**Marxism-Leninism is the science of the future**

(Reprinted from the August 22, 1998 issue of the People's 
Weekly World. May be reprinted or reposted with PWW credit. 
For subscription information see below)

By Gus Hall, national chair of the Communist Party USA 

The true value of any science is constantly weighed and 
tested as to whether it is a living, growing, expanding and 
deepening body of thought. Does it continue to be a true 
reflection and expression of the ever-changing essence of 
reality?

In the deepest sense, the revolutionary science to which 
Karl Marx gave birth, that Frederick Engels enlarged and 
Vladimir Lenin so creatively extended and developed, meets 
the most critical test of a science for our times and for 
the future.

In the process of his exhaustive studies, Marx created a 
new way of studying, a new approach to probing 
developments, a new method of observing things.

He showed why it was always necessary to penetrate, to get 
beneath the surface or veneer, and not to accept the 
appearance of a thing as the real thing.

Why know the laws?

In order to get at the essence, the essential core of 
developments, it is necessary to know the objective laws of 
social, economic and human development. To know these inner 
laws is to know the present.

But even more important, we can gain knowledge of what is 
coming by knowing the laws that bring about all change. 
This enables us to predict scientifically, not by 
premonition, superstition or guessing. 

Understanding of the laws of capitalist development is a 
powerful factor in the struggle against capitalism. It 
gives the working class the ability to synchronize its 
actions with the objective processes taking place in life, 
in objective reality.

It provides the revolutionary movement with guidelines on 
how to take advantage of weaknesses in the ranks of the 
class enemy.

It is a necessary foundation for solving such tactical 
questions as timing, disposition of forces, nature of 
alliances, etc. It is an absolute necessity for a mass 
approach to struggles.

Only by use of this science is it possible for the class-
conscious sector of the working class movement to determine 
when the objective processes and the subjective factors are 
ready for a new stage of struggle.

Tactics and timing are, therefore, closely related to a 
scientific, ongoing assessment of objective reality.

Everyone sees objective reality, the processes and stages 
in society, from a class viewpoint. The ruling, capitalist 
class denies the existence of such laws because these laws 
expose the greedy, exploitive, anti-human, predatory nature 
of capitalism and show that just as capitalism grew out of 
feudalism, capitalism is now on its way off the stage of 
history to make way for a more advanced socioeconomic 
system - socialism. 

Analyzing & predicting

In the Communist Manifesto, Marx asserted that the 
capitalist system, during its rule of scarce one hundred 
years, had created more massive and more colossal 
productive forces than had all preceding generations 
together.


In a sense, it is precisely because of the big monopolies 
and the vast expansion of the productive forces under 
capitalism, that it has outgrown itself.

Capitalism, because of its inherent contradictions, because 
of private ownership and lack of planning in production, 
has now become an obstacle to the further development and 
progress of society.

Capitalism was an advance over slavery and feudalism. It 
was able to use the technology of its day. But now, 
capitalism is increasingly out of step with modern times.

Knowledge of and application of the laws of society also 
enable us to analyze more recent capitalist developments 
like monopolization, conglomerization, globalization and 
privatization, all processes in the overall development and 
processes of capitalism. 

These new processes mean huge layoffs, the end of any job 
security and, as Marx said, the increasing "pauperization" 
of the working class. 

We understand and analyze these new trends and developments 
by examining all the processes and changes in capitalism as 
it develops from one stage to another. We do it by tracing 
the changes in the production process and the class forces 
in relation to that process. 

The reality of life is many-faceted, many processes are 
taking place in a particular stage of development. Each of 
these processes influences the others and together they 
influence the total process, the overall direction of 
developments.

Today, based on the inner laws of monopolies and 
imperialism, we know how U.S. capitalism must operate, must 
fall into and out of constant crises, must maximize profits 
and must ultimately be replaced by socialism.

In other words, in order to keep maximizing profits, the 
monopolies eat up smaller, weaker companies. Today, they 
merge with or take over huge corporations and thus become 
conglomerates, huge global monopolies. They keep downsizing 
to save money on labor, the source of all their profits, 
while forcing the remaining workers to work harder for less 
wages. They drive to privatize for their private profits 
all the public services, systems and institutions like 
hospitals, schools, sanitation, transportation, public 
lands and property. 

Laws applied to life

Corporate profits come only from one source, from the 
exploitation of workers. The more exploitation, the more 
profits. Speedup means squeezing more production for less 
pay. Wages have been declining for over 20 years. 

The lower wages of part-time workers means "double-time" 
corporate profits. Downsizing means mass layoffs, more 
profits. 

Racism means more profits. Discrimination resulting in 
lower wage scales means increased profits for monopoly 
capital.

The ideology of racism is based on the economics of 
profits. Racism was designed by the ruling class to justify 
inequality in jobs, wages and hiring.

The inequality of women is profitable. The lower wages for 
women workers means corporations reap more surplus value 
(profits). 

High technology is more profitable. But under capitalism it 
means lower wages and loss of jobs.


Thus, the gap between the haves and have-nots in our 
country is one of the widest in the world. Two-thirds of 
all the wealth of our land is owned by 10 percent of the 
very rich. 

Over six decades of fierce and bitter class struggles by 
workers and their unions, an economic safety net of 
government programs was won - Social Security, unemployment 
insurance, welfare, disability and food stamps.

Today the most reactionary sector of the ruling class, 
represented by the ultra-right Republicans in Congress like 
Newt Gingrich and his "Contract on America," are pushing to 
gut all the programs that have served as an economic safety 
net for the laid-off, the very poor, the sick, disabled and 
elderly.

Their assault on food stamps, welfare, education, has 
created misery, starvation and permanent poverty for new 
millions.

State-monopoly capitalism is moving in a rightward, 
reactionary, in some areas even a fascist-like direction. 
It is increasingly anti-working class, anti-trade union, 
anti-democratic and anti-people.

Basic flaws

However, from the very beginning capitalism had very 
serious basic flaws because by its very nature the system 
favors a small minority, the ruling class of corporate 
America and Wall Street. It is a system in which the rich 
get richer, the poor get poorer. The richer, the more 
economic and political power. 

The biggest inherent flaw, and the most basic contradiction 
of capitalism, is between the social nature of production 
(that more and more workers collectively produce all the 
wealth) and the increasingly private ownership of that 
wealth, the means of production (factories, tools, machines 
and mines), including natural resources, land and public 
property.

Buying and selling distributes profits. This process does 
not make profits. Only workers' labor power makes profits. 
The class struggle is the very essence of the struggle 
between the workers and the corporations. It is a struggle 
over the value that the working class produces.

Today, more than ever, workers are locked in the battle 
with corporate America for a bigger share of what workers 
produce. The power and organs of government (the state), 
and most laws that are passed, are weapons in this 
struggle. 

Every process has a general direction it is moving in. For 
capitalism, the processes are now mainly negative. 
Capitalism goes in and out of crises. But the general 
direction is off the stage of history to make way for 
socialism.

What's happening today

What is the general direction of social and economic 
developments today, especially in relation to the class 
struggle?

The ruling class - corporate America - is moving in the 
direction of accelerating mergers, forming ever larger, 
giant global conglomerates, using the processes of 
downsizing, conglomerization, globalization and 
privatization to extend and expand its reach and power.

The working class is being victimized by ever higher rates 
of exploitation, by mass layoffs, a lower standard of 
living and quality of life. On the other hand, it is also 
moving in the direction of greater militancy, class 

struggle trade unionism and radicalization. 

In the last two years, the number of workers joining unions 
has increased. There are more workers on strike and the 
strikes are bigger and last longer.

Ideologically, the working class is moving in the general 
direction of class consciousness and some are moving 
towards "Bill of Rights" socialism.

The middle class is increasing in size. The number of 
professionals remain constant. The number of scientific 
workers replacing industrial workers is increasing. The 
number of basic industrial workers is declining. The number 
of women workers is growing. 

The number of nationally and racially oppressed peoples is 
increasing, especially the African-American, Mexican-
American, Latino, Asian and American Indian peoples are 
growing. 

The number of African-American and Mexican-American workers 
is increasing. However, when compared to general wage 
scales, their wages are declining. 

The number of children working, mostly in sweatshops, is 
increasing.

And, we now have what can be called "technological 
unemployment," machines replacing labor. It is estimated 
that, in the next ten years, for every 3,000 jobs high tech 
industries create 50,000 jobs will be lost. 

The ever-new advances in science and technology have become 
entangled in the monopolies' single-minded determination to 
milk all the benefits of production for their private 
profits. 

The number of overall jobless is increasing. The number of 
part-time workers is increasing.

The number living in poverty is growing. The number of 
homeless is increasing. The number of people in prison, 
especially African Americans and Latinos, keeps growing.

Because of takeovers by agribusiness, the number of family 
farmers is dwindling.

The number of people on drugs and afflicted with AIDS keeps 
increasing. 

There are more unpaid mortgages and bank loans than ever 
before, more people going bankrupt and driven into poverty.

Taxes on workers keep going up, while taxes on the rich are 
going down.

Health care keeps declining and the costs keep climbing. 
The number of workers without health insurance is growing. 

All entitlements, but especially Social Security, welfare 
and public education, are under attack. 

Thus, for the working class and poor people the quality of 
life under capitalism is on a steady decline. 
Radicalization, militancy and working class unity - Black, 
Brown and white - are on the rise.

The overall, long-term development of all societies is in 
the direction of socialism. Whatever is positive in 
capitalism, socialism will adopt. That is the basis for the 
concept, "Bill of Rights Socialism."

It is clear, when you put all these processes together, 
that capitalism is on the declining side of history, 
including in countries like Japan and Russia, which are 
sinking ever deeper into debt and crisis. 

The crisis in the Asian countries and Japan are beginning 
to impact negatively on the U.S. economy. The extreme 
volatility and instability of the stock market indicates 
that capitalism is in long term trouble. 


Laws ... & class struggle

The laws of socioeconomic systems and, specifically, the 
laws of capitalist development are of great political 
significance today, because when we become aware of these 
laws we come to understand the pivotal role of the class 
struggle in an exploitive society.

When we are conscious of the economic laws, we then 
inevitably conclude that the working class is the only 
truly revolutionary class. 

Then we come to see that the laws of capitalist 
exploitation mold and compel the working class to be, as 
the Communist Manifesto says, "the main gravediggers of 
capitalism."

By the law-governed processes, the working class has become 
the main force for social change.

Not to see the leading role of the working class is not to 
see the direction of history, the direction of progress and 
social change.

... & revolution

However, the class struggle can only be resolved when the 
working class decides that living under capitalism has 
become intolerable, that capitalism can no longer meet the 
basic needs of the majority of people, especially the 
racially and nationally oppressed.

This contradiction can only be resolved by a revolutionary 
transformation of power and wealth from the capitalist 
class to the working class, from capitalism to socialism. 

The ruling class rejects and fears all concepts of laws 
because the objective laws are proof that they are the 
force holding back social progress, that history is leaving 
them behind, that capitalism is the old and socialism is 
replacing it with the new - including a whole new set of 
social and economic laws.

The Communist Party USA, the party of the working class and 
its science, Marxism-Leninism, in its very essence 
represents the unity of revolutionary theory and 
revolutionary practice. 

Marxism-Leninism is the main fountainhead for introduction 
and development of this science in our land. There are no 
other Marxist-Leninist parties in the United States. 

The role of the Communist Party has added a new quality to 
all phases of American life. It plays an important role in 
influencing the course of events.

The CPUSA gives the working class a scientific basis of 
struggle. It gives the class struggle a direction - a 
revolutionary direction.

As it continues to grow in size and influence, the 
Communist Party plants many seeds of socialism among the 
American working class. 

The significance of this contribution will grow as the 
struggles of the working class move toward the historic 
point of a revolutionary transformation from capitalism to 
socialism.