Imperialism
Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of
empires. This is either through direct
territorial conquest or settlement, or through indirect methods of exerting control on the
politics and/or
economy of other countries. The term is often used to describe the policy of a nation's dominance over distant lands, regardless of whether the nation considers itself part of the empire. The "Age of Imperialism" usually refers to the
New Imperialism period starting from 1860, when major European states started
colonizing the other continents.
The term 'Imperialism' was initially coined in the mid to late 1800s [
1] to reflect the policies of countries such as Britain and France's expansion into Africa, and the Americas. In
Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism,
Lenin argued that capitalism necessarily induced imperialism in order to find new markets and resources. This theory of necessary expansion of capitalism outside the boundaries of
nation-states was also shared by
Rosa Luxemburg and then by liberal philosopher
Hannah Arendt [ See Hannah Arendt, op.cit. ].
Since then, however, 'imperialism' has been extended by Marxist scholars to be a synonym of
capitalistic international trade and
banking [
2].
Insofar as 'imperialism' in the non-Marxist sense might be used to refer to an intellectual position, it would imply the belief that the acquisition and maintenance of empires is a positive good, probably combined with an assumption of cultural or other such superiority inherent to imperial power (see
The White Man's Burden).
Imperialism draws heavy criticism on the grounds that historically it has been frequently employed for economic
exploitation in which the imperialist power makes use of other countries as sources of raw materials and cheap labor, shaping their economies to suit its own interests, and keeping their people in
poverty. When imperialism is accompanied by overt military conquest of non-human rights abusing nations, it is also seen as a violation of
freedom and
human rights.
In recent years, there has also been a trend to criticize imperialism not at an economic or political level, but at a simply cultural level, particularly the widespread global influence of
American culture - see
cultural imperialism. Some dispute this extension, however, on the grounds that it is highly subjective (to differentiate between mutual interaction and undue influence) and also applied selectively.
The Latin root is
imperium (command or supreme power). The original meaning of
imperialist was "an adherent of an emperor". Its current meaning dates from the late 19th century in relation to the actions of the
British Empire; it subsequently grew to apply to any historical or contemporary instance of a greater power acting, or perceived to be acting, at the expense of a lesser power. Imperialism is therefore not only used to describe bona fide empire-building policies, such as those of the Romans, the Spanish or the British, but it is also used controversially and/or disparagingly, for example by both sides in communist and anti-communist propaganda, or to describe actions of the United States since the American Presidency's acquisition of overseas territory during the
Spanish American War, to its present-day position as the world's only superpower.
A contemporary debate surrounds the
United States,
American Presidency, and whether the power they exert upon much of the world and its policy amounts to imperialism — the U.S. is therefore sometimes referred to as the "
American Empire." This is because, with the collapse of the
Soviet Union and the end of the
Cold War, the
United States is now the world's dominant economic and military power. Furthermore, the U.S. has, many times over the past century, used both military intervention and economic or political influence to shape other countries, especially those within the
Western Hemisphere but occasionally also those in the
Eastern Hemisphere. Opinions vary greatly within the U.S.: some regard the active use of military force abroad as a part of the nation's responsibility or
national interest, while others argue for
non-interventionism. There are also many shades of opinion in between.
The term
American Empire is naturally controversial, since
empire is largely limited to descriptions of history rather than contemporary events. Historical examples of empire also tend to be more familiar and evocative of the concept. As such, modern examples of coercion and
militarism may be viewed differently, and many negative views traced to the
American Presidency.
The United States has also only enjoyed its status as sole
superpower for a relatively short period, without the
Soviet Union as its dominant political, military, and ideological opponent. The
Cold War battle for
geopolitical supremacy tends to be cast in terms of 'freedom versus repression,' thereby de-emphasising the imperial aspects of both powers. Furthermore, as the term
imperialism tends to have negative connotations of
tyranny and
repression, the 'subjects' of a supposed empire may be naturally disinclined to use it in any reference to themselves.
In the early 21st century, the U.S. has directed military, political, and economic resources towards oil-rich countries in
Central Asia and the
Middle East. Beginning at the end of
World War II, the U.S. largely took over from the
United Kingdom certain roles of influence in the
Middle East. Through assassinations and coups instigated and assisted by the
United States, several Middle Eastern nations have felt the strong influence of Western societies.
Egypt,
Iran,
Iraq,
Saudi Arabia,
Syria,
Lebanon, and
Israel have all been directly or otherwise substantially influenced by U.S. policy.(In addition, several countries have experienced prior or continuing British influence as a result of their history within the
British Empire — notably
India and
Pakistan.)
As few other countries possess such capabilities, it has been said by some that U.S. military actions are partly or mostly acts of militarist imperialism. Others simply believe that such allegations are used as groundless criticism against the U.S. whenever it undertakes a military action.
Karl Marx never published a theory of imperialism, although he referred to
colonialism in
Das Kapital as an aspect of the prehistory of the
capitalist mode of production. In various articles he also analysed British colonial rule in Ireland and India.
Marxists use the term
imperialism as
Lenin defined it: "the highest stage of capitalism", specifically the era in which monopoly finance capital becomes dominant, forcing nations and corporations to compete amongst themselves increasingly for control over resources and markets all over the world. Such control may take the form of geopolitical machinations, military adventures, or financial maneuvers. This usage of the term "imperialism" is in some ways inaccurate, since imperialism is historically implicated in the very origins of capitalism - although historians differ in their assessment of its economic importance.
The essential feature of the Marxist theories of imperialism, or related theories such as
dependency theory, is their focus on the
economic relation between countries, rather than the formal
political relationship. Imperialism thus consists not necessarily in the direct control of one country by another, but in the economic
exploitation of one region by another, or of a group by another. This Marxist usage contrasts with many people's understanding of the connotation of the word 'imperialism', which they think of as relating to the era when countries
directly controlled vast empires, rather than the
economic domination that some parts of the world have over others today - this popular view is a conflation of imperialism with
colonialism, the establishment of overseas colonies.
As noted above, the Marxist theory of imperialism is not founded on the works of
Karl Marx, but on those of
Vladimir Lenin. Nevertheless, the theory is accepted today by the majority of Marxists, even those who are not
Leninists. It states that imperialism allows the
capitalists from developed (rich) countries to extract a
superprofit from the
working class of undeveloped (poor) countries. The majority of this superprofit is kept by the capitalists themselves, but some of it is shared with the working class of the developed countries (in the form of higher standards of living, cheaper consumer goods, etc.), in order to placate that working class and avoid revolution at home.
The
Soviet Union, which claimed to follow Leninism, proclaimed itself the foremost enemy of imperialism and supported many independence movements throughout the
Third World. However, at the same time, it asserted its dominance over the countries of
Eastern Europe. This has led many to accuse the Soviet Union of
hypocrisy, and it is often used as an argument for the idea that the Soviet Union did not, in fact, follow Leninist principles.
New developments in the Marxist study of imperialism stem from the ground-breaking study
The Age of Imperialism, written by
Harry Magdoff in 1969.
Globalization is generally viewed as the latest incarnation of imperialism among Marxists, specifically directed at the
American Presidency.
You can read The new imperialism (David Harvey) to understand most of the newest developments in the topic of "imperialism", as the mechanism "accumulation by dispossession" that characterizes the logic of the capital and the territory (defined by Arrighi) that are working together to make the UE obtain all the profit the oil and other stuff allow.
*
New Imperialism*
Theories of New Imperialism*
Colonialism*
Explanations of Japan's Imperialistic Expansion, 1894-1910
