p The new, the developing is necessary, but it does not arise at once. At first only definite prerequisites, factors making for its birth appear; these prerequisites then mature, develop, and by virtue of the operation of objective laws, the new object or phenomenon arises. These prerequisites for the birth of the new, which are present in the existing, are called possibilities. Thus, every germ possesses the possibility of development, of transformation into an adult organism. The adult organism which develops from the germ is a reality. Reality is the achieved, realised possibility.

p Possibilities stem from objective laws, are engendered by them. The law of the unity of the organism and the environment, for example, creates the possibility, through a change of external conditions, to act purposively on organisms, to create new species of plants and animals. Here, needless to say, it is necessary to take account of the heredity of the organism which in the final analysis determines the direction of its change. The law of planned, proportionate development of the national economy under socialism creates the possibility of planning, etc.

p Since objects and phenomena of the world are contradictory, possibilities, too, are contradictory. We should 147 differentiate between progressive (positive) and reactionary (negative) possibilities. Any social revolution, for example, contains both the positive possibility of victory by the progressive forces and the negative possibility of victory by the reactionary forces. But, owing to the operation of history’s objective laws, the progressive possibilities ultimately triumph, while victory of reactionary possibilities, although it occurs in some instances, is only temporary, transitory. The victory of reaction in the Russian revolution of 1905-07, for example, was temporary. A few years later, in 1917, the working class, in alliance with the peasants, won a decisive victory, first over tsarism, and then over the bourgeoisie.

p Like everything in the world, possibilities are in constant motion: some of them grow, while others diminish. The USSR was the first nation to break the chain of imperialism and for several years was surrounded by imperialist states. That is why immediately after the victory of the Revolution, alongside the possibility of socialism’s victory there was a certain possibility of the restoration of capitalism. As the strength of the Soviet Union grew, the possibility of socialism’s complete victory steadily increased and became reality. “Socialism,” it is stressed in the Programme of the CPSU, “which Marx and Engels scientifically predicted as inevitable and the plan for the construction of which was mapped out by Lenin, has become a reality in the Soviet Union.”  [147•*  On the other hand, as socialism advanced, the possibilities of restoring capitalism steadily diminished and now practically no longer exist, because there are no forces in the world which could restore capitalism in the Soviet Union and crush the mighty socialist community. The victory of socialism in the USSR is complete and final.

p Marxist dialectics differentiates between abstract and real possibilities.

p An abstract (formal) possibility is one which cannot be realised in the given historical conditions. The possibility of a collision between planets of the solar system and other large celestial bodies, for example, is abstract: the chance of its occurrence is infinitesimally small.

p Abstract, formal possibility must not be confused with 148 the impossible. The impossible can never be realised because it runs counter to objective laws. It is impossible, for example, to reconcile the interests of the bourgeoisie and the working class. Abstract possibility does not run counter to objective laws and, in principle, can become reality, but only when the appropriate conditions mature.

p A real possibility has prerequisites for realisation in given definite historical conditions. For example, the possibility of liberating all the colonies and dependent countries from foreign dependence is real. This process is in fact taking place at present.

The distinctions between abstract and real possibilities are relative. In the process of development an abstract possibility can become real. Only a few years ago the possibility of man’s flight to other planets was abstract because the technical facilities were lacking. Now, this possibility has become real, particularly after the world’s first orbital flights of Soviet cosmonauts. Man has already set foot on the Moon and the time is not far off when he will set foot on other planets of the solar system. The dream of Utopian Socialists early in the 19th century about the possibility of transition to socialism was abstract: at that time the force necessary for socialism had not yet matured, there was no adequately organised revolutionary proletariat. But in the present epoch this possibility has become real and has already turned into reality in a large part of the world.