Members may be disciplined for many reasons. One of the most serious is being a _deviationist_, that is, differing from the Party line. This charge has led to wholesale purges in the past, including the ousting of such leaders as Lovestone, Gitlow, Browder, and literally hundreds of lesser members. The Party claims to be an “advanced” element, teaching the noncommunist masses the “glories” of socialism. As leaders, communists must be “in front” of the less informed yet not too far ahead to be out of sight. Just where to be at any given time is decided by the Party inner clique. Anyone disagreeing is a deviationist, guilty of either _left-wing sectarianism_ or _right-wing opportunism_. Some individuals, the communists say, may stray too far to the left. They want the Party to be more militant, to hurry up the revolution. They rush on ahead, forgetting to guide the noncommunists. That’s wrong, says the Party. Such an attitude would isolate the Party, make it an ineffectual sect. These individuals are guilty of left-wing sectarianism. They must turn around and come back. On the other hand, many members lag behind the correct position. They disregard the Party’s role as an “advanced teacher” and allow it to work too closely with capitalism. They are right-wing opportunists, equally as guilty as left-wing sectarians. They had better rid themselves of this “capitalist complex” and catch up. These terms sound massive. To communists, however, they are everyday expressions. Time after time in Party meetings the charge will be heard, “He’s an opportunist,” or, “He’s a left-wing sectarian.” To the communists that’s like calling a man a thief or coward. You can well imagine how these “errors” are corrected. Disciplinary scythes can cut down anyone disliked by the leadership. If you want to get rid of a comrade, accuse him of left-wing sectarianism or right-wing opportunism. He’ll probably then be hauled into Party “court.” Disciplinary vogues sweep the Party: for a while, left-wing sectarianism becomes popular, then right-wing opportunism. After Browder’s removal in 1945 as a right-wing opportunist (also called _revisionist_), the style was to criticize opportunism. Since the Geneva Conference of 1955 the fashion has been to attack left-wing sectarianism. Another serious error is _chauvinism_, applied to a member who supposedly thinks himself superior to others. Any member can bring charges, no matter how silly, trivial, and stupid. That’s a communist technique: always keep members in fear. Never must a comrade become secure, complacent, or unconcerned. He must constantly be worrying about “what’s coming next.” This prevents the entrenchment of Party bureaucrats and the formation of cliques; it makes discipline easier to impose.