p The concept of essence is similar to the concept of content but is not identical with it. Whereas content represents the sum-total of all elements and processes constituting a given object, essence is the chief, internal, relatively stable side of an object (or the total of its sides and relations). Essence determines the nature of an object, all its other sides and characteristics follow from it.

p Metabolism is the essence of a living organism. It underlies all the vital functions and comprises the inner nature of all living bodies. As Engels pointed out, from metabolism, which represents the essential function of protein, follow all other factors of life: irritability, contractibility, the possibility of growth, internal movement.  [132•* 

p In social phenomena essence also expresses the internal, chief side of processes. Describing imperialism, the higher stage of capitalism, Lenin defined it as monopoly capitalism. It is monopoly rule, which has replaced rivalry, that is the essence of imperialism. From the domination of the monopolies stem all other features of imperialism, above all the extraction of monopoly superprofits by those capitalists who are members of monopoly associations. In their quest for superprofits the imperialists form international monopoly unions and divide the world into their spheres of influence, monopolise finance, export capital instead of goods, and intensify the exploitation of the working people in their own countries and also of the peoples in the colonies and dependencies. All this extremely aggravates capitalism’s intrinsic contradictions. Imperialism is the stage of decaying, moribund capitalism, it is the eve of the socialist revolution.

p National liberation revolutions, too, have their essence, 133 namely, to win national independence, cast off the political and economic oppression of world capitalism, promote national economies and culture, and create people’s democratic states.

p The essence of socialist society is the dominance of socialist property, absence of exploitation, planned economy, cooperation and mutual assistance of members of society, and the fullest satisfaction of the material and cultural requirements of the members of society through the development and improvement of production on the basis of advanced techniques.

p What is a phenomenon? A phenomenon is the outward, direct expression of essence, the form in which it is manifested. Metabolism as the essence of everything living is revealed in the most diverse phenomena. It is manifested in the nearly half a million species of plants and about one and a half million species of animals. All of them differ from each other in appearance and degree of development; they assimilate nutrition, grow and propagate differently.

p The essence of imperialism is manifested in the aggressive wars (world and local) which it unleashes; in the arms race;in the ever deepening general crisis (economic, political and moral) of capitalism; in the intensified exploitation of the labouring people; in the growing unemployment; in the decline in living standards; in the growth of crime; in the increasing exploitation of undeveloped and dependent countries, etc.

The essence of socialism is expressed in the following phenomena of daily Soviet life: the peaceful foreign policy of the USSR; the steady improvement of the Soviet people’s wellbeing; large-scale construction of new factories and powerful electric stations; vigorous technical progress in the most diverse branches of the economy; the unprecedented pace of building houses and cultural establishments; reduction of the working day; rising wages; improvement of social maintenance and everyday services, etc.