p As capitalism develops so does the proletariat, and the forms of its struggle against the bourgeoisie become more diverse and acute. There are three main forms of the proletariat’s class struggle—economic, political and ideological.

p Economic struggle, the effort of the proletariat to improve material and working conditions, is the simplest form most accessible to the workers. They demand higher wages, better working conditions, shorter hours and so on from the employers and if these demands are not met they go on strike.

p The economic struggle, historically the first form of the proletariat’s class struggle, plays a big part .in the development of the revolutionary movement. It helps to draw the mass of workers into the class struggle and serves as a good school of organisation for them. The class awareness of the workers and their class solidarity grow in the course of this struggle, and the first workers’ organisations—trade unions, co-operatives, mutual aid funds—appear.

p At the same time the economic struggle has a limited character. It is not yet the struggle of the entire working class against the bourgeoisie as a class, but clashes of groups of workers with one capitalist at a factory in a particular district or with several capitalists in one or another branch of production. Moreover—and this is the main thing—it does not affect the bases of capitalism, private property, and does not aim to overthrow the political rule of the bourgeoisie. The purpose of this struggle is not to abolish exploitation, but merely to restrict and mitigate it.

p With the growth of the proletariat, the economic struggle of the workers in individual factories and districts merges into the common struggle of the working class against the capitalist class as a whole. The class struggle enters its higher, political form.

p Political struggle is, in the final analysis, the struggle for the demolition of the mainstays of the capitalist system, for state power, for a working-class state.

p Through economic struggle the proletariat can somewhat improve its material conditions and wrest some economic concessions from the bourgeoisie. But it can satisfy its fundamental economic and political interests and abolish exploitation forever only by destroying the political rule of the bourgeoisie and establishing its own power.

p It is to achieve this aim that the proletariat wages the political struggle, employing the most diverse means: political strikes and demonstrations, peaceful parliamentary struggle and armed struggle. All these means, however, are in the final count subordinated to preparing and carrying out the socialist revolution. The socialist, proletarian revolution is the highest stage in the class struggle of the proletariat, a decisive and sole means of abolishing capitalism and winning political power.

p Of great importance in the proletariat’s revolutionary movement is the ideological struggle, i. e., the struggle against bourgeois ideology which dominates in capitalist society, and the struggle for the victory of the socialist, proletarian ideology.

p The development of capitalism inevitably solidifies and organises the proletariat. But to abolish, the capitalist system the proletariat must not only organise as a class, but also become conscious of its class interests, of its great historic mission. For this, revolutionary theory is needed. Due to the lack of sufficient time, means and adequate education, the proletariat was unable to create this theory. It was elaborated by intellectuals who sided with the proletariat. This new revolutionary theory was created by Marx, Engels and Lenin.

p The task, however, was not only to elaborate a progressive revolutionary theory, it was necessary to spread it among the workers. Ideological struggle is consequently a struggle against spontaneity in the working-class movement, struggle for the mastery of advanced Marxist-Leninist ideology by the working masses.

p Marxist-Leninist theory is constantly being attacked by bourgeois ideologists, reformists and revisionists. Therefore, the effort to keep the Marxist-Leninist theory pure and to defend it from all enemies, above all from the ideology of imperialist reaction, is also a part of the ideological struggle.

Like the economic struggle, t,he ideological struggle is not an aim in itself; it is subordinated to political tasks, those of overthrowing the bourgeoisie and bringing the proletariat to power.