The Communist Programme

The Communist Programme is a pamphlet by Unknown author. Some time before May 1921, a man was sentenced to three months' hard labour for selling copies of The Communist Programme.

What makes it interesting is the way a book becomes legible to officials as a political instrument rather than a neutral cultural object. As a pamphlet, it can be read not only for subject matter but for the way form, tone, and circulation make a text feel dangerous, intimate, or politically usable to anxious officials.

It also matters as part of a wider censorship history in New Zealand. The present page is a dossier starter built from source-tracked ban records; the surviving note currently says: Some time before May 1921, a man was sentenced to three months' hard labour for selling copies of The Communist Programme. More publication history, translations, and close reading can be added later.

The Communist Programme entered censorship debates as a pamphlet associated with politics, public argument, and state power. In the current dossier, the main state objections cluster around political control and political dissent.

The earliest event currently captured here is 20th century in New Zealand, where New Zealand censorship authorities classified, prohibited, or restricted. Some time before May 1921, a man was sentenced to three months' hard labour for selling copies of The Communist Programme. Some time before May 1921, a man was sentenced to three months' hard labour for selling copies of The Communist Programme.

This entry is still incomplete: more jurisdictions, court orders, and translated justifications should be added over time.

This page is intentionally incomplete. The ban history is a starter dataset, not a final census of every jurisdiction or decree.

• The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt

  A foundational analysis of state terror, propaganda, and ideological conformity.

• On Tyranny Timothy Snyder

  A short modern guide to resisting authoritarian politics and controlled public discourse.

• 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature Nicholas J. Karolides, Margaret Bald, and Dawn B. Sova

  A compact reference on how censorship systems moved across states, churches, and courts.

• Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. Anne Lyon Haight

  Useful for comparing older obscenity, heresy, and political bans with modern free-speech disputes.

• Wikipedia: List of books banned in New Zealand reference partial
• Wikipedia REST summary API database partial
• The Origins of Totalitarianism book not started
• On Tyranny book not started
• 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature book partial
• Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. book partial