Mass Line

The Mass Line (from the Chinese qunzhong luxian) is the political, organizational and leadership method developed by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese revolution. As described in a Revolutionary Communist Party USA pamphlet, it is the "concentrate .. correct ideas that the masses gain in everyday life", as gathered and published by the party. Mao developed it into a coherent organizing methodology that encompasses philosophy, strategy, tactics, leadership and organizational theory that has been applied by many Communists subsequent to the Chinese revolution. Chinese communist leaders generally attribute their conquest of power to the faithful pursuit of effective "mass line" tactics, and a "correct" mass line is supposed to be the essential prerequisite for the full consolidation of power.

According to Frederick Teiwes, Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney, the "mass line" was related to the CCP's mass organizations. "Fundamentally, for all the CCP rhetoric concerning the 'mass line,' the unions and other mass organizations functioned more as Stalinist "transmission belts" in laying down the party line and extending the reach of the state," he wrote.