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Imperialism : The Highest Stage of…
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Imperialism : The Highest Stage of Capitalism - A Popular Outline (Little Lenin Library) (original 1916; edition 1974)

by V.I. (Vladimir Illich) Lenin (Author)

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1,0101220,331 (4.01)1
This 100-Year-Old Book Still Explains Our Endless Wars.As the extraordinary death and suffering of World War I unfolded, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin tried to explain why so many nations agreed to sacrifice so many people in such a brutal way. Expanding on the works of other political and economic theorists, including Karl Marx, Lenin provided an answer: capitalism. As he saw it, WWI was solely about imperialism and colonialism. To maintain their unyielding drive for maximum profit, the major capitalist industries of rich nations-banks and manufacturing-had to seek riches outside of their country's borders. By sending money (capital), instead of goods, to poorer, less developed nations, they could exert their power and control new markets. But what happens when rival empires clash over these colonized lands? Warfare. In Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin extends his scorn to the international socialist movement which-with the exception of the Russian faction -- supported entering the war to fight against a perceived foreign enemy while ignoring domestic marauders. He also exposes the cynicism behind the Wilson doctrine, which posited the world could achieve peace through the continued exploitation of the poor by the rich. Lenin connects the ruling class's increased wealth with the corruption, through bribes, of politicians and the labor leaders who worked to suppress workers' strikes. Now a century in print, Lenin's influential analysis remains highly relevant in comprehending the historical context of the foreign and domestic policy in the United States and other major nations.This Echo Point Books edition has been enhanced with an index, not found in previous editions.Looking to complete your Lenin library? Add a copy of Echo Point Books' State and Revolution (hardcover ISBN 978-1-63561-892-1, paperback ISBN 978-1-63561-761-0) to your collection!… (more)
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Title:Imperialism : The Highest Stage of Capitalism - A Popular Outline (Little Lenin Library)
Authors:V.I. (Vladimir Illich) Lenin (Author)
Info:International Publishers (1974), Edition: 1974 Printing
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Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Ilʹič Lenin (Author) (1916)

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An excellent discussion of imperialism and capitalism. It's short so it only provides a sketch but it highlights many points which are essential to grasp for leftists today and are often ignored (the inevitability of imperialism, uneven development, labour aristocracy etc). I'm rating it 5 because, even though it's not as developed as you might hope for various reasons and it could obviously be better, it is clear about the important details of capitalist development - it's perceptive, clear and easy to read and doesn't outstay its welcome. I recommend it to people thinking about capitalism now - in my opinion the ideas it talks about are absolutely essential.

One criticism is that he's not as unequivocal about the misery inflicted by exploitation of dependent countries. Maybe a little superficial but still. ( )
  tombomp | Oct 31, 2023 |
haha Kautsky got dunked on ( )
  theoaustin | May 19, 2023 |
1/20/23
  laplantelibrary | Jan 20, 2023 |
Cai de paraquedas nesse livro, e posso dizer que é uma boa leitura, em que o autor convincentemente conceitua imperialismo como o estágio monopolista do capitalismo em que o capital financeiro e as operações de financeirização passam a dominar o cenário mundial. Assim, através da livre competição chega-se nos anti-mercados do meio do século XX (os cartéis, as fusões, a influência generalizada do financeiro), caracterizados pela enorme concentração de renda e capital bancário dos grupos importantes, com a conjunta divisão do mundo entre os que tem colônias e os que são colônias. Cheio de dados e citações de economistas não-marxistas, há aqui o trabalho de explicitar o que foi escondido, esfumaçado e omitido "ingenuamente" nas descrições do desenvolvimento capitalista. Há socialização da produçã, similar à da própria Rússia, como Lenin pontua, mas sem distribuição nenhuma, e a oligarquia financeira passa a ter um poder enorme de ingerência; a exportação passa a ser tipicamente de capital e não de produtos, fato que o colonialismo prepara. O que é importante é a tendência geral do sistema de enredar tudo isso, ao mesmo tempo que permite a continuidade da exploração, no aprofundamento da desigualdade social e nas relações entre oligopólios que operam acordos mais que ações de competição. Que isso não resulte num monopólio mundial à pax romana e que o bem de todos via planejamento total não seja alcançado são duas coisas que hoje afirmamos, mas que Lenin já afirmava, talvez muito precocemente, nos anos 10, mais de um século atrás. ( )
  henrique_iwao | Aug 30, 2022 |
Vladimir Lenin wrote Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism in exile during the spring of 1916. He argues, “Capitalism has grown into a world system of colonial oppression and of the financial strangulation of the overwhelming majority of the people of the world by a handful of ‘advanced’ countries. And this ‘booty’ is shared between two or three powerful world marauders armed to the teeth (America, Great Britain, Japan [Lenin used Japan to stand-in for tsarist Russia in order to slip past the Russian censors]), who involve the whole world in their war over the sharing of their booty” (pg. 5). Lenin extensively studies the assets of corporations, monopolies, and banks in his analysis, backing up his arguments with detailed financial data. He writes, “The countries which export capital are nearly always able to obtain ‘advantages,’ the character of which throws light on the peculiarities of the epoch of finance capital and monopoly” (pg. 78). Lenin continues, “The principal feature of modern capitalism is the domination of monopolist combines of the big capitalists. These monopolies are most firmly established when all the sources of raw materials are controlled by the one group. And we have seen with what zeal the international capitalist combines exert every effort to make it impossible for their rivals to compete with them” (pg. 101). He further writes, “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” (pg. 110). This leads into Lenin’s next major argument: that the Great War of 1914 – 1918 was an expansionist war in support of capitalist and imperialist ambitions. He argues that the uneven distribution of infrastructure, specifically electricity and railways in the time he wrote, advanced capitalism, enriched monopolies, and helped fuel imperialist wars (pg. 121). Finally, Lenin spends time castigating Karl Kautsky for espousing Marxism while supporting bourgeois society (pgs. 112-117, 139-155). Lenin’s Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism will primarily appeal to philosophy students and those studying the history of Marxist thought. This Penguin Great Ideas edition is a nice edition for those looking to add Lenin to their personal bookshelves. ( )
  DarthDeverell | Jan 8, 2022 |
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Parlato, ValentinoEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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This 100-Year-Old Book Still Explains Our Endless Wars.As the extraordinary death and suffering of World War I unfolded, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin tried to explain why so many nations agreed to sacrifice so many people in such a brutal way. Expanding on the works of other political and economic theorists, including Karl Marx, Lenin provided an answer: capitalism. As he saw it, WWI was solely about imperialism and colonialism. To maintain their unyielding drive for maximum profit, the major capitalist industries of rich nations-banks and manufacturing-had to seek riches outside of their country's borders. By sending money (capital), instead of goods, to poorer, less developed nations, they could exert their power and control new markets. But what happens when rival empires clash over these colonized lands? Warfare. In Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin extends his scorn to the international socialist movement which-with the exception of the Russian faction -- supported entering the war to fight against a perceived foreign enemy while ignoring domestic marauders. He also exposes the cynicism behind the Wilson doctrine, which posited the world could achieve peace through the continued exploitation of the poor by the rich. Lenin connects the ruling class's increased wealth with the corruption, through bribes, of politicians and the labor leaders who worked to suppress workers' strikes. Now a century in print, Lenin's influential analysis remains highly relevant in comprehending the historical context of the foreign and domestic policy in the United States and other major nations.This Echo Point Books edition has been enhanced with an index, not found in previous editions.Looking to complete your Lenin library? Add a copy of Echo Point Books' State and Revolution (hardcover ISBN 978-1-63561-892-1, paperback ISBN 978-1-63561-761-0) to your collection!

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