party authority and
discipline were being undermined by Western cultural influences.

Partially directed at the youth of the nation, the campaign included
curbs against alcohol in youth clubs and the screening of foreign
television programs and music. Another objective of the campaign was
increased party control over literature and cultural life; new
ideological guidelines were issued for writers, publishers, and
theaters. In speaking of the role of the arts, Ceausescu declared that
they must serve the single purpose of socialist-communist education. At
the same time, he called for increased guidance of the arts by all
levels of the PCR and requested that works of art and literature be
judged for their conformity with party standards and their service to
the working class. Ceausescu ruled out repressive measures, however, and
asserted that the party would rely on persuasion to implement the new
ideological program (see ch. 7).

The campaign encountered some resistance, although more passive than
overt. A number of writers boycotted the literary magazines in protest
against the restrictions imposed on publishing and, despite the fact
that the official writers' union circulated a statement in support of
the party's stand, many of the more prominent writers refused to endorse
it. In August 1971 the editor of a leading literary journal, who was
also a member of the PCR Central Committee, resigned both positions as a
protest against the stricter party controls.

Resistance was also evident in the party and state bureaucracy, where
the ideological campaign was welcomed in principle but frequently
ignored in practice. Many of the nation's youth also manifested
disagreement with the restrictive content campaign. Assessing the
progress of the program in late 1971, Ceausescu admitted that the new
approach had not been generally adopted among the youth and asserted
that the party organizations had not been diligent enough in the
enforcement of the code. Particular criticism was directed at the
Executive Committee and Secretariat for having failed to implement the
decisions taken for the improvement of ideological activity.

Although it is difficult for outside political observers to detect
differences within the top bodies of the party, in regard to the
ideological campaign tensions have been more evident. For the first time
since Ceausescu came to power in 1965, the Central Committee plenum,
meeting in November 1971, did not