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    "label": "Report by the Department of State, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs",
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    "id": "294549972",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report by the Department of State, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/294549972",
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        {
            "day": 11,
            "logicalDate": "1951-04-11",
            "month": 4,
            "year": 1951
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{
    "seq": 8,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
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    "ocrText": "RESTRIC TED\nIt is possible that Soviet ideology can also be attacked on the basis of the trans-\nformations that it has undergone since the original formulation of Marxism. If the\nideology is to be attacked at all, however, it would seem advisable to avoid implying\nthat it was basically good but had been distorted by Soviet leaders since this would tend\nto confuse the issue and to weaken the impact of our attack. The following is a highly\ntentative suggestion as to one area of change in Soviet ideology which might be exploitable:\nLying at the center of other transformations which Communist ideology has under-\ngone is the reversal under Lenin and Stalin of the Marxian emphasis on materialism. The\nMarxian view was that \"socialexistence\" (ie. environment) determined a people's\nconsciousness. Although Marx granted the possibility of acts of will on the part of\npeople, he apparently thought that these acts would somehow be brought about by material\nconditions. Marx's application of these principles to the question of revolution was that\ncapitalist society contained within it the seeds of its own destruction and the course of\ndevelopment of capitalist society would inevitably lead to revolution and the establish-\nment of a new social system. Lenin on the other hand, insisted that the downfall of\ncapitalism depended on the existence of a revolutionary party capable of seizing power\nat a time of crisis in the capitalist system and of establishing its dictatorship. He thus\nintroduced into Soviet ideology the idea of the crucial importance of the will, and, in\neffect, reversed the Marxian emphasis on materialism, although the latter continues to\nbe advanced as one of the foundations of the ideology. A recent formulation of the\n\"'reconciliation\" of these mutually contradictory concepts is found in an article \"The\nUnity of the Dialectic Method and the Materialist Theory of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy\",\nappearing in the central Soviet press on September 12, 1947, which states: \"For dia-\nlectical materialism it is not enough to recognize the presence of the objective factors\nwhich are prerequisite to the success of practical work. One must also have a correct\nunderstanding of the subjective factors in the historical process. Subjective factors\nplay a decisive role in turning possibility into reality.' 11\nAs to whose will it is that plays such a decisive role in determining the course of\nevents even Soviet theory has stated quite frankly. The position of the Communist Party\nas the initiator and controller of all organizations in the USSR is stated in the Soviet\nConstitution as is the principle of \"democratic centralism\" within the party prescribing\nthat all authority flows from the top.\nThat this concentration of authority goes far beyong the usurpation of all political\npower is made clear by some of the manifestations of Soviet propaganda and ideology\nwhich seem astonishing to most westerners. Nor only are all the inhabitants of the USSR\nmade to conform to the will of the Soviet leaders, this will is presented by Soviet pro-\npaganda as the people's dearest wish. It is even projected beyond the borders of the\nUSSR and is attributed to the overwhelming majority of people in the outside world W110 are\nsaid to regard Stalin as \"the leader of all progressive humanity. \" In no field, however\nminor, can anything be permitted to challenge this will as the only basis for thought and\naction. Since Soviet ideology has repudiated God and claims to be able to control the\nforces of nature, even natural laws which restrict the unfettered exercise of the leader's\nwill must be \"attacked\" and \"destroyed. 11 Thus Soviet science was forced to repudiate\nthe Mendelian-Morgan theory of genetics since it dared to suggest that the development\nof plant and animal forms was possible only within certain boundaries set by natural law.\n-6- - -\nDECLASSIFIED\nE.O. 10501"
}