Editing Imperialism

[[File:1920px-North South divide.svg.png|thumb|World map with imperialist countries in blue]]
'''Imperialism''' is the most recent evolution of the [[capitalist]] [[mode of production]] that began in the late 1800s to early 1900s, in which [[Monopoly|monopolies]] and [[Cartel|cartels]] become the dominant economic force of society.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism|chapter=Chapter 1: Concentration of production and monopolies|mia=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/index.htm|author=[[Vladimir Lenin]]|quote=Thus, the principal stages in the history of monopolies are the following: (1) 1860-70, the highest stage, the apex of development of free competition; monopoly is in the barely discernible, embryonic stage. (2) After the crisis of 1873, a lengthy period of development of cartels; but they are still the exception. They are not yet durable. They are still a transitory phenomenon. (3) The boom at the end of the nineteenth century and the crisis of 1900-03. Cartels become one of the foundations of the whole of economic life. Capitalism has been transformed into imperialism.}}</ref> It involves the merger of banking capital with industrial capital to create the greater finance capital and a fundamental distinguishing character of export of [[capital]] instead of export of [[Commodity|commodities]]. 

It is a global system of economic, political, and military domination, with the imperialist powers using a variety of means, including economic sanctions, military interventions, and cultural influence to maintain their dominance over other nations. 

[[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]] synthesized a [[Marxism|Marxist]] analysis of imperialism in his pamphlet ''Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism'' in 1916, expanding on the foundation of the earlier work of [[J. A. Hobson|John A. Hobson]] entitled ''Imperialism: A Study''. Lenin wrote that rapid growth of industry and concentration of production in growing enterprises represent the key characteristic of capitalism.<ref name=":0" /> He summarized it in one phrase as "the monopoly stage of capitalism".<ref>{{Citation|title=[[Library:Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism|Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism]]|author=[[Vladimir Lenin]]|quote=If it were necessary to give the briefest possible definition of imperialism we should have to say that imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism.}}
</ref>

Multiple theorists have updated, deepened, developed or critically engaged with the classical analysis of Imperialism. For example, [[Kwame Nkrumah]],  who wrote [[Library:Neocolonialism,_the_Last_Stage_of_Imperialism|Neocolonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism]]. Most recently, the concept of [[neoimperialism]] has emerged in the work of [[Cheng Enfu]]. 

The development of imperialism in the global economy also reinforces a dialectical relationship between core-periphery countries, mainly [[dependency]] and subordination of [[Underdevelopment|underdeveloped countries]] to imperialist economies. In conjunction with these developments, new theoretical models were proposed to understand developments, such as dependency theory and world-systems theory. 

Imperialism is inevitable under Capitalism because Capitalism is based on the premise of infinite growth in a finite system. When capitalists first run into the limits of their own country, they will eventually be forced to expand their markets, resources, and influence into other countries and territories in order to continue increasing their profits. Not only that, but the [[tendency of the rate of profit to fall]] ensures that with their own markets profit yields are bound to decrease and in order offset that outwards expansionism becomes a material necessity rather than whim.

Furthermore, the capitalists can exploit and oppress the workers of other nations much more easily than they can in their own. For example, by moving manufacturing jobs from the imperialist countries to the imperialized countries where wages are lower, and environmental protections and labour rights are much weaker -- if they exist at all -- they can reduce costs which increases profits.

When the capitalists run into limits again, and are unable to continue increasing their profits -- even by exploiting the periphery -- they will inevitably turn Imperialism inwards and further oppress and exploit workers domestically. This is the origin of [[Fascism]].

== Mistranslation of "highest stage" ==
In his [[Library:Vladimir_Lenin/Imperialism,_the_highest_stage_of_capitalism|book on Imperialism]], Lenin is often translated as having said that imperialism is "the highest stage" of capitalism. In the original Russian version, Lenin is stating that imperialism is the 'latest' or 'most recent' or contemporary stage, rather than definitively saying that it is the ''final stage''.

== Theoretical overview ==
In [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s further analysis of imperialism, this economic stage is defined by five basic features:
* The presence of [[Monopoly|monopolies]] which play a decisive role in economic life.
* The merging of bank [[capital]] with industrial capital into finance capital controlled by a [[Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie|financial oligarchy]].
* The export of capital as distinguished from the simple export of [[Commodity|commodities]].
* The formation of international monopolist capitalist associations ([[Cartel|cartels]]) and [[multinational corporations]].
* The domination and exploitation of other countries by militaristic imperialist powers, now through neocolonialism.
* The territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers.<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Vladimir Lenin]]|title=Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism|chapter=Chapter 7: Imperialism as a special stage of capitalism|quote=But very brief definitions, although convenient, for they sum up the main points, are nevertheless inadequate, since we have to deduce from them some especially important features of the phenomenon that has to be defined. And so, without forgetting the conditional and relative value of all definitions in general, which can never embrace all the concatenations of a phenomenon in its full development, we must give a definition of imperialism that will include the following five of its basic features:

(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 associations 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 at that stage of development at which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital is established; 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.|mia=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/index.htm}}</ref> This expansion to Marx's analysis of capitalist development was one of Lenin's most important theoretical contributions to [[political economy]]. 
Marx posited that as capitalist economies matured, they would inevitably be driven into a crisis which would result in internal class revolt and the establishment of a [[dictatorship of the proletariat]] (and eventually [[socialism]]). However, according to Lenin's observations, the development of ''imperialism'' allowed capitalism to postpone this crisis through the acquisition of colonies, which served as a new outlets for capital investment and a new source of labour power to exploit.

This scramble for the expansion of capitalist empires drove the various imperialist powers into a competition with one another over the size of their imperialist spheres of influence and access to resources and labour markets, which led to destructive inter-imperialist conflicts such as the [[First World War|First World War.]] Imperialism thus stretches the inherent contradictions of capitalism to ever more extreme limits, leading [[J.V. Stalin]] to deem Leninism the "Marxism of the era of imperialism". 

Imperialism as a stage of development in capitalism means that it will always develop in any sufficiently advanced capitalist mode of production. As markets become saturated within the boundaries of the individual nation (due to an influx of producers), capital must be exported elsewhere, and the main function of banks is to help with that (see [[finance capitalism]]).  

Capitalist countries must eventually turn to imperialism for two main reasons:
#Capitalism requires constant consumption, which translates into constant growth (and GDP growth). Without GDP growth, capitalism stagnates and a recession occurs. However, since it is impossible to expect infinite growth with finite available resources and as markets become saturated, the bourgeoisie must seek new opportunities.
#The bourgeoisie is also in constant internal competition, and as such there is a very rational reason for a capitalist to emerge victorious over the competition; accessing untapped markets and cheaper labour will give them an edge over the competition.
However, imperialized countries will not be allowed to develop past the most primitive stage of capitalism, preventing them from developing their own imperialism. In these countries, we may see the emergence of two distinct subsections of the bourgeoisie. Firstly, a "comprador" class, i.e. the section of the national bourgeoisie which is allied with, and dependent upon, foreign imperialist investment; and second, the "national" bourgeoisie, whose class interests are, at least temporarily, aligned with the exploited working class: to achieve [[national liberation]] (so that they can become exploiters without being exploited, upon which point their tentative alignment with the national proletariat will end).

== Origins and historical development ==
[[File:Common history of imperialist countries.png|thumb|Most modern imperialist countries originated as [[Genocide|genocidal]] colonial powers]]
The development of imperialism began with the [[Long Depression|Panic of 1873]], which caused an economic depression lasting through the 1880s. When the economy recovered in 1889, [[Cartel|cartels]] took advantage of the situation and drove up prices. After another depression from 1900 to 1903, they became even stronger and controlled the coal, mining, and iron industries by 1905.<ref name=":0" />

The early 20th century was marked by several imperialist, colony-grabbing wars: the [[Spanish–Statesian War|Spanish-Statesian War]] of 1898, the [[Boer war|Boer War]] of 1899-1902, the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1905, the [[Italo-Turkish war|Italo-Turkish]] war of 1911-1912, and the [[Balkan wars]] of 1912-1913. These various conflicts between the imperialist powers of Europe reached an explosive head, culminating in the 1914 war, popularly known as [[First World War|World War I]]. It is in this historic context of the build-up to WW1, the great race by the various western powers for colonial tributaries—instigated by the burgeoning needs of [[capital]] and capital reproduction—that Lenin wrote up the foundation theory of Imperialism.

== Contemporary imperialism==

===Imperial core===
[[File:Imperial core rings.png|thumb|Diagram of the four rings of the imperial core from [[Tricontinental]]]]
Today, imperialism is still very much alive as Lenin described. The [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) and [[World Bank]] for example were institutions created for the benefit of the imperial core (the richest and oldest capitalist economies, grossly encompassing North America and Western Europe) so as to perpetually keep former colonised countries in debt that they can not repay. The IMF is known to demand specific [[free market]] policies put into place so as to facilitate movement of capital from the imperial core towards these ex-colonies, also known as the [[Global South]]. On top of having many strings attached, the IMF is allowed to seize projects when loans cannot be paid back, and they often can't due to very harsh payment plans (usually very high interest rates over a 7-year period).

This "soft" imperialism is not the only form of imperialism happening, and we can look at the [[US Invasion of Iraq]] in 2003 for a "harder" form of imperialism. In this case, the entire country of Iraq as well as the surrounding region was destabilized, which allowed U.S. oil companies to eliminate competition and seize these wells for themselves.

=== Imperialist military ===
Imperialism is enforced by military power—especially, since the early 20th century, by U.S. military power. One indication of this is the large number of military bases that the U.S. maintains in foreign countries and the large number of U.S. troops stationed around the world.

==== U.S. military personnel in Europe ====
At the end of 2021, the United States had 74,000 military personnel stationed in Europe in long-term positions (according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service).<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Reuters|title=Factbox: Where NATO forces are deployed|date=2022-01-24|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/where-nato-forces-are-deployed-2022-01-24|access-date=2022-03}}</ref> Not all are combat-ready troops. The numbers of these U.S. personnel in some particular countries is as follows:

* [[Federal Republic of Germany|Germany]]: 36,000
* [[Italian Republic|Italy]]: 12,000
* [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]]: 9,000
* [[Kingdom of Spain|Spain]]: 3,000
* [[Republic of Türkiye|Turkey]]: 1,600

Besides these personnel, the U.S. rotates 4,500 troops through [[Republic of Poland|Poland]].<ref>Reuters 2022, ''op. cit.''</ref>

== Myths ==

=== Soviet "imperialism"===
During the [[Cold War]], a rivalry between the world's two global powers at the time (the USA and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]]), the CIA's [[Congress for Cultural Freedom]] cultivated a milieu of anti-Soviet leftists to advance the geopolitical line of the US. One accusation that was leveled against the Soviet Union was that it was yet another imperialist state, based on the conflicts which happened between the [[Sino-Soviet split|Soviet Union and China]]. USSR did not practice imperialism in the [[Leninism|Leninist]] sense — it did not export capital and was not under control of a financial oligarchy.

===Chinese "imperialism" ===
In modern times, some accuse China of being imperialist, mainly in [[Africa]]. These people again use the liberal definition of imperialism and can be ignored in much the same way.

With its [[Belt and Road Initiative]], China does not practice the same harsh policies as the [[IMF]] (namely, forcing austerity upon loan recipients) and that is why they are being favored by more and more countries, leading to a disinformation campaign by the imperial core to help drive popular support from the B&R and back towards the IMF. Famously, Chinese loans pay for infrastructure (needed for development), are often forgiven and restructured<ref>{{Web citation|author=Jevans Nyablage|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|title=China to forgive interest-free loans to Africa that are coming due, Xi Jinping says|date=2020-06-18T03:43|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3089492/china-forgive-interest-free-loans-africa-are-coming-due-xi}}</ref>, and there are no policies required to get such a loan. Where the West builds economic dependency the PRC builds mutual economic cooperation.<blockquote>If any debtors encounter difficulties to pay on time, there may be tailored plans including rescheduling… adding grants to help bring projects back to life, conducting debt-equity swaps, or hiring Chinese firms to assist operations. Just like repairing and enhancing a patient’s hemopoietic system, adopting such measures to help the projects get back on track and gain profit has advantages over simply offering write-offs which may only solve issues on the surface and are unsustainable<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|author=Kevin Acker, Deborah Brautigam, and
Yufan Huang|newspaper=China Africa Research
Initiative, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University,
Washington, DC.|title=Debt Relief with Chinese Characteristics|url=http://www.sais-cari.org/publications.|quote=...China has not applied the kinds of highly contested economic austerity and structural adjustment conditions imposed by the HIPC process. Yet, there is always one political condition: countries need to have diplomatic relations with Beijing (instead of Taipei).}}</ref></blockquote>Moreover, unlike the IMF and Western international financial institutions the PRC does not enforce austerity upon nations with heavy debt to it. Instead only conditioning it on political recognition of the Chinese state rather than the forward base of Western Imperialism in East Asia, [[Taiwan Province|Taiwan]].<blockquote>...China has not applied the kinds of highly contested economic austerity and structural adjustment conditions imposed by the HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries)  process. Yet, there is always one political condition: countries need to have diplomatic relations with Beijing (instead of Taipei).<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>The Chinese build economic cooperation and strength against the imperial core (because that is in the material interest of the Chinese state) in contrast the West builds economic dependency and imperialist control.

=== Russian "imperialism" ===
In certain circles, there have been attempts to paint the [[2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict|Russo-Ukrainian conflict]] as a war between two imperialist countries, the United States and [[Russian Federation|Russia]]. Similarly to the above Chinese example, this is incorrect. 

Unlike the western powers, Russia does not have any capital [[Monopoly|monopolies]] that control the world market or supply chains. Russia having Gazprom and an extraction industry doesn’t mean they are imperialist. The essence of imperialism is monopolistic on a global scale, which is precisely why Russia is not imperialist, not whether they have capital generally. A perfect example of monopolies that share the world amongst themselves is the West, specifically the United States in their control of the [[World Economic Forum|WEF]], [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], [[The World Bank|World Bank]], and [[United Nations|UN]] Security Council, allowing the western powers to enforce this dominance through jingoistic foreign policy, embargoes, and hindering the development of other countries. Neither Russia nor China has anywhere close to this level of global power through [[finance capital]].

Russia lacks finance capital and division of the world's resources. It only has 4 of the top 100 corporations in the world and 6 of the top 500. 82% of Russian exports are raw materials, including 58% oil, 11% metal, and 6% food. In 2017, Russia imported $106.2 billion worth' of machine goods and only exported $12.8 billion. Russia does not have any of the top 100 corporations in terms of [[capital]] export, and most Russian capital export is capital flight to tax havens. Russia only controls 0.7% of the world's wealth and has much less wealth per adult than the [[United States of America|United States]] ($8,843 vs $336,528). Russia has intervened militarily in other countries such as [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2006)|Yugoslavia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], Ukraine, and [[Syrian Arab Republic|Syria]], but not to seize natural resources like imperialist countries do.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Stansfield Smith|newspaper=[[Monthly Review]]|title=Is Russia imperialist?|date=2019-01-02|url=https://mronline.org/2019/01/02/is-russia-imperialist/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315020644/https://mronline.org/2019/01/02/is-russia-imperialist/|archive-date=2023-03-15|retrieved=2023-03-22}}</ref>

== Early theoreticians (pre-1945) ==

=== Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels ===
[[Engels|Friedrich Engels]] alluded to imperialism in ''[[Library:The principles of communism|The principles of communism]]'':

{{Quote|In this way, all semi-barbarian countries, which had hitherto been more or less strangers to historical development, and whose industry had been based on manufacture, were violently forced out of their isolation. They bought the cheaper commodities of the English and allowed their own manufacturing workers to be ruined. Countries which had known no progress for thousands of years – for example, India – were thoroughly revolutionized, and even China is now on the way to a revolution.

We have come to the point where a new machine invented in England deprives millions of Chinese workers of their livelihood within a year’s time.

In this way, big industry has brought all the people of the Earth into contact with each other, has merged all local markets into one world market, has spread civilization and progress everywhere and has thus ensured that whatever happens in civilized countries will have repercussions in all other countries.|Engels|Principles of communism {{Refn|Engels. [[Library:The principles of communism|''The principles of communism'']]: [[Library:The principles of communism#What were the immediate consequences of the industrial revolution and of the division of society into bourgeoisie and proletariat?|''What were the immediate consequences of the industrial revolution and of the division of society into bourgeoisie and proletariat?'']]|name=|group=note}}}}
At the time of his writing, imperialism was not yet a word in common use (not until the 1870s) however, policies of imperialism were already happening around the world—especially at hands of the British Empire in Africa.

Given that imperialism is, (according to Lenin) the highest stage of capitalism, one tendency of imperialism is to export the class conflict of a nation to foreign lands. Thus, the British nation, in order to solve its problem of unemployment and food scarcity along a capitalist basis (without socialism; redistribution of wealth and power to the commoners through social ownership), had to find new lands to settle the unemployed. 

{{Quote|"In order to save the forty million inhabitants of the United Kingdom from a bloody civil war, our colonial statesmen must acquire new lands for settling the surplus population of this country, to provide new markets. ... The Empire, as I have always said, is a bread and butter question."|[[Cecil Rhodes]], British imperialist, as quoted in [[Lenin]]'s [[Library:Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism|Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism]]}}

== Later theoreticians (post-1945) ==

=== Michael Parenti ===
[[Michael Parenti]] described several examples of imperialism in [[Library:Against Empire|Against Empire]].
{{Quote|By "imperialism" I mean the process whereby the dominant politico-economic interests of one nation expropriate for their own enrichment the land, labor, raw materials, and markets of another people.

The earliest victims of Western European imperialism were other Europeans. Some 800 years ago, Ireland became the first colony of what later became known as the British empire. A part of Ireland still remains under British occupation. Other early Caucasian victims included the Eastern Europeans. The people Charlemagne worked to death in his mines in the early part of the ninth century were Slavs. So frequent and prolonged was the enslavement of Eastern Europeans that "Slav" became synonymous with servitude. Indeed, the word "slave" derives from "Slav." Eastern Europe was an early source of capital accumulation, having become wholly dependent upon Western manufactures by the seventeenth century.

A particularly pernicious example of intra-European imperialism was the Nazi aggression during World War II, which gave the German business cartels and the Nazi state an opportunity to plunder the resources and exploit the labor of occupied Europe, including the slave labor of concentration camps.

The preponderant thrust of the European, North American, and Japanese imperial powers has been directed against Africa, Asia, and Latin America. By the nineteenth century, they saw the Third World as not only a source of raw materials and slaves but a market for manufactured goods. By the twentieth century, the industrial nations were exporting not only goods but capital, in the form of machinery, technology, investments, and loans. To say that we have entered the stage of capital export and investment is not to imply that the plunder of natural resources has ceased. If anything, the despoliation has accelerated.

[...]

Imperialism is older than capitalism. The Persian, Macedonian, Roman, and Mongol empires all existed centuries before the Rothschilds and Rockefellers. Emperors and conquistadors were interested mostly in plunder and tribute, gold and glory. Capitalist imperialism differs from these earlier forms in the way it systematically accumulates capital through the organized exploitation of labor and the penetration of overseas markets. Capitalist imperialism invests in other countries, transforming and dominating their economies, cultures, and political life, integrating their financial and productive structures into an international system of capital accumulation.

A central imperative of capitalism is expansion. Investors will not put their money into business ventures unless they can extract more than they invest. Increased earnings come only with a growth in the enterprise. The capitalist ceaselessly searches for ways of making more money in order to make still more money. One must always invest to realize profits, gathering as much strength as possible in the face of competing forces and unpredictable markets.|Michael Parenti|Against Empire. City Lights Books.|1995,  p. 5}}
==Further reading==

* [[Library:Imperialism,_the_highest_stage_of_capitalism | ''Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism'']]
* [[Library:Neocolonialism,_the_Last_Stage_of_Imperialism |''Neocolonialism, the last stage of imperialism'']]
* [[Library:Five_Characteristics_of_Neoimperialism |''Five Characteristics of Neoimperialism'']]

== Notes ==
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==References ==
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[[Category:Marxist terminology]]
[[Category:Marxist theory]]
[[Category:Marxism]]
[[Category:Leninism]]
[[Category:Capitalism]]
[[Category:Debunking myths]]