The Socio-Historical Movement Is a Conscious Movement of the Popular Masses

The principle that the socio-historical movement is a conscious movement of the popular gives an answer to the question of what is the motive force of the socio-historical movement as an important principle of the Juche outlook on social history on the basis of consciousness of the masses.

Leader Kim Jong Il said:

“All revolutionary movements are conscious movements.”

The popular masses conduct creative activities for their independence in a purposeful and conscious manner. They raise the demand of living independently and conduct cognitive and practical activities for its realization in a conscious manner. All independent and creative activities to transform the world and shape out their destiny are propelled by purposeful and conscious activities of the masses.

Then, what is the reason why the socio-historical movement is a conscious movement of the popular masses?

It is because the popular masses are social beings with consciousness as their attribute.

In general, spiritual factor that propels activities of the people has various forms such as ideology, knowledge, emotion, etc., but the main thing is ideological consciousness.

Ideological consciousness is a form of consciousness reflecting man’s desire and interests.

For example, in nature it is a law of motion of atom that huge energy comes out when an atomic nucleus is split, but desire and interests are different according to class in using this law. The popular masses have interests in using nuclear energy for the purpose of peaceful construction, whereas the exploiting class has interests in using the energy for the purpose of aggression and war. What reflects the fact that huge energy comes out in the time of nuclear fission is just the knowledge; what reflects the desire and interests in its use is ideological consciousness.

It is a law of development of society that capitalism is ruined and socialism emerges victorious. The working masses of the people have interests different from that of the exploiting class in approaching this law. The former has interests in materializing this law, but the latter does not so. What reflects the inevitability of the downfall of capitalism and the triumph of socialism is knowledge; what reflects the desire and interests in its materialization is ideological consciousness.

Ideological consciousness is a form of consciousness reflecting man’s desire and interests, and therefore, it gives the most active effect on his conduct. It is because man conducts every activity proceeding from his desire and interests.

Ideological consciousness is the driving force that encourages people to wage struggle to transform the world. Man’s mental and physical strength is brought into play and its might is determined by ideological consciousness.

Ideological consciousness that reflects the intrinsic demand of man as an independent social being is the ideological consciousness of independence.

This, in a word, means the awareness of one’s being the master of one’s own destiny and signifies the will to shape one’s destiny by one’s own initiative. Only when man has the ideological consciousness of independence, can he actively transform the world and shape his own destiny with credit.

It is not his money or property, occupation or knowledge, but his ideological consciousness that determines how precious and powerful being a man will be and how much he makes contribution to the development of society.

Only when people are firmly equipped with ideological consciousness of independence, can they find their pride and happiness not in their own riches, honors and enjoyment, but in the struggle for the masses’ independence, devoting themselves for their country and people, party and revolution.

Of course, knowledge reflecting the law of objective world, too, plays an important role in man’s activity. Only with scientific knowledge can he transform the world successfully using rationally his power and objective conditions in accordance with objective laws.

Scientific and technological knowledge plays greater role in the socio-economic development as days go by. However, it can be a driving force to advance the socio-historical movement as genuine creative power of man only when it is combined with the ideological consciousness of independence.

Although one obtains a profound scientific and technological knowledge, he will be a mentally deformed person who is helpless to nobody as a social man if he is behind in ideology and is corrupted morally.

Man has lofty ideal and strong will to serve his country and people, obtains versatile and profound knowledge and makes an active contribution to the revolution and construction only when he has ideological consciousness of independence. Only with ideological consciousness of independence can he make good use of his knowledge, technique, wisdom and talent, make good use of knowledge he has learned and display fully his creative ability in the revolution and construction.

Emotion reflecting the surrounding world sentimentally, also plays an important role in man’ s activity.

Man bravely struggles for the cause of the masses’ independence when he has sentimental and profound humane feeling of loving the beautiful and humane and hating the despicable and inhumane.

Emotion that is one of important aspects of man’ s inner world also depends on ideological consciousness. Man’s emotion always comes out on the basis of ideological consciousness that determines the attitude towards reality, and it has different color according to his ideological stand. People have different sentiments about one event or one phenomenon because they have different ideological consciousness that is its basis. And only when emotion is combined with ideological consciousness, can it be purposeful, sharp and firm and become great strength in life and struggle.

Like this, ideological consciousness is a main factor that determines actions of other forms of consciousness that give effects on man’ s activity.

The socio-historical movement is, after all, becomes the conscious movement that is caused and propelled with ideological consciousness as a driving force. Herein lies the essential meaning that the socio-historical movement is a conscious movement of the popular masses.

That the socio-historical movement is a conscious movement of the popular masses has nothing to do with idealism.

Idealism separates consciousness from matter to make it independent entity and proposes that everything in the world is created and its change and development is determined by consciousness. Idealism holds that consciousness and idea as a certain spiritual entity exist first, and everything in the world comes out of them, and through the process man with consciousness appears. In fact, this is the philosophical justification of the existence of the God and the creation of the world by it.

That ideological consciousness plays the decisive role in determining people’ s activity means that not a certain spiritual entity, but ideological consciousness of man himself has a greater effect in determining man’ s activity than any other factors. According to this, one can know clearly that the Juche idea that emphasizes the role of ideological consciousness has nothing to do with idealism.