Essence is the ultimate character of a thing, it is that which makes a thing what it is. Appearance is essential to get to the essence. The essence is inexhaustible and irreducible to its existent form.
In the context of Marxist internationalism, "the idolatry of superficial appearance is not sufficiently rooted in the traditions of their own people– it is the same idealism that permeates the idolater's corrupted vision of Internationalism which exists at the expense of national realities. What appears irrational is only the contradiction between appearance and it's own essence... it is the development of the essence of the nation that proceeds from national premises itself. It is therefore for Marxists historically, internationalism comes into being through the nation and deepening of national realities rather than their forsaken."[1]