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p By Ts. A. STEPANYAN

p In developing Marxism Lenin paid particular attention to the basic problems of scientific communism that had been raised by the new epoch of direct struggle for the revolutionary transformation of the old, outgoing capitalist society into the new, communist one. He wrote: "The abolition of capitalism and its vestiges, and the establishment of the fundamentals of the communist order comprise the content of the new era of world history that has set in."  [60•1  In the new historical situation communism had become the central issue of the workers’ movement.

Lenin solved questions of scientific communism by creatively applying and developing Marxist philosophy and political economy. In his The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism, when explaining the importance of Marxist philosophy and political economy for the development of the theory of scientific communism, Lenin wrote: "Marx’s philosophical materialism alone has shown the proletariat the way out of the spiritual slavery in which all oppressed classes have hitherto languished. Marx’s economic theory alone has explained the true position of the proletariat in the general system of capitalism."  [60•2  He showed that by consistently applying the materialist conception of history to the cognition of capitalist society it was possible "to find, in the very society which surrounds us, the forces which can—and, owing to their social position, must—constitute the power capable of sweeping away the old and creating the new, and to enlighten and organise those forces for the 61 struggle".  [61•1  Thus scientific communism emerged as the logical result of the development of the philosophical and economic components of Marxism. It now rests firmly on the philosophical thcoiy ol tlie universal laws ut soc.ic.-l)’s cie\ elopnii’iH and on Uneconomic theory ol the laws ol the production and distribution of material goods. Such is the intrinsic connection between the three components of Marxism.

p Lenin armed the Communist and Workers’ Parties with important ideas on the laws governing the preparation, shaping and development of the communist formation. Long before the victory of the October Revolution in Russia Lenin indicated the general lines of mankind’s advance to communism. And then in his books and articles written after the revolution, in his addresses to congresses of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and of the Communist International, and in other speeches in which he summed up the experience of the first victorious socialist revolution in history, Lenin painted a finished picture of the birth of the new world.

p Lenin thoroughly developed the Marxist theory of the two phases of the communist formation—socialism and communism— and brought out its general economic, socio-political and ideological laws.

p Among general economic laws Lenin mentioned first the establishment and continuous development of the socialist mode of production as playing the decisive role in all the stages of the communist formation. The abolition of capitalist ownership, the establishment of public ownership, and its further growth through industrialisation and co-operation in farming were the major points of Lenin’s plan for setting up the socialist mode of production.

p Lenin pointed out time and again that once the workers’ and peasants’ government had been established, the economy became the main front of the struggle for socialism and communism.

p Public ownership, as the foundation of the socialist economy, ensures the stable progress of social production on the basis of advanced technology, and the fuller satisfaction of the people’s needs at every stage of the growth of the new formation. This general economic law requires the harmonious combination of the 62 first and second departments of social production, i.e., a steady overall increase in the production of consumer goods on the basis of the priority development of the production of capital goods.

p While in the period of the building of socialism the Soviet Union had to push forward with the production of the means of production and restrict the production of consumer goods, during the building of communism the task is to develop every branch of social production in order to meet the people’s increasing needs more and more adequately. This new and important principle is written into the Programme of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which states that a first-class heavy industry, the basis of the country’s technological progress and economic might, has now been built in the Soviet Union, and that the CPSU will continue to devote unflagging attention to the growth of heavy industry and its technological advance. The main task of heavy industry is to meet all the needs of the country’s defences and to ensure the development of industries producing consumer goods in order to satisfy better and more fully the needs of the people, and in general to further the growth of the country’s overall productive forces.

p The Twenty-Third Congress of the CPSU resolved to increase industrial output by 47-50 per cent over five years: the output of basic industries (Department A) by 49-52 per cent, and of light industries (Department B) by 43-46 per cent. This Congress not only pointed out the need to accelerate the production of consumer goods but also the need to bring the growth rates of agriculture closer to those of industry (meaning the production of both capital goods and consumer goods).

p Another general economic law of the building of the two phases of communism is the planned development of all branches of the economy so as to ensure the balanced advance of both industry and agriculture, and the attainment of the greatest possible synthesis of industry and agriculture on the basis of the fullest utilisation of the achievements of science and technology. Lenin said that it was necessary to transform "the whole of the state economic mechanism into a single huge machine, into an economic organism that will work in such a way as to enable hundreds of millions of people to be guided by a single plan".  [62•1 

p Lenin also showed that it was necessary to combine centralised planning with the maximum development of popular initiative. 63 Following these principles the CPSU is today successfully improving the methods of industrial management by combining centralised planning with the independent economic initiatives of industrial enterprises.

p Lenin further taught that in order to build the new society one must make discriminating use of the experience of the whole of mankind, including what modern capitalism has to offer. This principle applies both to the building of socialism and to the building of communism.

p It would be sheer conceit to imagine that one can build the new, more perfect world—socialism and communism—while ignoring what is going on in the capitalist countries. Lenin charged us to study modern capitalism well, and to realise that it not only tends to stagnate but that its uneven development leads to the rapid advance of certain branches of production, technology and science. So that while relying on the historical advantages of socialism one should make judicious use of the scientific and technological achievements of modern capitalism in order to speed up the advance towards communism.

p Stable and high rates of growth of social production are still another general economic feature of the building of socialism and communism. Lenin foresaw that the socialist system based on public ownership would "inevitably result in an enormous development of the productive forces of human society".  [63•1  The average annual increase in Soviet industrial output is around 10 per cent, compared to the 3.4 per cent of the major capitalist country, the United States. And compared to prewar levels, the volume of industrial output has increased 700 per cent in the socialist world, but only 190 per cent in the capitalist world.

p This general feature of the economic development of the two opposite socio-political systems has persisted despite both the temporary difficulties experienced by individual socialist countries and the periods of relatively rapid growth of production in some capitalist countries. The countries of the world socialist system increased their industrial output by 43 per cent between 1961 and 1965, and the capitalist countries by 34 per cent. This is a considerable difference; moreover, growth of production in the capitalist countries, unlike that in the socialist countries, docs not lead to higher living standards for the people but primarily to larger profits for the monopolies and increasing militarisation of the economy.

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p By accelerating their economic growth rates and by putting to ever greater effect the advantages of the socialist mode of production, the socialist countries are fulfilling one of thoir most important revolutionary duties.

p Despite the tremendous difficulties resulting from Russia’s historical past as an economically and technically backward country, high growth rates in labour productivity—which Lenin regarded as the most vital thing for the final triumph of communism—have been characteristic of socialism in the USSR. "In the last analysis, productivity of labour is the most important, the principal thing for the victory of the new social system. . . . Capitalism can be utterly vanquished, and will be utterly vanquished by socialism creating a new and much higher productivity of labour."  [64•1 

p Between 1929 and 1958, thanks to socialist industrialisation and the collectivisation of agriculture, labour productivity increased four times as rapidly in the Soviet Union as in the United States. This pattern of economic development will remain.

p The universal character of labour, i.e., the implementation of the Leninist rule "he who does not work, neither shall he cat" (which applies both to socialism and communism) is a further general economic law of the two phases of communism. This law is reflected in the first part of the main principle underlying both phases of communism—"from each according to his ability".

p It is of overriding importance for the efficient fulfilment of the common duty to work that the principle of material incentives is applied consistently and sensibly. Lenin stressed that unless people had an interest in their work nothing could be achieved. And the only way to enlist the support of the people in building the new society is to introduce personal material incentives, appropriately combined with moral stimuli.

p Leninism teaches that economic regularities determine the socio-political and ideological regularities of the building of socialism and communism, which, in their turn, have an immense impact on the entire process of socialist and communist construction.

p The first law that should be mentioned among socio-political laws is the leading role of the working class. Lenin said that "socialism is inconceivable unless the proletariat is the ruler of 65 the state".  [65•1  The working class must play the leading role in the new society Irom the moment the dictatorship of the proletariat is established until the final triumph of communism.

p How does the working class fulfil its leading role in the building of communism:’ Leninism answers this question as follows. The working class is bound up with the main and the leading form of production, i.e., socialist industry, which more than anything else determines the line of society’s advance towards communism. Because of its social position, it is the most conscious, well-organised, disciplined and politically steeled class, and for this reason it plays the decisive role in the building of communism. All that is new and truly communist is conceived in its ranks. At the present stage of building communism in the Soviet Union this has been confirmed by the emergence at factories of the highest form of socialist emulation—the nation- wide movement for a communist attitude to work.

p The leading role of the working class is expressed in the leadership of the Communist Party, which, now that socialism has triumphed and the unity of Soviet society has been consolidated, has not ceased to be a working-class party.

p This growth in the leading role of the Communist Party is a general socio-political law of the building of socialism and communism. It is of particular significance in present conditions both in the USSR and other socialist countries. The slightest weakening of the leading role of the Party has a detrimental effect on every facet of the life and work of socialist society.

p Lenin held that the consistent implementation of the principles of proletarian internationalism, the establishment of complete equality between nations and of fraternal friendship among peoples, also constitutes a major socio-political law of the building of the new society. He urged that fraternal relations among peoples be based on implicit trust and free consent. Lenin instructed the Party to build up and develop constantly a union of free peoples, patiently and attentively to remove and overcome the mistrust that ages of oppression by exploiting classes had engendered and fight vestiges of nationalism and chauvinism of whatever kind. By fulfilling the behests of its leader and teacher, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has successfully solved the national question in the USSR. The twin processes of the flourishing and the drawing together of the various peoples of the Soviet Union arc taking place on the road to communism. 66 These two objective progressive tendencies are developing in the course of the struggle against either the ignoring or the exaggerating of national distinctive features.

p The equality and fraternity in the relations between the Soviet socialist nations extend to relations between the Soviet Union and other sovereign socialist countries, members of the world socialist system, and all countries fighting imperialism. Lenin attached particular importance to the adoption of a correct attitude to the peoples of the East, and wrote that it was "a matter of world-wide significance which would rebound in India and the entire East, and which, therefore, called for the greatest circumspection—for being a thousand times cautious".  [66•1 

p The final solution of this highly complex problem of world importance largely depends on the consolidation of the unity of the socialist countries. Common economic foundations, uniform political principles and the same final goal of communism hold together the community of socialist countries. Nevertheless, this community docs not develop and grow in strength automatically but has to surmount difficulties and contradictions stemming equally from objective causes—such as different economic levels, lack of experience in building a historically new type of relations between socialist states, or sundry relics of the old system—and from subjective factors, one of which is the holding of different ideas about the ways and means of building socialism and communism in different countries.

p Such difficulties and contradictions can be overcome and arc overcome providing the general laws of development of the new society that apply to all countries are taken into account and heed is paid to the specific features of the advance to communism in particular countries.

p The socialist community is founded above all else on these general laws. The 1968 Bratislava Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties declared: "The fraternal parties are convinced from historical experience that to advance along the path of socialism and communism one must strictly and consistently be guided by the general objective laws of building socialist society and above all enhance the leading role of the working class and its vanguard—the Communist Parties, each fraternal party paying heed to national features and conditions as it creatively solves the problems of further socialist development."  [66•2 

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p The social developments in Czechoslovakia since 1968 have borne out the international essence of the general laws governing the building of communism, which unlike all the previous socio- economic formations ha.s demonstrated its abilit) to prevent any reversal of the historical development of whole nations.

p The Joint Soviet-Czechoslovak Statement of October 27, 1969 said: "The peoples of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and other fraternal countries are building a new society guided by the general laws of socialist development which were brought to light and defined by the founders of scientific communism and expanded on in the policy documents of the world communist movement and of the Marxist-Leninist Parties. By implementing these laws in the specific conditions of their own countries and taking into account progressive national traditions and features and also depending on the level of these countries’ social and economic development, the Communist Parties are enriching the international experience of building socialism."  [67•1 

p These general laws reflect the international content of communism, which, unlike capitalism, is solid and united economically, socio-politically and ideologically. Unity of this kind is impossible for capitalism, divided as it is into antagonistic classes, resting on private ownership, anarchy of production, and enmity between different bourgeois states. The numerous wars unleashed by capitalist states, in particular the two world wars, show that solid unity is fundamentally impossible for the world capitalist system, the last antagonistic social formation in human history.

p As we have said, in the building of communism it is necessary to take into account the particular features of the development of each socialist country. History has corroborated Lenin’s prediction that "all nations will arrive at socialism—this is inevitable, but all will do so in not exactly the same way, each will contribute something of its own to some form of democracy, to some variety of the dictatorship of the proletariat, to the varying rate of socialist transformations in the different aspects of social life."  [67•2 

p Lenin’s teachings both on the precedence of general laws and on the inevitability of the transition from capitalism to socialism taking a variety of forms, are of great relevance in the current battle against bourgeois ideology and against dogmatic and revisionist distortions of Marxism.

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p Dogmatists characteristically ignore the diversity of the forms of struggle and creative activity required by different concrete circumstances. Revisionists, in the same way as dogmatists, turn their backs on the diversity of life. They deny the existence of general objective laws and regard local conditions and features as the main things, seeking to confine the process of building socialism to strictly national limits.

p Revisionists willingly exploit the idea, such as it is, of "different national brands of socialism”, which they have borrowed from bourgeois sociology. This curious notion is founded on a primitive analogy. They ask, if there are or were different brands of capitalism—Russian, German, British, etc.—then why shouldn’t there be different brands of socialism—Russian, German, British, etc.? It is easy to see that they identify metaphysically two fundamentally different socio-economic formations, which develop according to different principles and in different ways. Whereas capitalism develops spontaneously, socialism is based on the purposeful, and systematic activities of the people under the leadership of Communist and Workers’ Parties. While capitalism develops in an atmosphere of cut-throat competition, including that between the bourgeoisie of different countries, socialism develops in an atmosphere of fraternal friendship and mutual co-operation between the socialist countries.

p The idea of "different brands of socialism" scientifically does not stand up because it univcrsaliscs particular features and divorces them from general objective laws; its methodological basis is therefore unsound. It was brought forward, of course, to serve quite definite political ends, namely, to encourage the nationalist elements in countries following the socialist path in order to undermine the unity of the socialist states.

p The events of 1968-69 in Czechoslovakia were a dramatic demonstration of the fact that any attempts to build socialism will collapse it the general objective laws are ignored. By flaunting the slogan of struggle against formal, stereotyped methods—for a “liberalised, democratic socialism”—the Czechoslovak revisionists called for the construction of socialism not on the basis of general objective laws but by taking a road fundamentally different from the one which the Soviet Union and other socialist countries have followed.

p Unlike the temporary and relative unity of the imperialist states, the unity and solidarity of the socialist states follow from the nature of their social s\stem. Leninism has laid down and practice has shown that the community of the socialist 69 countries is inseparable from the world communist movement as a whole. Moreover, the cohesion of the countries in the world socialist system is the major prerequisite for the unity of the communist movement. The problem of unity figured prominently at the 1969 Moscow Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties. The Main Document of the Meeting stated: "Socialism is not afflicted with the contradictions inherent in capitalism. When divergences between socialist countries do arise owing to differences in the level of economic development, in social structure or international position or because of national distinctions, they can and must be successfully settled on the basis of proletarian internationalism, through comradely discussion and voluntary fraternal co-operation. They need not disrupt the united front of socialist countries against imperialism.

p "Communists are aware of the difficulties in the development of the world socialist system. But this system is based on the identity of the socio-economic structure of its member-countries and on the identity of their fundamental interests and objectives. This identity is an earnest that the existing difficulties will be overcome and that the unity of the socialist system will be further strengthened on the basis of the principles of Marxism- Leninism and proletarian internationalism."

p One of the general socio-political laws of the building of the new society is the defence of the gains of socialism from imperialist aggression by building up the defence potential of the USSR and that of the whole of the socialist community. Lenin always considered it a matter of primary importance to strengthen the defensive capacity of a socialist state. For example, in October 1921 he wrote to Chicherin that it was necessary to reckon with the constant menace of an imperialist attack on Soviet Russia. "You can do nothing to prevent them except increase the defensive capacity."  [69•1 

p So long as imperialist aggressors exist, and until complete disarmament has been achieved, strengthening the socialist countries’ defences will remain the only way to ensure the peaceful conditions required for the building of socialism and communism. The relentless struggle against imperialism to secure the triumph of socialism and the success of the national liberation movements—alongside active efforts to achieve a lasting peace and the peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems—is therefore a major socio-political law of building 70 communism. This law results from the I act that socialism and communism do not triumph at the same time everywhere. Even before the October Revolution Lenin referred to the inevitable historical period "of the coexistence side by side of socialist and capitalist states".  [70•1  Later, in 1921, he again stressed that the coexistence of the two systems was inevitable.

p Lenin held that the prolonged coexistence of states with different social systems was "the only correct way out of the difficulties, chaos and danger of wars (as long as there remain two property systems, one of them as obsolete as capitalist prop- erty)".  [70•2  He also said: "All our politics and propaganda .. . are directed towards putting an end to war and in no way towards driving nations to war."  [70•3  He was confident that "any peace . . . will open channels for our influence a hundred times wider".  [70•4  Exposing the influence of imperialist countries exercised by strong-arm methods, Lenin spoke of the influence of socialist states on the destinies of peoples without in any way interfering in their home affairs. Asked by an American newspaperman whether the Soviet Government was prepared to guarantee absolute non-intervention in other states’ home affairs, Lenin said simply: "We are willing to guarantee it."  [70•5  His answer to a question about the Soviet Government’s plans in Asia was: "They arc the same as in Europe: peaceful coexistence with all peoples; with the workers and peasants of all nations. . . ."  [70•6 

p As a great strategist of the world revolution, Lenin showed that the tasks of securing a durable world peace should be viewed in the perspective of the complete victory of world communism. This means that the aim of peaceful coexistence is not to preserve and perpetuate the status quo but to facilitate the building of socialism and communism in the socialist countries, and to help intensify the class struggles in the capitalist countries and the national liberation struggles in the colonies. Lenin was the first to see that the resolution of the contradiction between rising communism and declining capitalism, the main contradiction of the present day, might take new forms. Because he foresaw the inevitable and inexorable change in the balance of forces in 71 favour of communism, Lenin believed that it was possible to resolve the contradiction between capitalism and communism not by war but by struggle in the economic field. "The struggle in this field,” he wrote, "has now become global. Once we solve this problem, we shall have certainly and finally won on an international scale."  [71•1 

p Finally, let us consider Lenin’s ideas on the general ideological laws of the building of socialism and communism. First is the triumph of Marxist-Leninist ideology and its constant development on the basis of the generalised experience gained in the building of socialism and communism and the generalised experience of the world revolutionary movement. To consolidate and develop the new society, it is not enough simply to assimilate Marxist-Leninist ideology. Lenin insisted that the new processes and leading tendencies of the current epoch must be thoroughly studied and used as the basis for the continuous creative development of communist ideology.

p The fight against revisionism and dogmatism cannot be successful unless all new practical developments, especially those in the field of building socialism and communism, are reflected in Marxist-Leninist theory.

p The creative development of Marxist-Leninist ideology is exemplified by the collectively drafted documents of the world communist movement, the Programme of the CPSU, and the resolutions of the 23rd Congress of the CPSU, which supply new theoretical propositions characterising the advance of society towards socialism and communism in the current epoch.

p The continuous exchange of opinions and the scientific discussion of new and unsolved problems arc vital for the constant development and enrichment of Marxism-Leninism.

p The building of both socialism and communism presupposes a cultural revolution based on the critical application of all the achievements of world culture. Lenin worked out a comprehensive programme for the cultural revolution, a programme designed to eliminate illiteracy, introduce universal secondary education, create a truly popular intelligentsia, and bring up a new, harmoniously developed man, the builder of communism.

p The struggle to overcome the vestiges of capitalism in the minds and behaviour of people is also a general objective law in the ideological field. So long as the two worlds exist and the struggle between them continues, bourgeois ideology will 72 continue to exert its malignant influence on the less steadfast elements in socialist society. Therefore, the overcoming of the influence of bourgeois ideology on the minds of people is an important guarantee of the successful building of communism.

p The steady growth of the people’s conscious activity in all spheres of life is an indispensable condition of success in the building of socialism and communism on a scientific basis. Unlike all pre-socialist formations, which arose and developed spontaneously, the communist formation is the first in history to be created by the entire people, consciously and in an organised way, on the basis of Marxist-Leninist science. As Lenin wrote, ”. . . living, creative socialism is the product of the masses them- selves".  [72•1 

p The upbringing of the new man, of the versatile and integrated communist personality, is a synthcsised expression of the operation of all the objective laws mentioned above. Lenin gave extremely valuable instructions on how to carry out this most intricate task of all, a task that will take longer to complete than the building of the material and technical basis of communism. He wrote that the communist personality would emerge fully only when communism had reached maturity, since the ground for the moulding of the new man was the development of truly communist relationships among people. "It is absolutely necessary to develop a sense of ’mutual assistance’, etc., both ’within the class’ and towards the working people of other = classes."  [72•2 

p Understanding and eliminating the real contradictions that arise in the process of the emergence and development of the communist formation is another universal objective law of the building of communism which extends to all the principal areas of public life. Lenin pointed out that under socialism antagonisms disappear but contradictions remain. It follows from this that it is necessary to wage a struggle on two fronts—against carrying over mechanically to socialist society the antagonistic contradictions of the pre-socialist class formations, and against elevating to the absolute the unity of socialist society and so denying that there arc any contradictions at all in its development. We should always remember Lenin’s important methodological statement that "complete coincidences ... do not occur even in the simplest of natural phenomena”,  [72•3  and that in the future, even 73 under communism, "there will always be such a ’discrepancy’, that it always exists in the development of nature as well as in the development of society".  [73•1 

p Lenin’s observation that "life proceeds by contradictions, and living contradictions are so much richer, more varied and deeper in content than they may seem at first sight to a man’s mind”,  [73•2  is of basic methodological significance for the clear understanding of the dialectical nature of the shaping of the communist formation. By way of example, let us consider the contradiction that exists between socialism’s very advanced social system and its much less advanced material and technical basis. Lenin brought out this contradiction, which arose with the victory of the October Revolution, between the world’s foremost type of political organisation of society and the existing level of productive forces. He said that the main strategic task in building the communist formation was to catch up with the capitalist countries and then to outstrip them technically and economically.

p The triumph of the socialist revolution put the new Soviet society decades ahead of the old system as far as its social organisation went. But the economic level of the country remained, of course, the same. Lenin nevertheless said that it would be possible to reach and then exceed the economic and technological standards of the capitalist countries through the electrification of the whole country. Lenin’s well-known formula runs: " Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country."  [73•3  This formula has determined the main technical and economic task of the country.

p The completion of the building of socialism was the first big step towards the goal of overtaking and outstripping capitalism. The next big stride was the commencing of the building of communism. The Programme of the CPSU states that the main economic task and the building of the material and technical basis of communism coincide. The building of the material and technical basis of communism will remove the contradiction between the world’s foremost type of political organisation of society and its level of productive forces and will enable the state to meet ever more fully the material requirements of the people.

p So far we have only dealt with Lenin’s ideas on the general objective laws that operate in all phases of the communist 74 formation. However, (o achieve a comprehensive understanding ol the new system we must also study Lenin’s ideas on the specific characteristics of the development of socialism into communism. For this purpose, we must grasp two basic facts. The first, mentioned by Marx, is that communism grows "out of itself”. This means that "socialism must inevitably evolve gradually into com- munism”,  [74•1  that it develops into communism within the one single communist formation. The second fact, noted by Lenin, is that there is a vast difference between communism and socialism. "Politically,” he wrote, "the distinction between the first, or lower, and the higher phase of communism will in time, probably, be tremendous."  [74•2 

p This statement is of singular importance in that it stresses the tremendous scope and difficulty of the problems involved in the transition to communism—and the time it must take. Lenin pointed out that "the future society . . . will take a long time to build”.  [74•3 

p Later developments in Marxist-Leninist theory on the two phases of communism, and international experience in the socialist reconstruction of society, have fully confirmed Lenin’s belief that the consolidation and development of socialism was the necessary prerequisite for the gradual transition to communism. ”. . . Socialism is the society that grows out of capitalism directly, it is the first form of the new society. Communism is a higher form of society, and can only develop when socialism has become firmly established."  [74•4 

p With his great knowledge of materialist dialectics, Lenin taught that the process of building the communist formation should be viewed in its development, in close connection with objective conditions and the unavoidable stages in the construction of the new society.

p Lenin’s ideas concerning the socialist phase of the communist formation are of primary importance for methodology. Socialism is a historically inevitable and relatively long phase in the development of the new formation. At the same time socialism is a historically transient phase in the process of the final establishment of communism. Disregard of these truths gives rise to both the conceptions of so-called "national forms of socialism”, which are essentially identical to "the national patterns 75 of socialism”, and to the Leftist theories propagating the by- passing of historically inevitable stages in the assertion of communism.

p Since the establishment of the Soviet government, the Communist Party, under Lenin’s leadership, resolutely combated the Utopian illusions of Leftists about the transition to communism, patiently explaining why they were wrong. Lenin wrote in this connection: "If they imagine that we can go straight from large- scale capitalism to communism they are not revolutionaries but reformists and utopians."  [75•1 

p Criticising the Leftists in the world communist movement, Lenin explained that there was no basis for the expectation that one could go straight from capitalism to the higher phase of communism by skipping its lower and middle phases, i.e., by disregarding objectively unavoidable stages in the development of the new social system. By introducing the notion of the "middle phase" Lenin intended to give greater emphasis to the fact that one must view the new system in its development, stage by stage.

p Lenin also fought any naive “semantic” approach to communism. He said that "if the name ’Communist Party’ were interpreted to mean that the communist system is being introduced immediately, that would be a great distortion and would do practical harm since it would be nothing more than empty boasting".  [75•2  Only after the consolidation of socialism, "after the full victory of socialism, there should grow that communism that we see at subbotniks,  [75•3  not with the aid of a book, but in living reality".  [75•4 

Such are Lenin’s principal propositions on the general laws and the specific features of the development of socialism into communism.

p Lenin did not only arm the Communist Party of the Soviet Union with a knowledge of the laws of the transition from capitalism to socialism and then to communism—he lit up the road to 76 the full victory of communism throughout the world. He repeatedly pointed out that the October Revolution had ushered in a new era in human history—the era of the world-wide advance of the revolutionary process—which was leading, as inexorably as any natural process, to the triumph of communism everywhere in the world. This world revolutionary process embraces various forms of struggle against imperialism and colonialism for national freedom, peace, democracy, socialism and communism.

p Lenin emphasised the particular importance of the struggle against American imperialism. He wrote: "The idealised democratic republic"—the United States of America—"proved in practice to be a form of the most rabid imperialism, of the most shameless oppression and suppression of weak and small na- tions."  [76•1  Its democratic veneer, he said, served to conceal "the most reactionary . . . the most savage imperialism, which is throttling the small and weak nations and reinstating reaction all over the world. . . ."  [76•2  At the present stage of the development of the world revolutionary process these words arc doubly significant.

p The October Revolution was the first in history to break the formerly solid chain of imperialism and begin the dawn of the new world. It led to the triumph of socialism over a vast area of the globe and opened the way for the advance to communism. All this confirms the theoretical premise of Leninism that the objective laws of society’s development make the triumph of communism historically inevitable.

p The growing conflict between the rapidly expanding productive forces and the obsolescent capitalist relations of production makes the introduction of public ownership, the precondition for the unlimited progress of mankind in future, urgently necessary. This conflict is further intensified by the modern scientific and technological revolution, which can be given free scope only under a social system that develops harmoniously, that is, under full- fledged socialism and communism.

p The economic laws that arc responsible for the shaping of the new social formation match the political laws of present-day world development: the steady growth and consolidation of the world socialist system and the international communist and workers’ movement alongside the advance of the national liberation struggles. The highest form of the contemporary 77 revolutionary process is to be found in the building of communism and the development of socialist social relationships into communist ones in the USSR. But all these revolutionary currents must finally lead to the victory first of socialist, and then of communist, social relationships everywhere.

p The economic and political laws governing the world-wide revolutionary process are reflected in society’s spiritual life, in the relentless struggle between communist and bourgeois ideology. This struggle assumes different forms at different stages and levels of the world revolutionary process. Its highest form is the struggle for the complete overcoming of bourgeois ideology or the survivals of it, i.e., for the moulding of the new spiritual character of all working people and of society as a whole in the process of building communism.

p The new society, according to Lenin’s teachings, should be built on the basis of the general and specific laws of the two phases of communism. Neglect or disregard of the general laws governing the birth of the communist formation may lead some people to come to the erroneous conclusion that the socialist revolution can fulfil all its external tasks. This, however, contradicts Lenin’s fundamental proposition that while all non-socialist revolutions had and have limited historical tasks, every socialist revolution is by nature a component part of the world communist revolution that is called upon to transform the whole world according to communist principles.

p The corner-stone of Lenin’s theory of socialist revolution (in addition to the point that socialist revolutions take place at different times in different countries) is the argument that in every country where socialist revolution has triumphed socialist and then communist tasks are carried out in uninterrupted succession. Such is the dialectics of the world revolutionary process. This basic feature of the socialist revolution determines the consistently internationalist character of the policies of the Communist and Workers’ Parties guided by Marxist-Leninist theory.

p Practice shows that ignorance or disregard of certain of the laws of the transition from socialism to communism cannot but result in the dogmatic transposition of formulas and principles reflecting the laws of the transition from capitalism to socialism to an entirely different period of transition, i.e., to the period of transition from the first to the second phase of the communist formation. Such a metaphysical approach makes it difficult to overcome the non-antagonistic contradictions that objectively exist between the socialist countries by breeding artificial difficulties 78 in relations between states at different stages of development of the new societ\.

p These contradictions and difficulties can and will be overcome thanks to the community of interests of the socialist countries and to the creative application of Marxist-Leninist theory.

p Life has corroborated Marx’s prediction that social evolution in a socialist society would no longer require political revolutions. Social progress under communism does not involve sweeping away the foundations of the new society. This is what is meant by the gradual transition from socialism to communism. It does not exclude leaps, however. Indeed, taken as a whole, the transition from socialism to communism represents a very profound qualitative change in socialist society.

p As part of the world revolutionary process many formerly backward countries can go over to socialism by missing out the capitalist stage of development. The world has already seen evidence of this in some Soviet Republics, and now witnesses such transition beyond the borders of the Soviet Union. Non- capitalist development and the direct transition to the building of socialism have become even more possible for formerly backward countries now that a world socialist system has come into existence. The economic and political might of the socialist states are major factors accelerating this process. As Lenin wrote, "with the aid of the proletariat of the advanced countries, backward countries can go over to the Soviet system and, through certain stages of development, to communism, without having to pass through the capitalist stage".  [78•1 

p As the construction of socialism is completed and the socialist countries go over to the building of communism, new patterns of development of world communism make their appearance. In particular, there is the law of the more or less simultaneous transition of the socialist countries to full communism. Lenin’s theory of socialist revolution provides the key to this: on the historical road to world socialism and communism the socialist countries must overcome in a short space of time the disparities between their economic and cultural levels through mutual assistance and co-operation.

p The rapid economic development of the socialist countries, their growing might in every respect, has a great impact on the course of the world revolution. Life has fully confirmed Lenin’s proposition that a country of victorious socialism should influence 79 the course of the liberation struggle against imperialism mainly by its economic policies, by the practical building of socialism and communism. The growing all-round aid of the socialist nations to the countries fighting for their social and national emancipation testifies to their proletarian internationalism not merely in words but in deeds.

p The building of communism in the first socialist country, the Soviet Union, is the great revolutionary achievement of the present day. It is an integral part and the highest stage of the world revolutionary process. Lenin was confident that the cause of communism would be secure in Russia.  [79•1 

p The spirit of the resolutions of the CPSU, especially those of the 23rd Congress and subsequent Central Committee plenums, is one of a strictly scientific approach to the basic problems of building communism in the Soviet Union. They demonstrate the Party’s concern for the steady growth of the economy as the condition for the further improvement of the people’s well-being. The systematic and steady growth of the people’s material and cultural standards is a generalised expression of the advantages of the socialist system of society.

p Many urgent problems of the present stage in the development of the communist formation were analysed by the 1969 Moscow Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties. The documents adopted and the speeches by the representatives of the fraternal parties have made a substantial contribution to the treasure-house of Leninism and have provided valuable material for the further elaboration of the problems of scientific communism and the theory of building socialism and communism.

p "One of the important conclusions to be drawn from the work of the Meeting is the need to develop in every way the theoretical generalisation of the laws and features of the world revolutionary movement; the elaboration of the major theoretical problems of building socialism and communism, of the struggle waged by the world communist and workers’ movement against imperialism."  [79•2  All these problems are being currently developed on the basis of Lenin’s ideological legacy.

Communism is being built and will be built in the interests of the people, tor the sake of their peaceful development and prosperity. As socialism triumphs more and more in individual 80 countries, the tendency for the non-simultaneous transition to communism will diminish, while the tendency of the simultaneous transition to communism will increase. One should consider the initial victory of communism in the Soviet Union to he part ol the whole process of building a communist society by all the peoples of the world socialist system. And the building of communism in the USSR and then in the entire world socialist system will enormously speed up the advance of other peoples to the socialist and communist rebuilding of the whole of modern society.