This party, however, was divided into two groups; advocates of direct action (hard-liners) who insisted on violent revolution, including KOTOKU, and advocates of parliament activities (soft-liners) who insisted on legal takeover through parliaments, including Tetsuji TAZOE.
しかし同党は、暴力革命を主張する幸徳ら「直接行動派（硬派）」と、議会を通じた合法的政権奪取を主張する田添鉄二ら「議会政策派（軟派）」とに分裂。