An Analysis about Imperialism is the Highest Stage of Capitalism

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Lenin had described imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism. This is known to all Marxist-Leninists. But one gathers the impression that we understand little of this. Otherwise how could we be talking of imperialism as if it were some policy, conspiracy or some tactic. According to Lenin the quintessence of imperialism is monopoly.

The characteristic policy of monopoly capitalism is to strive for domination. The politics of the age of free competition was freedom for it could only thus thrive. To establish monopoly is to extinguish the rights of others and to establish exclusive hegemony.

Monopoly capitalism has risen from the grounds of free competition. Analyzing the laws of motion of the capitalist mode of production Marx had shown that free competition necessarily gives rise to monopoly. This is immanent in the laws of concentration and centralization of capitals, which is expressed popularly in the saying that the big fish swallow up the smaller ones. When we discuss imperialism we must do so in the light of the immanent laws of capitalism.

Today when we are discussing imperialism the first thing that comes to our mind is that current and oft-repeated term called globalization. This term is understood in a myriad ways. Some relate it to the removal of trade barriers, some others to the globalization of the production process, still others relate it to the extraordinary mobility gained by capital movements the world over without hindrance or for some it is the triumph of finance.

Of course, it is all this and much more. We should relate it to the process of capitalist accumulation the world over and we would again like to reiterate that it can be summed up in one word – monopolization i.e., the unprecedented extension of monopoly.

We already have discussed that under imperialism finance capital attains supremacy. The whole discussion revolves around the imperialism, capitalism and the unemployment.

0 comments:

News

New Opinions

Followers