(T)he first step in the revolution by the working class is to raise the proletariat to the level of ruling class to win the battle of democracy.They do indeed favor democracy, since it means tyranny of the majority. What they do not like is the representative republic.
— Communist Manifesto
What will be the course of this revolution? Above all, it will establish a democratic constitution, and through this, the direct or indirect dominance of the proletariat. …
— The Principles of Communism
(I)t is very clear that in fundamental theory, socialism and democracy are almost, if not quite, one and the same. They both rest at bottom upon the absolute right of the community to determine its own destiny and that of its members. Men as communities are supreme over men as individuals. …
— Woodrow Wilson, “Socialism and Democracy”
In theory, communism is like democracy. But unlike democracy there is no representational form of communism; the power needed by government is all-consuming. We call democracy a republic if it’s a form that actually works, without becoming either an anarchy or a tyranny.