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[introduction.]

A multitude of the most diverse contradictions exists in the world. We come up against them all the time in our daily life. They are taken up by various sciences. Marxist dialectics, as distinct from the other sciences, studies the most general contradictions. We shall examine internal and external, antagonistic and non-antagonistic, basic and nonbasic contradictions, these being large and important groups of contradictions.

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Internal and External Contradictions

p Marxist dialectics first of all differentiates between internal and external contradictions.

p The interaction, the struggle of opposite sides of a given object make up its internal contradictions. The contradictory relations of a given object to its environment, to the objects of this environment are its external contradictions.

p The opponents of Marxist dialectics distort the role of different groups of contradictions in development. They deny the decisive significance of internal contradictions and regard external contradictions as the sole source of development. From their viewpoint, for example, the source of development of class society is not the struggle of opposite classes, but the contradiction between society and nature. They do not want to understand that the relation of man to nature as such and the degree of his domination over it depend on class relations in society, on the character of the social system.

p Both internal and external contradictions are inherent in objects and phenomena of the material world, but internal contradictions, contradictions within the object itself, are the principal, decisive ones in development. It is these contradictions that are the main source of development. Thus, Marxist dialectics regards motion as self-motion of matter, as internal motion, whose driving forces or impulses are contained within the developing objects and phenomena themselves.

p The interaction, the struggle of wave and corpuscular properties of matter, the forces of attraction and repulsion, assimilation and dissimilation and other opposites, which we mentioned earlier as the sources of development in various spheres of reality, are not introduced into objects and phenomena from outside, but are inherent in them.

p Internal contradictions are the source of development because they determine the appearance or nature of the object itself. If it were not for its internal contradictions, the object would not be what it is. An atom, for example, could not exist without the interaction, the “struggle” of the positively charged nucleus and negatively charged electrons; an organism could not exist without assimilation and dissimilation, and so on.

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p All outside influences exerted on an object are always refracted through its intrinsic contradictions, and this is also a manifestation of their determining role in development. Changes in the external environment merely give an impulse to the development of organisms. But in what direction and to what ends development ultimately leads depends in the final account on the organism’s metabolism, i.e., on the interaction of assimilation and dissimilation characteristic of this organism.

p The source of social development also lies in society itself, in its intrinsic internal contradictions. But the direction in which a country develops and what social system it has depend on how its internal, class contradictions are resolved. Revolution is not made to order, it cannot be imposed on the people from without. It was internal contradictions—between the peasants and the feudal class, between the working class and the bourgeoisie, between the broad masses and imperialism—that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and precipitated national democratic revolution in Ethiopia.

p It is true that there have been instances when the social system was imposed on a country by external reactionary forces. But regimes foisted on a people from outside are not stable and collapse at the first serious trial.

p Although materialist dialectics emphasises the decisive role of internal contradictions, it does not deny the significance of external contradictions in development. Their role is diverse and they are very often a necessary requisite for development. Such, for example, is the contradiction between society and nature from which man has to win his material wealth.

p External contradictions can facilitate development or impede it, lend it different shades or forms, but usually are unable to shape the main course of a process or of development as a whole. The victory of socialism in the Soviet Union, for example, was ensured by correctly resolving the internal contradictions, above all the antagonism between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie which had been overthrown but not yet fully liquidated. But the advance to socialism continued in spite of the external contradictions that existed between the Soviet state and the capitalist countries, which did everything in their power to restore the 87 capitalist system in the USSR. Political boycott and economic blockade, foreign intervention in the early years of Soviet power, repeated military provocations and, lastly, the Nazi invasion greatly impeded the Soviet Union’s development, but all these intrigues of imperialism could not halt the victorious advance of socialism.

p Since internal contradictions determine the development of all objects and phenomena, it is especially necessary in practical activity to be able to bring to light and resolve these contradictions. At the same time it is essential not to neglect the external contradictions either, because they, too, are important in development.

Success cannot be achieved unless the interconnection, interaction of internal and external contradictions are taken into account.

Antagonistic and Non-Antagonistic Contradictions

p When we speak of antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions we have in mind above all the sphere of social phenomena. It is true that there are antagonisms of a certain kind in living organisms—between certain types of bacteria, predatory and non-predatory animals, and between some plants—but they must not be confused with social antagonisms.

p Antagonistic contradictions are above all contradictions between classes, whose interests are irreconcilably hostile. These are the most acute and obvious contradictions caused by the profoundly opposite conditions of life, by the aims and purposes of different classes. The main feature of these contradictions is that they cannot be resolved within the framework of the social system of which they are typical. As they grow deeper and more acute, these antagonistic contradictions lead to bitter clashes, to conflicts. A social revolution is the only means for resolving them.

p The contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is the most acute and profound contradiction in capitalist society. The antagonism between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is a result of their objective positions in society. The bourgeoisie owns all the means of production and by virtue of this appropriates the lion’s share of the material wealth produced by society. It dominates politically and enjoys everything that culture can give. The 88 proletariat owns no means of production and hence is compelled to work for the bourgeoisie. It produces all the material wealth but receives only a negligible part of it. Its political rights are limited and it is frequently deprived of the possibility of benefiting from scientific and cultural achievements.

p The interests of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat are diametrically opposite: the bourgeoisie seeks to perpetuate its rule, while the proletariat wants to emancipate itself from exploitation. As a result, a bitter class struggle goes on between them, which inevitably ends in the socialist revolution. The class struggle and the socialist revolution are thus special forms of resolving capitalism’s antagonistic contradictions.

p Bourgeois ideologists and revisionists deny the existence of class antagonisms in contemporary capitalist society. They call a bourgeois state a “welfare state”, and assert that in a modern capitalist society there are no antagonistic classes and no class struggle. These fabrications are needed to slacken the vigilance of the working class and weaken its positions in the struggle against the bourgeoisie.

p In reality, however, far from vanishing, these antagonistic contradictions of capitalism are growing more and more acute. They will remain as long as capitalism exists and will disappear only with the victory of socialism.

p A distinguishing feature of the developing countries is the antagonistic contradiction between the counter-revolutionary front (the feudal class, and compradore and bureaucratic bourgeoisie), which is supported by imperialism, and the broad front of revolutionary forces that rests on the alliance of workers and peasants. A close ally of the revolutionary front is the petty bourgeoisie; other oppressed sections of society, and progressive and patriotic elements which have transcended the limits of their class also side with the revolutionary front.

p This contradiction is solved when the resistance of the counter-revolutionary forces is crushed by the combined efforts of the revolutionary forces, the working class and the peasantry in the first place. The solution of this contradiction begins in the course of the national democratic revolution and is completed in the course of the socialist revolution.

p Non-antagonistic contradictions are contradictions 89 between those classes and social groups, whose fundamental interests coincide. These contradictions are gradually overcome and are not solved through a social revolution. Such, for example, are the contradictions between the working class and the peasants. Under capitalism the town exploits the country and, to a certain degree, the peasant extends his animosity for the town to the worker. The peasant owns property (land, draught animals, implements, etc.) and is interested in preserving it. The worker, on the other hand, has no property. The interests of the workers and peasants also clash in the market where the peasant tries to sell the products of his labour at the highest price possible. Taken together, all this makes for certain contradictions between the working class and the peasants under capitalism.

p The interests of the workers and the peasants are contradictory in particular things, but in the fundamental thing they fully coincide: they are both exploited classes. That is why they strive to put an end to exploitation and in this. fundamental question their interests are identical. This community of fundamental interests creates an objective basis for the alliance of the working class and the peasants in the struggle against the capitalist system.

p The CPSU took into account the community of the vital interests of the workers and peasants, and united them in a mighty social force which defeated capitalism. Subsequently, in the course of socialist construction, the contradictions between the working class and the peasants, inherited from capitalism, were eliminated and their unity in the common effort to build socialism and communism is becoming ever stronger and more invincible.

The contradictions of socialist society, too, are of a nonantagonistic nature; this will be explained later in greater detail.

Basic and Non-Basic Contradictions

p Objects and phenomena, from the simplest to the most complex, contain not one but several contradictions simultaneously.

p To find our way in all these contradictions we must single out the basic, cardinal contradiction. The basic contradiction is that which plays the decisive, leading part in development and influences all other contradictions.

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p The basic, decisive contradiction of the chemical process, for example, is the contradiction between association and dissociation of atoms; of the biological process, the contradictory nature of metabolism, etc.

p It is particularly important to find the basic contradiction of social life, which is exceptionally complex and many-sided. The discovery of this basic contradiction helps the advanced classes of society and the Marxist parties to elaborate the correct line of action and efficiently organise practical work.

p A mass of contradictions is present in contemporary society. In any capitalist country there is the antagonism between the social character of the production process and the private form of appropriation, between labour and capital. There are contradictions between capitalist countries, between their groupings, blocs, and so on. Certain contradictions and differences exist between socialist countries.

p Which is the basic, decisive contradiction in this multitude of contradictions in contemporary society?

p The contradiction between the forces of socialism, as represented by the world socialist system, on the one hand, and the reactionary forces of imperialism, on the other, is the basic, decisive contradiction of contemporary society as a whole. It embodies two lines, two historical trends. One, represented by the world socialist system, is the line of progress, peace and constructive endeavour. The other, represented by imperialism, is the line of reaction, oppression and wars.

p The contradiction between socialism and imperialism has a tremendous impact on the entire course of world history. It influences the struggle of classes in the capitalist countries themselves, the struggle of the peoples in the colonies and dependent countries against their oppressors and the contradictions between the imperialist countries themselves. The existence of the world socialist system is a great stumbling block to the imperialists and prevents them from unleashing another world war and from trampling upon the sovereign rights of other nations with impunity; it fires the hearts of working people in capitalist countries with confidence in the righteousness of their cause and lends them strength in their struggle against the exploiters. As the 91 socialist system develops economically, politically and culturally, its influence in the world grows. That is why Marxist parties organise their practical work with account for the operation of this paramount contradiction of our age-the constant growth in the might of the socialist forces and the weakening of the imperialist and reactionary forces.

p The basic contradiction of the present epoch, the contradiction between socialism and imperialism, does not remove the deep contradictions within the capitalist world.

p The Final Document of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties held in Moscow in June 1969 notes that contemporary conditions are characterised by the aggravation of the existing contradictions of capitalism and the rise of new ones. In the first place, they include the contradiction between the unusual opportunities afforded by the scientific and technical revolution and the obstacles to their exploitation in the interests of the whole of society which capitalism creates by using a large part of scientific achievements and enormous material resources for military purposes, thus squandering national wealth; »the contradiction between the social character of modem production and the state-monopoly character of controlling it; the growing contradiction between labour and capital and also the deepening antagonism between the interests of the overwhelming majority of the nation and the financial oligarchy; the aggravation of the contradiction between the newly-free countries and imperialism, which endeavours to shackle them with the fetters of neocolonialism.

p It is up to the Marxist parties to make the most of all the contradictions of capitalism and thus wage a successful struggle for peace, democracy, national liberation and socialism.

p There are no hard and fast boundaries between internal and external, antagonistic and non-antagonistic, basic and non-basic contradictions. In reality they are intertwined, pass into one another and play a different part in development. That is why each contradiction should be approached separately, taking into account the conditions in which it manifests itself and the role it plays.

p The Communist Party of the Soviet Union approaches 92 the contradictions of social development concretely: it takes into account historical conditions, singles out the chief contradictions and employs the main forces and resources to resolve them. In the first years ef Soviet power the contradiction between the advanced political system established in the country and the backward economy inherited from tsarist Russia made itself felt very strongly. This contradiction was solved in the process of industrialisation.

As industrialisation made headway, the contradiction between socialist industry and small-scale peasant farming became more and more acute. This contradiction, too, was solved by the efforts of the people and the Party through the organisation of the peasants in collective farms. The elimination of these contradictions was of decisive significance in building socialism in the Soviet Union.