Communist Party - Naming

Naming

A uniform naming scheme for communist parties was adopted by the Communist International. All parties were required to use the name 'Communist Party of (name of country)'. Today, there are plenty of cases where the old sections of the Communist International have retained those names. In other cases names have been changed. Common causes for the shift in naming were either moves to avoid state repression or as measures to indicate a broader political acceptance.

A typical example of the latter was the renamings of various East European communist parties after the Second World War, as staged 'mergers' of the local Social Democratic parties occurred. New names in the post-war era included 'Socialist Party', 'Socialist Unity Party', 'Popular Party', 'Workers' Party' and 'Party of Labour'.

The naming conventions of communist parties became more diverse as the international communist movement was fragmented due to the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s. Those who sided with China and/or Albania in their criticism of the Soviet leadership, often added words like 'Revolutionary' or 'Marxist-Leninist' to distinguish themselves from the pro-Soviet parties.

Read more about this topic:  Communist Party

Famous quotes containing the word naming:

    See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament!
    One drop would save my soul—half a drop! ah, my Christ!—
    Ah, rend not my heart for naming of my Christ!—
    Yet will I call on him!—O, spare me, Lucifer!—
    Where is it now? ‘T is gone; and see where God
    Stretcheth out his arm, and bends his ireful brows!—
    Mountains and hills, come, come and fall on me,
    And hide me from the heavy wrath of God!
    Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)

    Husband,
    who am I to reject the naming of foods
    in a time of famine?
    Anne Sexton (1928–1974)

    The night is itself sleep
    And what goes on in it, the naming of the wind,
    Our notes to each other, always repeated, always the same.
    John Ashbery (b. 1927)