remembered that we host this type of meeting to make the distinction between us and the Social-Democrats clearer to the working masses and not for amusement.

When it comes to these fully- or half public meetings proper preparations are vital. Posters should be put up everywhere, personal agitation should be carried out and tickets can be sold ahead of the meeting. The worst thing you can do is to be greedy or sloppy in advertising the meeting. In ninety out of a hundred cases that leads to failure. It should also be remembered that we do these meetings to win the trust of the working masses – anything that works against that has to be banished. In a factual and credible way, we must make our program and goals clear. 

XIII. Studies.

Study circles should be carried out as soon as possible once an organization has enough members to do so, though cells, union clubs, or the labor commune can not be turned exclusively into study circles. The study circles have to be established by members, especially by those who say they want to, if the circle is to do serious work. On the question on how to organize study circles we refer to Arbetarnas studiehandbok¹⁶ from the party publisher (Luntmakaregatan 52¹⁷) by Nils Flyg. In regard to the actual work, the first task of a study circle is to study the principles of communism and why we are opposed to the Sillénare and Social-Democrats. After that our organizational work and statutes should be studied. A lot of comrades make the mistake of thinking these are topics that we don’t have to study. On the opposite, it helps to introduce new members to organizational questions. As third and fourth respectively the study circle should focus on the party’s view on the trade union movement and municipal politicians.

In these studies, it should be remembered that our party is not firstly a propaganda party – but a fighting party. Propaganda is just a means to prepare struggle. 

XIV. Meeting proceedings. 

[…]

XV. Fractional work. 

The task of fractions. Communist work within the trade unions is carried out within the frame of the union’s decisions and statutes. 

All communists, and radical workers in general, who are members of a trade union organization, workshop, staff, trade club, trade union, co-organization, central organization, district organization, a union central and its organ, steering committee for a conference or congress, have to be members of a fraction and actively do fractional work.

The communist fractions actively work to win over a majority of union members to politics in line with their class interest. This will be more successful the more they are willing to selflessly and energetically fight for the interests of the union and its members, the more the fraction understands to at all times fight for the proletariat’s class interest and merge it with the struggle for our immediate tasks – that is to say the daily struggle for the working-class’ revolutionary goals. 

The construction of fractions. Constructing communist fractions in the union organizations has to organizationally adapt itself to the limits of the organization. 

In the leadership of the fraction, there has to be at least one communist, who preferably is also in the leadership of the union organization, along with other skilled communist union members in the organization.  

Fractions must also be formed in co- and district organizations by communists. Here also at least one communist in the union organization leadership should be in the fraction leadership.

The fractions should be organized along the lines of the trade union’s division into districts, and not the party districts. 

District fractions. In those places where communists have been elected to their trade- or industry union’s district steering committee, they should together with skilled communist union functionaries become leadership for a district fraction. This fraction of leadership should be seated in the same place as the union’s district leadership. Where this is not possible the fraction leadership in the most important union in the district’s most important organization becomes the district fraction leadership. 

District conferences should be held regularly, where delegates from all fractions are to convene. At this conference, district leadership should be elected.  

Fractions and the union statutes. The prerequisite for successful and methodical fraction work is for every member of the fraction, and especially its leadership, to understand and master the union’s statutes. This is absolutely necessary because we know from experience that any proposal from the opposition during a congress or conference that makes the bureaucracy uncomfortable is rejected with the argument: “it is against the statutes.”

Thorough knowledge is especially key ahead of the struggle for a higher wage, strikes, election of a functionary, election of delegates for the union congress, and so on.

It is, therefore, necessary for the fraction to host meetings to instruct its members on the statutes of the union and the local union section. Communists must always be used to the statutes to resist any attempts at confusion by the union bureaucrats. 

The fraction should be well prepared for every union election. One of the most important tasks of the fraction is to prepare and intervene in every election of functionaries, steering committees, delegates for congresses and conferences, representatives for firms or institutions, or anything else that is of interest. Firstly the fraction has to set themselves into the election and pick its nominees. When finding a candidate their union book has to be inspected: how long have they been a member, have they paid their dues properly, have they faced any charges or anything else that will determine if it is a proper candidate.

During voting, the fraction must elect members who are responsible for being at every location so that they can agitate for their candidates and make sure that their ballot is available. If possible they should also be part of vote counting. 

In cooperation with the union working group and labor commune’s steering committee, the fraction has to make sure that the propaganda work is carried out: spreading pamphlets, flyers, papers, and so on.

To widen socialist influence the fraction should also make sure that oppositional workers outside of the fraction are also invited to be on the ballot.

It is important that comrades turn in reports on fraction work to the relevant fraction steering committee and party organ. This is often forgotten. If it is forgotten the fraction steering committee, trade union working group, labor commune’s steering committee, district- and country-wide fraction, and the party’s central leadership are deprived of the possibility to judge our strengths and ability to act. 

The fractions and union meetings. The fraction can only make headway if it is well prepared for every detail of a union meeting, and acts in a united and planned manner.

This is what is necessary: 

1. Host a fraction meeting for every union meeting.
2. If the meeting agenda is not made public every effort has to be made to find out the content of the agenda.
3. Every proposal that is to be put forth has to be thoroughly discussed during a fraction meeting. This should be done as soon as possible so that the proposal can be submitted to the relevant union steering committee and be put on the agenda.
4. During the fraction meeting, speakers have to be picked for the various questions where the fraction has to intervene. 
5. On important questions, the speaker should, so far as it is possible, give a thorough introduction. In this way, the fraction can put forth new ideas.
6. During the fraction meeting, every proposal and resolution should be prepared in written form.
7. Thorough knowledge and commitment to the practical union work is the most vital condition to win gains during a union meeting.
8. Only the fraction steering committee – not individual members or steering committee members – have the authority to put forth new or different proposals that divert from the decided upon plan if an unforeseen situation arises. This also goes if a new question arises. Therefore the fraction steering committee should seek to stt on the same bench or at the same table. 
9. The fraction’s decision to elect head speakers, and those who discuss the question, have to carry that decision out unless they are relieved of it by the fraction steering committee.
10. It is as far as possible beneficial if comrades in the fraction take part in discussions. They have to pay close attention to what the head speaker and appointed comrades say so that no conflict arises between the communists.

The fractions tie with party organs. Contact between the fraction and relevant party instances locally, on a district- and party level has to be very close. A representative from the labor commune’s steering committee, from the district steering committee, or from the central committee has to take part in the fraction meeting on that level.

Contact between fractions in a local area should be maintained by the labor commune’s steering committee, on a district level it has to be maintained by the district steering committee, and on a nationwide scale by the central committee.

How the trade union working group is organized. A trade union working group has to be elected everywhere there is a party organization. It is to be elected on every level by the labor commune’s steering committee, district steering committee, or central committee, to which the working group is accountable. One member from the steering committee should also be in the working group along with the most skilled and knowledgeable communists active in the unions. 

One of the tasks of the working group is to register where members work and which unions they are active in, if possible also sympathizers. Every fraction has to make a detailed list of all its members. It should be continuously updated as new members join. 

The workplace cell’s relation to the fraction. Union work is the most important task of the cell. The cell has to in the workplace carry out the work that works towards carrying out the fraction’s decisions.

The workplace cell has to take a stance on every relevant topic. They have to school every member and sympathizer in union work and through this also push them towards our principles. The cell has to thoroughly discuss every union question, the collective bargaining agreement, work schedules, piece-rate prices, overtime, the agenda for trade-, staff-, or shop-club meetings, and everything else that affects the workers in the workplace.

One task of the cell is to work and propagandize towards getting all workers, without exception, organized in the union. All members in the cell have to be members of the union. All work in the cell has to be in accordance with our old line: the foundation for any successful union work is in the workplace. Members of the cell should also be active in the area where they live.

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1. In Sweden trade unions have politically tied trade union clubs. They don’t make up another trade union but are instead a club within the trade union section or region. Today the trade unions still have Social-democratic clubs and Left Party clubs in some of the trade unions, though they have become much rarer.
2. Despite the name it was a reactionary organization that is now a neo-liberal party, Centerpartiet.
3. A sphere encompasses a county.
4. Propertyless peasants who worked for landlords and were paid in kind.
5. Socialist Party was still named Swedish Communist Party at this time.
6. “Grundorganisation” is translated to “core organization”, they are the most fundamental part of the party and which every member belongs to.
7. Translated literally it means “The People’s Daily Paper”, was the paper of Socialistiska Partiet.
8. People who owned small parts of land that weren’t really farms or a home, still used for small gardens separated from a home.
9. People who leased small farming units.
10. Those who leased a farm.
11. Those who worked on someone else’s property by state (or royal) mandate.
12. Since the Socialist Party did not exist in 1924 they are talking about the Swedish Communist Party.
13. The Social-Democrats formed their first women’s clubs in 1892 but it was first in 1920 that it became its own nationwide organization by merging all these clubs.
14. In Sweden the Swedish Church has elections open to all members for who gets to sit on council on different levels, among them the local one. Parties sometimes have their own lists. Today the Social-Democrats and the Left Party still have their own lists.
15. Literally translated to “the traffic man”
16. Translated the title would be “the workers’ handbook for studies.” The work is not available online.
17. An address where I assume the publisher was located.