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Romania Ideology and Party Program
In the early 1970s, the PCR carried on a campaign to
strengthen
the Marxist character of its ideological, cultural, and
educational
activities. Within limits Ceausescu encouraged "socialist
democracy" and open communication between the masses and
the party
leadership. He defined "socialist democracy" as a spirit
of social
responsibility among the citizens to perform their duties
in
accordance with the needs and imperatives of society as a
whole.
Socialist democracy sought to stimulate the masses to
support the
cause of socialism by involving them in PCR programs so
that the
individual citizen's goals and values coincided with those
of the
party.
In the mid-1970s, Ceausescu announced a new ideological
program and the tightening of party control over
government,
science, and cultural life. Some observers regarded this
campaign
as a response to Soviet criticism of Ceausescu's foreign
policy.
It may have been a reminder to Moscow that socialism was
not
endangered in Romania and that the Soviets could not use
this
pretext to justify intervention as they had done in
Czechoslovakia
in 1968. Others considered it an assertion of authority by
Ceausescu to combat domestic ideological laxity and what
he
perceived as corrupting Western influences. Partially
directed at
the youth of the nation, the campaign included curbs on
alcohol in
the youth clubs and on the screening of foreign television
programs
and music.
Another objective was increased party control over
literature
and cultural life. New ideological guidelines were issued
for
writers, publishers, and theaters. Ceausescu declared that
the
arts must serve the single purpose of socialist-communist
education. At the same time, he called for increasing
guidance of
the arts by all levels of the PCR and requested that works
of art
and literature be judged for their conformity to party
standards
and their service to the working class. Although Ceausescu
ruled
out repressive measures, he asserted that the party would
rely on
persuasion to implement the new ideological program.
In the late 1980s, the PCR ideological program
consisted of two
major components--the political and ideological education
of the
citizenry and the scientific study of Romanian history.
The former
entailed the thorough study of PCR experience,
Ceausescu's theses
and recommendations, and the classics of Marxism-Leninism.
The
scientific study of Romania's history was considered
profoundly
important in developing the population's awareness of
their DacianRoman origin and the continuity of Romanian habitation of
their
homeland, particularly in the face of historical claims
made by
neighboring countries.
During the 1980s, the party's perception of its role in
society
changed. It no longer saw itself as the detached vanguard
of the
working class, but rather as the vital center of the
nation and
society. The party's identification with national
interests was
interpreted as rejection of the concept of "dictatorship
of the
proletariat," a phrase that was supplanted in party
parlance by
"state of the revolutionary workers' democracy." The
policies
pursued by the PCR were designed to maintain firm control
of
economic planning and administration. Party control was
enhanced by
the territorial and administrative reorganization of 1968,
which
set up commissions in all of the new judete to
function
under the direct supervision of the judet PCR
committees.
These commissions gave the party direct control over local
economic
programs.
Data as of July 1989
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