General line of the party
In the terminology of communism, the general line of the party or simply the general line refers to the directives of the governing bodies of a party (usually a communist party) which define party's politics. The term was in common use by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (since its early days under other names) and also adopted by many other communist parties of the world. The notion is rooted in the major principle of democratic centralism, which provided for unconditional obeying the top level decisions at all party levels.
Soviet Union [edit]
The term has acquired a significant notoriety in the context of Soviet political repressions, deviations from the general line have led to severe punishment. The introduction to a collection of the documents from the Stalinist era[1] says that general line statements produced from the Stalinist leadership were written with great care and exact phrasing in prescribed terminology and with established slogans. The goal was to provide a means of political and social control. Once the Central Committee formulated a statement about the party line on a particular issue, it was republished in major newspapers, such as Pravda. Disagreements with the party line were treated as a political crime: anti-Soviet agitation.[1]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "The Road to Terror: Stalin and the Self-destruction of the Bolsheviks, 1932-1939" by J. Arch Getty and Oleg V. Naumov (eds.) 1999, ISBN 0-300-09403-5, pp. 1-22, "Introduction"
