p Our century is the century of triumphal dissemination of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism throughout the world. Millions of the exploited and oppressed masses today are marching under its victorious banner. It can be said that our epoch is one in which the world’s progressive forces are gathering en masse around the banner of the working class. The nations fighting for their freedom and independence against imperialism are turning away from capitalism. The bourgeoisie itself is making less and less use of the discredited banner of capitalism and prefers to screen it behind pseudo-democratic phraseology.

p It would be well here to remember that when capitalism ousted feudalism the latter’s ideologues, appealing for aid to the working class, were not averse to talk about democracy and socialism. Marx and Engels in their time ridiculed these so-called democrats and socialists. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party they wrote: "The aristocracy, in order to rally the people to them, waved the proletarian alms-bag in front for a banner. But the people, so often as it joined them, saw on their hindquarters the old feudal coats of arms, and deserted with loud and irreverent laughter.”  [292•* 

p Now too, when imperialism, under the guise of defending democracy (of the brand of the Saigon regime in South Vietnam or the despotism of the Black Colonels in Greece), succeeds in intervening in the internal affairs of one or another country in order to enslave its people, the masses are quick to detect on the hindquarters of these champions of democracy the telltale traces of their bloody crimes, and 293 not only flee with loud and irreverent laughter but take up arms in order to overthrow their oppressors and enslavers. Imperialism is in the grip of an intense political and ideological crisis. To keep the people in fear and submission the ruling classes are resorting more and more often to fascist methods of rule, terror and violence. There was a time when the bourgeoisie launched its struggle under the banner of liberty, equality and fraternity; that banner soon turned into the yellow flag of betrayal of the ideals of the past; and now the bourgeoisie is approaching the end of its road under the banner of brown and black reaction.

p Imperialism stands compromised on the major and vital issues of our age—-those of peace and war, of the freedom and independence of nations. The imperialists are running amuck upon the lands of other peoples with flaming firebrands, kindling the fires of war now in one place now in another. They resemble those incendiaries who are incessantly engaged in pouring oil on the flames. But like history which keeps its record of time, the peoples are keeping their own record of the bloody crimes of imperialism.

p Monopoly capitalism has adopted the ideology of militarism, which expresses its true nature and inner essence. Imperialist ideologues and propagandists preach the aggressive doctrine of "preventive war", “escalation” of military operations, "balance of terror", “megadeath”, etc. All this, mind you, in the name of peace, which cannot be secured, they say, unless communism is destroyed. Such is the logic of imperialism, which is unleashing bloody aggression and preparing a nuclear world war. In this context Lenin’s warning as to the need for exposing the secrets in which war is bred sounds as forceful as ever.

p The irreconcilable struggle between the communist and bourgeois ideologies which started over a century ago shows that world social development is steering a course towards the inevitable downfall of capitalism and triumph of socialism and communism. Only fear of this inevitable denouncement can explain the now recurrent appeals by prominent statesmen and politicians in the capitalist countries to organise a global assault upon communism and erect a worldwide dam to prevent communist ideas from percolating among the masses.

p Having failed in their attempts to overthrow socialism by force of arms and having lost faith in the possibility of 294 strangling the socialist countries economically, the bosses of the capitalist world are now staking on ideological subversion against communism. Bourgeois ideologues had never been fastidious about the choice of weapons to fight the ideas of communism, but the methods which they now use point to an extreme degree of moral degradation. An increasing number of radio stations, organs of the press and institutes are specialising on anti-socialist fabrications. Persistent efforts are being made to co-ordinate anti-communist propaganda not only within the respective capitalist countries, but on an international scale.

p In these circumstances there is no task more important for Communists, for the great army of social science workers and for all scholars than that of waging a systematic struggle for the purity of the great ideas of Marxism-Leninism, creatively developing theory on the basis »of historical and modern practice and concentrating on research into the most urgent problems of Marxism-Leninism. The whole spirit of revolutionary theory demands this of us. The great ideas of Lenin urge us forward to ceaseless creative effort and struggle.

The Lenin centenary symbolised the triumph of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism. Never before has the history of man known such a triumph of any single scientific teaching, of any single theory. The unprecedented participation of different countries, parties and organisations in the centenary celebrations was a striking demonstration of the infinite love which the world’s working classes bear for Lenin and the socialist land of his birth, and the great drawing power of his teachings as materialised in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It was a striking manifestation of the principles of true proletarian internationalism. The centenary of Lenin’s birth was an outstanding event in the world revolutionary movement contributing to the unity of the Communist and Workers’ Parties. Indeed, it was a great political battle against bourgeois ideology and its votaries in defence of the undying principles of Marxism-Leninism.