Not sure where to say it but perhaps here… this whole thread about democratic centralism versus ‘decentralization’ seems to miss that methods don’t come in a vacuum. They’re tied to political practice and particular time and place. I hope nobody is advocating for doing what did something in a semi periphery country in the 1910s.

As well, to say infighting is eternal to the reified concept of hierarchy and justify it on human nature obscures things. What causes factionalism? The struggle between correct and incorrect ideas is a cause. Another is the contradiction between theory and practice (see the decrying of ‘Stalinism’ for how this manifests). How will decentralization (in general, not as a specific outgrowth of a political program) prevent this issue, rather than make it more diffuse? A narrative where splits are a result of an abstract drive towards autonomy, where hierarchy is the foremost concern, again, throws away the depth which allows for meaningful analysis.