p The modern world is going through a crucial stage, a turning point, in its history, when the destinies of mankind depend to a decisive degree on the vigorous, co-ordinated actions of its progressive forces. Under these complex historical conditions our Party, following its invariable Marxist-Leninist course, is stepping up its activities designed to safeguard mankind from the danger that threatens it by curbing the reactionary forces of imperialism. Its general line is aimed at developing the creative energy and initiative of the Soviet people still more widely and more fully for dealing successfully with the tasks of constructing a communist society; at strengthening in every possible way the political and economic alliance of the socialist states, consolidating and expanding the world socialist system and rallying all the world’s progressive forces fighting under the banner of socialism; at giving unrelaxing moral- political and material aid to the national liberation movement of the peoples in their struggle for liberation from colonial and neo-colonialist imperialist oppression, and in building their free and independent states; at helping to consolidate the world’s progressive forces in their struggle for peace, democracy and socialism.

p In our day, when the significance of Marxist-Leninist theory is at its highest ever eminence, it is called upon to timely generalise all that is new, engendered by the living realities, and to help the Party answer all the complex questions which the exigencies of contemporary social development pose before it. In a highly organised planned socialist society theory is not a thing that stands apart, as a "private concern". It is linked inseparably with the practical activities of the Party, the people and the state. Correct theoretical propositions, lighting up as they do our path of 280 progress, help to speed up our creative and transformative work and to reduce the overheads of our construction to a minimum. Conversely, erroneous theoretical propositions forming a basis for practical action may involve immense unproductive outlays and costs. These circumstances likewise demand that theory should occupy a befitting place in the life of society.

p This is worth remembering in view of the hasty simplicist assessments of the role of theory which were sometimes made in the recent past.

p Attempts to substantiate the methodological principles of development of the social sciences under the conditions of communist construction obviously suffered from a subjectivist approach. This was shown in the arbitrary interpretation of the important Marxist-Leninist principle of unity between theory and practice. A contradictory situation was created when, in one case, theory was identified with practice, and, in another, they were contraposed to each other. Proceeding from the correct fact that at the present time the broad masses of the people were being increasingly drawn into the building of communism, often wrong deductions were made that the gap in time between theoretical and practical solutions of problems of communist construction was narrowing or disappearing.

p No wonder that the identification of theory with practice tended to present the numerous reorganisations and other not always well-considered practical measures as a creative solution of pressing theoretical problems. In turn, social scientists were orientated merely on producing theoretical justification for or commenting on de facto practical measures, while the main emphasis was laid on the propaganda designation of the social sciences. Naturally, this was not conducive to the development of theoretical work. The guideline that practice itself is allegedly a development of theory and that practical experience, so to say, automatically enriches theory, actually led to justification of subjectivism, to attempts to solve practical problems "by eye", without deducing theoretical arguments in support of the decisions made.

p Events, however, showed that the objective laws hit back at those who ignore them. This was very well expressed by D. I. Pisarev, the outstanding Russian revolutionary and enlightener. Speaking about the purpose of true science, he 281 wrote that science was exact and severe, just as Nature was, and that "if you have erred, it will run you over or crush you completely, like the wheel of a huge machine to which you had come too close when it was going at full speed."  [281•* 

p The October 1964 Plenum of the C.C. C.P.S.U. and the 23rd Party Congress put an end to this vulgarisation of theory and enhanced its role and designation. The most favourable conditions were created for the development of science and for the application of its achievements to the practice of communist construction. It is obvious now to everyone how wise and farsighted the Party’s decisions were. The Marxist-Leninist social sciences are now in their heyday, projected towards the solution of the new important and complex problems which life and the practice of communist construction bring to the fore. As the Party proclaimed in its Programme, the social sciences are the theoretical basis of its policies, of its guidance of communist construction and of all social progress. "No society has ever stood in such great need of scientific theory as the socialist society," states the Report of the C.C. C.P.S.U. to the Party’s 23rd Congress. "The Party considers the further creative development of Marxist-Leninist theory as a cardinal task and a necessary condition for success in the building of communism.”  [281•** 

p Summing up the basic factors of contemporary development we could say that energising theoretical work is a vital need, a clamorous demand of the times.

p For one thing, the widening of the field of theoretical activities and extension of analytical research and scientific generalisations are necessitated by the growing complexity and acceleration of the socio-historical process in the revolutionary epoch of transition from capitalism to socialism and communism. Our generation is a contemporary of and participant in this gradual change-over of socioeconomic formations. Deep-going socio-economic changes are taking place throughout the world. Capitalism’s horizons are steadily narrowing, while the world socialist system is building up strength, the labour movement in the capitalist countries is mustering its forces, the disintegration of 282 the colonial system of imperialism is nearing completion and the national liberation movement is mounting and widening. All these important changes in the alignment of forces between socialism and capitalism call for theoretical analysis, for a new presentation and solution of a number of major theoretical problems in order to gain a still deeper understanding of the general tendencies of the modern epoch and correctly determine the strategic and tactical tasks.

p Second, enhancement of the role of theory is conditioned by the demands of the present phase of communist construction. The land of socialism now disposes of such a powerful material and productive base as has allowed the Party to switch the Leninist locomotive of history into high gear. The Soviet Union is at a stage when the whole Soviet people, with deep understanding, have started to tackle tasks of such amazing grandeur and scope as the creation of the material and technical basis of communism, the shaping of communist social attitudes, and the education of a new generation of people, fully developed and active builders of communism. The vastly increased magnitude and complexity of the tasks of economic and socio-political leadership make science an essential link in the whole practical life of society. This in turn enormously enhances the role and significance of the social sciences and consolidates their vanguard positions along the whole great length of the ideological front.

p Third, radical improvement of all our theoretical work is necessitated by the changes that are taking place in connection with the scientific and technological revolution. The impact of scientific and technological progress on all aspects of social life is at once tremendous and contradictory. This process can correctly be assessed, the prospects determined and people’s efforts directed towards making the greatest possible use of the scientific and technological revolution in the interest of social progress, only from the vantageground of Marxism-Leninism. In the solution of these problems wide scope is opened to our social sciences for their creative activity in co-operation with the natural and technical sciences.

p Fourth, the need for more active theoretical work is dictated by the specially acute nature of the struggle between the two ideologies—the socialist and the bourgeois—which under present-day conditions has reached a high pitch of 283 intensity. It will be no exaggeration to say that at no time in the long history of capitalism has such great importance been attached to the indoctrination of the masses and such a widely ramified propaganda machine been set up for this purpose as in our day. The powerful ideological machinery of anti-communism has been thrown into high gear. Anticommunism has now become the state ideology of the imperialists. The ideologues of modern capitalism and their yes-men now speak openly about the need for seeking or thinking up some new "symbol of faith", some new ideological weapon that could challenge the victorious ideology of Marxism-Leninism.

p The thing is that the monopolist bourgeoisie now is unable to give the peoples convincing answers to life’s most urgent problems, cannot advance ideals that would appeal to the masses. It is this ideological degeneration of international capitalism that makes the henchmen of imperialism resort to lies and slander. Lenin, in his day, issued the warning that "when the bourgeoisie’s ideological influence on the workers declines, is undermined or weakened, the bourgeoisie everywhere and always resorts to the most outrageous lies and slander”.  [283•* 

p Anti-communism is imperialism’s chief and most concentrated ideological weapon directly serving the class interests of monopoly capital. The bourgeois ideologues fall over backwards trying to prove that modern capitalism has undergone a drastic reform and has even acquired new stimuli opening up to it prospects of a lasting boom and prosperity. These aims are served by the spate of talk, so fashionable now in the capitalist countries, about “planned”, “harmonious”, “constructive”, “democratic” capitalism, and so forth.

p Our ideological opponents are compelled to reckon with the vast dissemination and triumphal victories of MarxismLeninism, and its decisive impact on the development of the world revolutionary process. Hence their furious attacks on Marxism-Leninism, their attempts to explode and discredit this doctrine in the eyes of the masses and the progressive public. In these circumstances it would be wrong to underestimate our opponent. The growing activity of the bourgeois ideological forces sets new important tasks before 284 our scientists, namely, those of mounting a powerful offensive along the whole front against modern bourgeois ideology, subjecting bourgeois concepts and views to searching and well-argued criticism and disclosing the reactionary class meaning of bourgeois ideology in all its forms and manifestations. We shall never renounce our commitment to the principles of Marxism-Leninism, to the revolutionary spirit of this great doctrine.

Fifth, stepping up theoretical work is necessitated by the complex circumstances that have arisen in the international communist and labour movement. The fight against Right and “Left” revisionism is not just a short-lived campaign objective that can be achieved by mere propaganda means. It is a mistake to think that the prevailing revisionist theories will disappear of themselves. They will not quit the stage without a struggle. The job of the Marxist-Leninist social sciences is to demolish them by the force of party conviction and scientific demonstration, by the power of dialectical thinking and the irresistible logic of argumentation. We have to conduct an uncompromising and consistent ideological struggle, backed by the whole militant experience of Marxist-Leninist teaching, in order to clear the road to communism of all and every ideological junk. Consequently, theory must continue to pave the way for practice, serve as a true compass in the advance towards communism.