p We are witnessing the development of the scientific and technical revolution caused by the enormous progress in automation, radioelectronics and telemechanics, by the use of atomic energy, exploration of outer space, and breakthroughs in cybernetics, chemistry, physics, biology and other sciences.

p The scientific and technical revolution embraces not only science and technology, but also production. Profound qualitative changes take place in the equipment and technology of production and its energy base. The character of labour also changes, becoming more and more intellectual. The progress of science and technology, cybernetics in the first place, makes it possible to mechanise and automate physical as well as certain types of mental labour. Cultural and professional standards and the qualification of the workers are growing.

p The significance of the scientific and technical revolution is so immense that not a single more or less important event in modern history can be understood without a searching analysis of that revolution and mainly of its social consequences.

p In our day scientific and technical progress has become one of the main arenas of the struggle and competition of the two opposing social systems—socialism and capitalism. “Those who have the greatest technical equipment, organisation and discipline, and the best machines, will gain the upper hand,”  [392•*  said Lenin. He did not consider it possible to build socialism without mastering science and technology.

p Fulfilling Lenin’s behests the CPSU promotes the development of science and technology, it sees to it that science is introduced into diverse fields of social life and that fuller use is made of the opportunities opened by scientific and technical progress to accelerate economic growth and meet the requirements of all members of society.

p The main impellent of scientific and technical progress under capitalism are profit and bitter rivalry. It is the quest 393 for profits, the desire to vanquish their rivals on the market that compels capitalists to promote science and on its basis improve technology and engineering. Capitalists in the USA, Britain, FRG, Japan and other highly industrialised countries astutely use scientific and technological achievements to increase production, raise labour productivity, improve the quality of production and so forth. In this respect it would be a grave mistake to underestimate scientific and technological progress in these countries and even more so to ignore their experience in implementing it in production, inasmuch as this experience can and ought to be applied under socialism, but, needless to say, with due consideration for the qualitative specifics of the socialist economy.

p At the same time there are glaring contradictions in scientific and technical progress in capitalist society, where science and technology are instruments of exploitation. It is not accidental, therefore, that imperialism often dooms science and engineering to a one-sided development, for the monopolists are concerned mainly with developing those branches of science which spell greater profits. One of their priorities is to expand branches of the war industry, for arms production is the most lucrative business.’ Militarisation is a characteristic and very dangerous aspect of science and technology in contemporary capitalist society.

p Thanks to progress in science and engineering capitalist production expands, while the purchasing power of the population is limited, and sales on foreign markets are impeded by rivalry. New machines and mechanisms drive masses of working people out of the sphere of production, and unemployment increases. As a result, the purchasing power falls and scientific and technical progress is slowed down. Anarchy and rivalry give rise to commercial secrets in science and this, too, stands in the way of scientific and technical cooperation and leads to parallelism in research. The monopolies shelve thousands of important inventions and discoveries until their “commercial value" rises.

p The scientific and technical revolution under socialism has totally different objectives,’prospects and consequences. It affirms the planned organisation of production in order to ensure the wellbeing and all-round development of all members of society. That is why socialism and communism give ample room for the advance of the scientific and 394 technical revolution and use the achievements of science and technology in the interests of the people and not to their detriment. “We Communists proceed from the belief that the scientific and technical revolution acquires a true orientation consistent with the interests of man and society only under socialism,” states the Report of the CPSU Central Committee to the 25th CPSU Congress. “In turn, the end objectives of the social revolution, the building of a communist society, can only be attained on the basis of accelerated scientific and technical progress.”  [394•* 

p In socialist society science is an important means of developing production and raising the material and cultural standards of the working people. The natural sciences play a decisive role in technical progress and in the development of production skills of the working people, and enhance their cultural and technical level. The social sciences are also very important. By equipping people with knowledge of the laws of the functioning and development of society, they constitute the scientific foundation for directing economic and social processes and play a great part in the communist education of the people and in fostering dialectical-materialistic outlook. Under socialism science is a mighty weapon of peace, creativity and unprecedented social progress.

p Another distinguishing feature of Soviet science is its profound ikinship with the people. This kinship manifests itself not only in the fact that science serves the people, but also in that the people have gained wide access to science. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet scientists come from the very midst of the people to whom they dedicate all their strength and knowledge. Together with the scientists millions of innovators of production, inventors and rationalisers ensure the progress of Soviet science.

p The socialist system enables society to conduct research according to a general state plan and to coordinate the work of numerous scientific institutions so that scientists can concentrate on the most important problems. The dialecticalmaterialistic outlook prevailing in socialist society rids science of the morbid influence of idealism and religion and equips scientists with the only truly scientific methodology 395 of studying natural and social processes.

As communist construction continues, science draws ever closer to production, which in its turn more and more extensively draws upon scientific achievements. Science is increasingly turning into a genuine productive force.