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Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism

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'Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism' by Vladimir Lenin provides a clear explanation of imperialism and capitalism. Lenin accurately predicted modern financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank. delves into topics such as financial predation, monopolies, and the exploitation of resources in Africa and Latin America by European imperialists.

Lenin's writing style in the book is dense but effective in getting his point across. He discusses how big companies evolved into monopolies through legal and illegal means, acquiring various branches of production and commercial sectors. highlights the ultra-privatization of globalized capital, the formation of monopolies, trusts, and cartels, and the influence of big industries on government systems.

Writing/Prose:

The writing is dense and complex, demanding a solid grasp of economic and political concepts while still providing clear explanations.

Plot/Storyline:

The work analyzes the progression of capitalism leading to imperialism, emphasizing finance capital's role in societal domination and the implications for class dynamics.

Setting:

The setting spans the late 19th and early 20th centuries, concentrating on the global landscape of capitalism and imperialism.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, with some sections feeling slow due to their density, necessitating thoughtful reading.
The enormous growth of industry and the remarkably rapid process of concentration of production in ever-larger enterprises represent one of the most characteristic features of capitalism. Modern censu...

Notes:

The book discusses how finance capital dominates the lives of the working class.
Lenin argues that imperialism is necessary to prevent civil war between classes.
He describes imperialism as the export of surplus capital when economic growth slows at home.
Lenin theorized that big companies became monopolies through legal and illegal means, similar to modern corporations.
He referred to these monopolies as 'Trusts', akin to companies like Amazon and Facebook.
Lenin's work is essential for understanding 20th century socialism along with Marx's theories.
Communism aims to liberate the 99% working class, not oppress them.
The book is considered very educational on the topics of imperialism and capitalism.
Lenin predicted economic institutions like the IMF and World Bank long before they existed.
Reading Lenin's work can help debunk myths about communism being solely authoritarian.

From The Publisher:

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.

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