The "vanguard party" should be understood less as a form of organization, and more as a function the party serves in the class struggle. The role of vanguard is best expressed in the
Manifesto:
Quote:
The Communists, therefore, are on the one hand, practically, the most advanced and resolute section of the working-class parties of every country, that section which pushes forward all others; on the other hand, theoretically, they have over the great mass of the proletariat the advantage of clearly understanding the line of march, the conditions, and the ultimate general results of the proletarian movement.
The workers need a political party of their own (or coalition of parties, as is the case with SYRZIA in Greece) because this is the only means by which they can genuinely become unified as a
class. It is that single class interest, the abolition of private property, which becomes their unifying aim. Differences can be fought out, but they inevitably arise viz. the division of labor in society and thus can never really be overcome until it is liquidated through the social revolution.