Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism

According to Lenin, a capitalist economy centralizes industry and banking, finance capital becomes exported, and national centers of capital compet... (show more)

According to Lenin, a capitalist economy centralizes industry and banking, finance capital becomes exported, and national centers of capital compete for dominance. Ineluctably, productive forces are aligned on one side, and colonies of raw materials dominated by finance capital are situated on the other. War will only result as capitalist states are compelled to redress the fissure.

As far as Lenin’s historical scheme is concerned, several points can be noted. Capital flows from France went overwhelmingly to Russia where profits could be made during that period, not to her colonies. Some blame Britain for undermining Argentina’s economy with capital investment — but one forgets — the favorite target for British capital in the 19th century was the United States of America. The current financial relationship between the U.S. and Japan has not brought upon imperialism. In addition, with the earlier Portuguese empire — the cost of policing their empire was actually greater than the benefit of their far-flung gains, leading to its demise. Dutch imperialism faltered in the 18th century — though Indonesia was retained until the 20th — because her prosperity was based upon tight control of the Baltic. In addition, there are plenty of examples of anti-capitalist imperialism, from the USSR in Eastern Europe to the Chinese in Tibet. These are just a few of many examples that confront the Marxist-Leninist, and ultimately, your standard anti-war protester. (show less)