Mass line

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The mass line (Simplified Chinese: 群众路线; Traditional Chinese:群眾路線; Pinyin: qúnzhòng lùxiàn) is the political, organizational and leadership method developed by Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the Chinese revolution. The essential element of the mass line is consulting the masses, interpreting their suggestions within the framework of Marxism–Leninism, and then enforcing the resulting policies. It is a basic part of Mao Zedong Thought , one of the guiding ideologies of the Chinese Communist Party, and is declared by the Chinese Communist Party to be one of the three basic aspects of the "living soul" of Mao Zedong Thought. Summarized by Mao Zedong as "all for the masses, everything depends on the masses" and "from the masses, to the masses"

Basic Content

"All for the people, all rely on the people, come from the people, go to the people, and turn the party's correct ideas into the conscious actions of the people."

As the methodology of the party's work line, the mass line corresponds to the inherent democratic nature of a communist party. Liu Shaoqi, the creator of Mao Zedong Thought , pointed out that

"All viewpoints for the people, all viewpoints of being responsible to the people, viewpoints of believing that the masses liberate themselves, and viewpoints of learning from the people, all these are our viewpoints of the masses, the viewpoints of the advanced troops of the people towards the people."

The mass line referred to both an ideological goal as well as a working method based on "pooling the wisdom of the masses" (simplified Chinese: 集中群众智慧; traditional Chinese: 集中群眾智慧; pinyin: jízhōng qúnzhòng zhìhuì) from which CPC leadership could formulate policy after further deliberation, adjustments, implementation and experimentation, which would in turn continue to receive feedback from the masses. First, an initial policy is formulated based on historical analysis and theory. As it is implemented, the policy and underlying theory are revised consistent with the actual real world conditions. This revised theory than becomes the guide to future correct action. Thus, the mass line is a method in which theory is refined by practice.

The mass line is characterized by the CPC listening to the scattered ideas of the people, turning them into systemic ideas, and returning them to the people as a guide for action. The process of "pooling the wisdom of the masses" through soliciting and aggregating views and adjusting and testing decisions repeats in an "endless spiral."

The mass line is based on pragmatic considerations as well as both present and historical Chinese beliefs about the importance of wise rulers reading signs of popular discontent in order to avoid social calamity. According to academic Lin Chun, Mao's conception of the mass line reflected his faith in the people as well as a theory of "history from below."

History

In the early days of its founding, the Communist Party of China attached great importance to mass work in order to strengthen its own power. In 1922, the Second Congress of the Party passed the "Organizational Constitution Resolution": "All movements of the Party must go to the broad masses." In 1925, the resolution of the Central Executive Committee Enlarged: "The future fate of the Chinese revolutionary movement depends on the Let’s see if the Chinese Communist Party can organize and guide the masses.” The Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China also made an important conclusion that “the party’s general line is to win over the masses.” In November 1928, after attending the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Li Lisan conveyed the spirit of the Central Committee to the revolutionary leaders in the Zhejiang region. This was the first time that a leader of the Communist Party of China used the concept of "mass line":

"The work of the party must be carried out after the party's discussions and resolutions, and then through the mass line."

During the 13 Year War of Anti-Japanese Resistance in China , the connotation of the concept of the mass line was continuously deepened and developed by Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong pointed out in the article "Some Issues Concerning Leadership Methods" drafted for the Central Committee in June 1943:

"In all practical work of our party, any correct leadership must come from the masses and go to the masses. into centralized and systematic opinions), and then go to the masses to make propaganda and explanations, turn them into opinions of the masses, make the masses persevere, see them in action, and test whether these opinions are correct in mass actions. Gather together, and then go to the masses to persevere. Such an infinite cycle, each time more correct, more vivid, and richer. This is the Marxist theory of knowledge."

Mao Zedong further elaborated the mass line in the article, "On Coalition Government"

"Another distinctive sign that distinguishes us Communists from any other political party is the closest connection with the broadest masses of the people. Serving the people wholeheartedly, never being divorced from the masses for a moment; proceeding from the interests of the people, not from the interests of individuals or small groups; being responsible to the people and responsible to the leading organs of the party; these are our starting points."

At the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China , the mass line was established as the party's fundamental political line and fundamental organizational line. On June 18, 2013, Xi Jinping , general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and decided to carry out the party's mass line education and practice activities in batches from top to bottom in the whole party from the second half of 2013 . Deployed at the meeting, the central party's leading group for mass line education and practice activities was established as a central-level organization to lead and supervise the political movement.