The CCP`s Institutes of Socialism as Petrol Stations: The Decline of Communist Ideology and the Problems of United Front Work in the 1990s

Abstract

This paper traces the Chinese Communist Party`s (CCP`s) political education of representatives and other intellectuals targeted by its united front work. The socialist transformation of the 1950s required all united front allies to undergo extensive political reeducation in a system of political schools which evolved into the Institutes of Socialism. This ”education” required complete assimilation and acceptance of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong thought. The anti-Rightist struggle marked the effective end of most united front work, including the institutes. In 1978, the CCP revived its united front as part of its economic reforms and began rebuilding the institutes in 1983. However the paucity of resources allocated to the institutes at all levels indicates the CCP`s continued unwillingness to work with any outside groups. While united front work provides a precedent and a means of increasing political representation, the experience of the institutes indicates that a meaningful expansion of the united front is unlikely.