Centralism

Democratic centralism purported to combine two opposing forms of party leadership: democracy, which allows for free and open discussion, and central control.Britannica.com. Democratic centralism (communist policy). The idea is that this "allows for free and open discussion," and central control, which ensures party unity and discipline. 
== Origin of the terminology. ==
At the 10th Congress of the All-Russian Communist Party (1921), the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Ilich Lenin declared that the party was not a debating society in which all opinions were tolerated and freely expressed; it was a “vanguard” party whose role as leader of the revolution demanded extreme discipline and a high level of organization. Unrestrained discussion, he insisted, would produce intraparty disagreements and factions and prevent the party from acting effectively. On the other hand, absolute control by a centralized leadership would discourage new ideas from lower-level party members.
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Centre; Center; Decentralism; Absolutism
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