p In a class society social consciousness acquires a class nature. The totality of political, legal, moral, artistic and other views and ideas of a certain class comprise its ideology.

p Why does ideology have a class nature? Why does each class create its own distinctive ideology? The reason is that in an antagonistic society the position of classes is by no means identical and that they have different social objectives and tasks. It is by means of a specific system of views that one class or another expresses and substantiates its place in society, protects its interests, strives to achieve its objectives and accomplish its tasks. Bourgeois ideology, for example, protects the interests of the bourgeoisie and endeavours to prove that the principles of private capitalist property and exploitation are eternal. The proletariat, on the other hand, is called upon to destroy capitalism and build socialism and communism—a society without classes and exploitation. In order to do this it needs a qualitatively new, socialist ideology.

p This means that a society divided into antagonistic classes cannot have just one ideology. It unavoidably has the ideology of the exploiting class and the ideology of the exploited class, and the dominating ideology is that of the economically and politically dominating class. A bitter ideological struggle which is a form of class struggle is an inherent feature of a class-divided society.

p Since ideology always has a class nature, one may ask if it is indeed a true ideology and does not misinterpret reality in order to further class interests. Revisionists maintain that ideology and truth are incompatible, that ideology sacrifices the truth to the interests of one class or another. Marxism, on the other hand, insists that ideology should be approached from concrete historical positions and that it is necessary to ascertain whether it expresses the interests of a progressive or a reactionary class. So long as one class or another plays a progressive role in the sociohistorical process and the interests of this class coincide with the development of objective reality, its ideology is a true reflection of reality. But once a class exhausts its progressive role and its interests clash with the actual course of 364 development, its ideology ceases to be a true ideology and misrepresents reality in order to promote its class interests.

p Let us take bourgeois ideology, for example. When the bourgeoisie fought against feudalism, its ideology reflected the world more or less truthfully. But as soon as the bourgeoisie came to power and exhausted its progressive potential turning into a brake arresting social development, bourgeois ideology lost its ability truthfully to reflect reality. “In place of disinterested inquirers, there were hired prizefighters; in place of genuine scientific research, the bad conscience and the evil intent of apologetic.”  [364•* 

Marxist-Leninist ideology, the ideology of the working class and all labouring people, is the only scientific, true ideology. The class interests of the working class and the objective course of history always coincide, so that at all stages of its development Marxist-Leninist ideology preserves its truthfulness.