IMPERIALISM, THE HIGHEST STAGE OF CAPITALISM

'Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism' (1916) by Vladimir Lenin is a classic Marxist theoretical treatise on the relationship between capitalism and imperialism. In this work Lenin identifies the merging of banks and industrial cartels as giving rise to finance capital. According to Lenin, in the last stage of capitalism, in pursuit of greater profits than the home market can offer, capital is exported. This leads to the division of the world between international monopolist firms and to European states colonizing large parts of the world in support of their businesses. Imperialism is thus an advanced stage of capitalism, one relying on the rise of monopolies and on the export of capital (rather than goods), and of which colonialism is one feature.

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References

References

Paul Bowles (2007) ''Capitalism'', Pearson: London.
Vladimir Lenin (1948) ''Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism'', London: Lawrence and Wishart.