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A Note on Imperialism

'Imperialism' is a theory to denote the attitude of practicing & expanding power over foreign nations by colonising them employing forces like military, economic, diplomatic even cultural.The word Imperialism has its root in Latin 'imperium' meaning 'superiority' or 'rules. But, it got its present form with the ostentatious policies by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli & his followers.




However, in 1902 in his book  Imperialism: A Study , John A.Hobson tried to offer a highly influential interpretation of 'Imperialism' that says free enterprise capitalism had a negative impact on the majority of population. Though it attracted a lot of debates. Many historians , theorists opposed this explanation. But the process never stopped. Many intellectuals tried to develop their own theories. Even some of the Marxist intellectuals picked up Hobsonian theory and compiled it with their own theory. Among all of those the most notable & widely accepted one came in 1916 with Vladimir Lenin's theory of 'Imperialism' in his book Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. Written in 1916, this masterpiece got published in 1917. Lenin explained Imperialism as the closure of the world market and the end of capitalist free competition and developments that arose from the need of capitalist economies to form monopolies and financial oligarchy that neccessited colonialism & exploitation of colonized countries. 


Lenin explained theoretically in his book how Imperialism works specially the mechanism of superprofit.He pointed out that the capitalist countries expanded their power over their colonised countries, exploited their economy, manpower at negligible rates and used the surplus to build their own nation and aid the lower classes.Lenin's analysis reveals Imperialism more than a mere conquest: this parasitic flow of wealth from exploited periphery to the imperialist core explains why gradually the capitalist countries grew ever richer & their colonies grew poorer- laying bare the inherent contradiction that, for Lenin, heralded the eve of socialist revolution.





                                   —●— 



                                                 - Advika's



***Some major forms of Imperialism include: 1) Social Imperialism 2) Psychological Imperialism 3) Cultural Imperialism.










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