Leftypedia has been restored! See our announcement.
Imperialism
Imperialism is a concept commonly used in the left, with multiple conflicting definitions based upon the tendency.
Theories
Leninism
Leninists define imperialism as "moribund capitalism" — the final arena of capitalist competition defined by constant division and re-division of the world markets between competing imperialist powers, after which socialist revolution becomes inevitable. Vladimir Lenin gave imperialism the following characteristics:[1]
"1) the concentration of production and capital has developed to such a high stage that it has created monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life; 2) the merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the basis of this ‘finance capital,’ of a financial oligarchy; 3) the export of capital as distinguished from the export of commodities acquires exceptional importance; 4) the formation of international monopolist capitalist combines which share the world among themselves, and 5) the territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers is completed. Imperialism is capitalism in the stage of development in which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital has established itself; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun; in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed.”
See also
References
- ↑ Vladimir Lenin (1916). Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. Available on the Marxists Internet Archive.