I have recently become involved in a small but mighty socialist group here in so called Canada. This group was formed out of a study group on Red Flags: A Reckoning with Communism for the Future of the Left by David Camfield and has continued on thereafter to keep us connected and active in the local political scene. We recently had our inaugural meeting as a broader group under the Tempest Collective banner and we saw some newcomers join us for some great dicsussion regarding the pamphlet "Socialism from Below" by David McNally. In this discussion, one of my comrades discussed the role of 'sectarianism' in leftist groups. I am still quite new to left spaces so my understanding of the word came from its use in an negative sense, referring to leftist or socialist groups that were very hostile to other groups or individuals who held beliefs and opinions different to theirs, even the most minor differences. The way that it was expressed to me was that sectarianism had plagued the left for decades, even centuries. It was even used as an argument against the criticism of Actually Existing Socialist states because "it divided the left when it needed to be strong against capitalist forces." From this I understood that sectarianism was obviously a bad thing; the complete opposition against groups who hold only slightly differing beliefs is definitely not a great strategic play. However, I never really understood the argument that anti-Stalinists organizations were sectarian because they did not support Actually Existing Socialism. Then during this past Tempest Collective meeting, my comrade articulated an understanding of sectarianism that I thought was incredibly useful in discussing Socialism from Below: sectarianism appears in a socialist group when it begins to push for the advancement of the organization itself, rather than the needs of the working class. This explanation blew my mind and it really got me thinking about the sectarian nature of 'From Above' socialist tendencies.