Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism

This preface precedes the French and German editions. Lenin says that his primary objective is to present “a composite picture of the world capitalist system in its international relationships at the beginning of the twentieth century” right before World War I, a war which he identifies as an “imperialist” scheme to divide the world into disparate parts for the purpose of exploitation (8).

The spread of national railways and their increasing centralization are a means by which to track the “basic capitalist industries [of] coal, iron and steel” (9). When viewed with greater scrutiny one can see how railways are also tied up in the industries and monopolies of the cartels, trust, and banks that govern the world. World War I proves that the capitalist system and the primacy of private property inevitably leads to war. Capitalism has led to “a world system of colonial oppression and of the financial strangulation of the overwhelming majority of the population of the world by a handful of ‘advanced’ countries” (10), chief among them America, Great Britain, and Japan. Capitalism has devolved into the even greater evil of imperialism, which now finds itself on the brink of social revolution.

Capitalism, in many ways, can be defined by the rapid growth of industry and the “remarkably rapid concentration of production in ever-larger enterprises” (18). Lenin says that in Germany, for instance, less than 1% of the number of business interests make use of more than 75% of the nation’s steam and electric power. Similar ratios are found in the other major capitalist states, such as the United States of America. The data supports that this concentration of resources has led to monopolies taking control: Monopolies are in fact a unique phenomenon of the “modern capitalist economy” (20).

The German philosopher Karl Marx writes in Capital that the interplay of free competition in the marketplace appears to be natural. However, Marx says that free competition leads to the rise of productive concentration which then generates monopolies. Monopolies that transcend their national boundaries lead to the formation of global empires and the parasitic system of imperialism, an all-encompassing institution that constitutes a rapid transition from “complete free competition to complete socialization” (28).

When this occurs, success no longer lies in the hands of the individual or smaller corporations, but in those who speculate and manipulate the markets to maximize profits regardless of the actual need for particular goods and services. Financial manipulation is the name of the game, and a new “disparity between the development of agriculture and that of industry” appears (32).

Lenin examines banks and the banking system. These develop from smaller and practical middlemen into “powerful monopolies having at their command almost the whole of the money capital of all the capitalists” (36); they gain financial control over countries and systems of alliances. Revenue is centralized and gathered to assist the creation of national and then global “world capitalist” economies (40). Banks gain total control over the financial realities of individuals, communities, and entire nations, furthering and accelerating the concentration of capital and the formation of monopolies.

With the rise of banks, the stock market system has declined and ceased to be of major importance. The transition from early capitalism to late-stage capitalism has assisted this decline, as the stock exchange and its regulation of free trade has diminished in both importance and influence. The continued centralization of banks has led to a situation in which a very small number of institutions hold sway over the extension of credit; they have not only supported monopolistic policies but have become monopolies themselves.