p The subject of the theory of the general crisis of capitalism is the sum total of the phenomena of the decline and degradation of the capitalist system in all social spheres of capitalism—its economy, politics, ideology, morals, etc. In studying imperialism, Lenin discovered the main initial cause of the decline of the capitalist system—the replacement of the predominance of free competition by the rule of monopoly capital. In his book Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin showed that this rule had been established in all spheres of the economy of highly developed capitalist countries throughout the whole world. Monopoly capitalism is rotting, moribund capitalism. The imperialist World War _Of 1914_1918 was historically the first evidence of the profound degradation of the imperialist system and its attempt to solve its economic and social contradictions by armed force. A most important manifestation of the beginning of the collapse of the capitalist system, which is still of great significance, was the withdrawal of tsarist Russia from the capitalist chain. "The First World War and the October Revolution ushered in the general crisis of capitalism,” says the CPSU Programme.

p For the first time in the history of the science Lenin studied the essence of the general crisis of capitalism, the main forms of its manifestation and its place in the historical process.  [35•*  In accordance with Lenin’s conclusions, the general crisis of capitalism is the disintegration and beginning of the downfall of its whole world system, its collapse under the blows of socialist revolutions, the beginning of a new age of 36 world development—the age of the revolutionary transition from capitalism to socialism. The general crisis of capitalism is one of the most important processes taking place in this age. It manifests itself in a variety of forms and is not a single act, but a whole series of different crises, their constantly changing sum total. This crisis is the "irreversible decline of capitalism”,  [36•*  which combines its disintegration "from within" with action on it "from without" by the countries of victorious socialism and the peoples of former colonial and now liberated countries. Being the extreme degree of aggravation of all capitalist contradictions on a global scale, when they have already begun to be solved in a revolutionary way, the general crisis of capitalism is characterised by their further all-round aggravation, particularly in connection with the fact that the material prerequisites essential for socialism have already matured in society. The general crisis of capitalism is developing amid the coexistence and struggle of two social systems—socialism and capitalism.

p Ever since the victory of the October Revolution two contradictory processes have been taking place in the history of human society. At one end of the scale, in the socialist countries, a new society is growing and flourishing. At the other, in the capitalist countries, the system’s contradictions are deepening and its general crisis developing. Its underlying socio-economic cause is, first and foremost, that capitalism as a system has become "mature and overmature”, that it has "outlived itself" and "has become the most reactionary hindrance to human progress”.  [36•**  The development of capitalism on the basis of all its laws, and particularly the establishment of the monopolies’ rule, has led to this position. It has ensured important measures in the preparation of the material prerequisites for socialism and also led to increased oppression of the working class, the broad mass of the population, by capital.

p The manifestations of the general crisis of capitalism, its depth and concrete historical forms are not eternal and immutable. At different stages of its history there arise new elements in the general crisis, but the old ones do not disappear. The phenomena of the general crisis are not 37 random, transitory, but of a structural nature. Once having arisen, they can disappear only with the disappearance of capitalism, although the intensity of the manifestation of each of them depends on the historical conditions of the functioning of the capitalist system. Therefore in any given concrete historical situation this or that set of phenomena of the general crisis may come to the fore.

p At the end of the 1920s, for example, certain processes in the world capitalist economy came to the fore among the economic manifestations of the general crisis. There began the rejection of free international trade and the transition to state regulation of it, to bitter trade wars. The "gold standard" collapsed. As a result of this international basis for comparing expenditure on production of goods was lost, which set in motion the collapse of the capitalist foreign exchange system. The Second World War, started by German fascism, was a most obvious manifestation of the crisis of the world capitalist system. It resulted in the defeat of the powerful forces of German, Japanese and Italian imperialism. Its outcome was also connected with the transition of a number of new countries to the path of socialism and a considerable weakening of capitalism in the world in which it had formerly held sway. It became impossible to keep the enslaved peoples under colonial rule. These processes constituted an exceptionally important set of phenomena of the decline of capitalism as a result of the war.

p The methodologically primitive interpretation of the general crisis of capitalism as a period when only crisis processes are taking place in the capitalist world is incompatible with Marxism-Leninism. In the capitalist economy the productive forces are growing, the scientific and technological revolution is developing, and the level of the satisfaction of the material requirements of a section of the working people rises at times in the technically advanced countries.

The elaboration of a special theory of the general crisis of capitalism is no accident. The theoretical studies by Marx and Lenin proved the objective inevitability of the degradation of the capitalist system and its collapse. Therefore the phenomena of the progressive decline of capitalism confirm the soundness of the Marxist-Leninist theory, its ability to foresee the future and orientate the working people 38 correctly. Another consideration is equally important. The deeper and more many-sided the development of the general crisis of capitalism becomes, the harder for the masses and the more dangerous for the whole of mankind are the ways and methods applied by the bosses of the capitalist world to prolong the existence of their system. Both these factors make the elaboration of the theoretical and methodological problems of the general crisis of capitalism a matter of special importance and urgency.