The people needed a "vanguard party" to lead them towards a Marxist class consciousness; without strong party leadership, the people would merely give in to capitalist bribery, perpetuating the capitalist system (think wage increases, better for workers but means of production are still withheld). Because the vanguard party was necessary to the peoples victory over capitalism, any threat (physical or ideological) to the party and its leaders was a threat to the development of communism and the freedom of (ignorant for the time being) workers.