p Knowledge of the dialectics of essence and phenomenon is very important in social life, in science and practical activity.

p This knowledge gives scientists the confidence that however complex the process of cognising the phenomena they 135 study, however deeply essence is hidden behind these phenomena, it will eventually become known. Astronomers, for example, conducted thorough observations of the Sun for many years. With the aid of instruments they discovered spots and protuberances on the Sun and traced the fluxes of various particles emitted by the Sun. But all these phenomena by themselves gave no clue to the processes taking place within the Sun, to the source of solar energy. It took science a long time to discover the essence of the processes behind these phenomena. It was ascertained that a thermonuclear reaction (formation of helium from hydrogen) takes place in the Sun. It is the colossal energy released as a result of this reaction that maintains the very high temperature of the Sun.

p Knowledge of essence is particularly indispensable because phenomena often tend to give a false idea of the character of processes. It seems to us, for example, that the Sun moves around the Earth, while in reality we know that the Earth moves around the Sun. It might seem that broad democracy exists in the imperialist world; after all, universal suffrage, freedom of speech, of the press, freedom to form political parties and groups, etc., are proclaimed there. But in reality democracy under imperialism is a mere deception, it is limited democracy, democracy only for the rich.

p Knowledge based only on manifestations of essence, cannot give a correct picture of the world or serve as a guide to action. Inability to differentiate phenomenon from essence leads to serious mistakes in theory and practice.

p The founders of Marx ism-Leninism made unique analyses of the essence of social phenomena. Among them is the discovery by Marx of the essence of capitalist production which constituted a whole epoch in the development of social thought.

p Bourgeois economists and sociologists, confining themselves to a study of phenomena, of what only appears to be true, have claimed, and continue to claim, that there is no exploitation in capitalist society, that the worker receives all that he earns from the capitalist. From their point of view, the source of capitalist profit is not the exploitation of the workers, but the capital invested by the capitalists in production.

p What is the real state of affairs?

p In reality the situation is entirely different. The worker 136 needs a certain amount of means of subsistence for himself and for his family. To obtain them he is compelled to sell his labour to the capitalist. It may appear that an ordinary purchase-and-sale transaction takes place between the worker and the capitalist: the worker sells his labour and the capitalist buys it; the worker works, while the capitalist pays him wages.

p Outwardly it seems to be an equal transaction between the capitalist and the worker. Bourgeois ideologists, limiting themselves to it, arrive at the absolutely false conclusion that under capitalism there is no exploitation. They do not want to see the true essence of capitalist production.

p Marx did not confine himself to an analysis of the superficial phenomena of capitalist society. Behind the phenomenon, the semblance of an equal transaction between the capitalist and the worker, he disclosed the exploitative essence of capitalist production. Marx showed that labour power is a special commodity capable of producing material values. Moreover, the values it produces are worth much more than the wages paid by the capitalist. The capitalist pays for only part of the value of the goods produced by the worker and keeps the rest. It is this, and this only, that is the source of capitalist profit.

p Marx’s discovery of the essence of capitalist exploitation is of tremendous historical importance. It made it possible to reveal the basis of the antagonism between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, to show why struggle between them is inevitable and ultimately leads to the socialist revolution and the fall of capitalism.

p This classical example of how social phenomena should be analysed clearly shows the immense importance which knowledge of the essence of objects and processes has for science and revolutionary practice.

And so, we have analysed the individual and the universal, content and form, essence and phenomenon, i. e., everything that helps us to understand a given object or phenomenon. Objects and phenomena, however, do not exist in isolation, but are interconnected and none of them can be understood outside of this connection. To study an object in connection with others means above all to establish the cause of its origin. Now we shall examine the categories of cause and effect.