p Philosophy is a form of social consciousness that represents a general idea of the world and of man’s place in it, i. e., it gives people the essential principles of their world outlook.

p The two opposite camps or trends in philosophy are materialism and idealism, which give dif- 166 terent answers to the principal question of philosophy: the relation of consciousness to matter. The history of philosophy is the history of the struggle between materialism and idealism, reflecting the struggle of classes. In this sense MarxismLeninism provided the theoretical basis for the partisanship of philosophy.

p Idealism has always been the ideology of the classes departing from the stage of history, that is, a reactionary ideology. The German idealism of the late 18th century and early 19th century, for example, was a reaction to the French Revolution of 1789 and to French materialism.

p Materialism is the ideology of the up-and- coming, historically progressive, classes. Such was 17th-century English and 18th-century French materialism.

p Russian 19th-century materialism holds a special place in the history of philosophy. Inasmuch as it was tied up with revolutionary democracy, it was superior to the West European pre-Marxian materialism.

p Pre-Marxian materialism had serious drawbacks, being metaphysical, contemplative, and inconsistent (history was approached from a purely idealistic standpoint).

p Dialectical and historical materialism was a new chapter in the history of philosophy. It stood for a revolution in philosophy, accomplished by Marx and Engels. The philosophy of dialectical 167 and historical materialism is cardinally different from all preceding philosophies in that it is connected with the emancipation movement of the masses. Unlike all preceding schools and trends in philosophy, as well as current bourgeois-idealistic doctrines, dialectical materialism is the world outlook of the broad popular masses. In Marxist philosophy, and in Marxism-Leninism in general, the proletarian masses have found a vehicle of their self-awareness and a means for revolutionary change in society.

p Dialectical and historical materialism is a scientific foundation for building communism, a sharp theoretical weapon of the people’s revolutionary struggle.

p By making masterful use of the achievements of science, Lenin developed Marxism as a whole, raised Marxist philosophy to a higher level in the new historical conditions, and enriched the revolutionary theory with new ideas.

Marxist-Leninist philosophy plays an important part in the life of society and in communist construction: 1) as a scientific theory and method of cognition and of the revolutionary transformation of reality; 2) as a key to the correct understanding of scientific discoveries, and to the philosophical problems posed by various sciences; this is very important nowadays, for science is rapidly developing; 3) as a powerful weapon in the ideological struggle with capitalism, as a means for 168 exposing unscientific bourgeois philosophy and ideology; 4) as a foundation for combatting of religious views and furthering the scientific vision of the world.