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Hungary Membership
The HSWP placed strict requirements on membership in
the
party. Members had to work actively on the party's behalf
and set
a moral and political example for nonparty members.
The HSWP opened membership to persons at least eighteen
years
of age who accepted Marxist-Leninist ideals, participated
in one
or more of the party's Basic Organizations, and paid their
dues.
In addition, the Party Rules obliged members to accept the
policies, guidelines, and organizational rules of the
HSWP. The
Party Rules called upon members to be politically active
and
morally above reproach, command the respect of others for
their
work, and "live in a socialist fashion." The party
enjoined its
members to master the fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism,
expand
their practical and theoretical knowledge of this
ideology, and
fight against the remnants of bourgeois ideology and
morality.
Members had to observe the rules of party discipline and
execute
the decisions of the party and the government. Members
also
undertook self-criticism to expose their own shortcomings.
Finally, they worked to strengthen and expand the party's
links
with the masses and to propagate the party's ideals and
policies.
Party members enjoyed certain rights. They participated
in
the discussion of theoretical, political, and
organizational
issues at party meetings and voted on the adoption of
resolutions. Members had the right to vote in party
elections and
to stand as candidates. Members were able to criticize "in
a
party-like manner" the work of another party member or
party
organ at meetings, to present a request or recommendation
to the
Basic Organization, as well as to higher party bodies
including
the party congress, and to receive a valid response.
However,
democratic centralism discouraged such criticism. Any
party
member who questioned the policies of the leadership would
be
subject to party discipline.
Data as of September 1989
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