By Musa T. Bey

Introduction: Naming the Beast

Imperialism is not just about foreign policy, war, or colonial ambition—it is capitalism fully matured, decadent, and dying. It is the final and highest stage of capitalist development. When we say “imperialism,” we are not talking merely about the annexation of foreign lands or military occupation, though these are some of its tools. We are talking about a global system of domination, accumulation, and structural violence rooted in monopoly capitalism. To fight imperialism is to fight capitalism at its most evolved and destructive form.

Vladimir Lenin, drawing from Marxist economic analysis, famously declared in 1917 that imperialism was not a policy preference—it was the inevitable outcome of capitalism once competition gave way to monopoly. In his text Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin laid bare the anatomy of imperialism in the early 20th century. What he observed over a century ago has only deepened in scope and brutality. Today, transnational corporations dominate the global economy. Finance capital governs nation-states. Wars are fought not for security or freedom but for markets, resources, and profits. And the working class, especially in the Global South, bears the crushing weight of this global order.

We must understand imperialism not as a chapter of history, but as our living reality. To truly grasp the roots of modern oppression, inequality, war, environmental catastrophe, and mass migration, we must understand the mechanisms of imperialism and how they serve the capitalist class. In doing so, we sharpen our tools for resistance and prepare ourselves for the revolutionary tasks of the present.

I. From Free Market to Monopoly: The Roots of Imperialism

In its early form, capitalism was driven by free competition. Small and medium-sized firms vied for market share in what Marx described as a chaotic but dynamic system. But as capitalism developed, this competition led to consolidation. Bigger firms swallowed smaller ones. Industrial capital merged with banking capital. The result was the rise of monopolies—gigantic corporations that dominated entire industries. This stage, described by Lenin as monopoly capitalism, was no longer governed by the laws of “free markets,” but by the interests of the capitalist oligarchy.

Monopoly capitalism does not merely compete—it dominates, absorbs, and restructures the entire world economy. Once the domestic market is saturated, and profits can no longer be squeezed out of the local working class, capital must expand outward. It seeks new territories, cheap labor, raw materials, and control of infrastructure. This outward expansion is not a choice—it is a necessity for the survival of monopoly capital.

Thus, imperialism arises organically. It is capitalism bursting through its national boundaries in search of new profits. As Lenin put it, “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.”

II. The Five Characteristics of Imperialism (Lenin’s Framework)

Lenin identified five core characteristics of imperialism:

1. The Concentration of Production and Capital into Monopolies

By the dawn of the 20th century, a handful of corporations controlled the bulk of production in key industries like steel, oil, rail, and textiles. Today, this tendency has reached new extremes. Fewer than 100 transnational corporations now control the vast majority of global trade. In industries like tech, energy, pharmaceuticals, and food, entire supply chains are under the control of monopolies that dictate terms to entire nations.

2. The Merger of Bank Capital with Industrial Capital

Finance capital dominates the modern world. It is not merely a part of the economy—it rules it. In imperialist countries, banks and industrial corporations are fused into massive conglomerates that hold disproportionate political power. Wall Street is not a side character in U.S. politics—it is the director. The global financial system, including institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and credit rating agencies, governs entire nations through debt and currency manipulation.

3. The Export of Capital, Not Just Goods

In the earlier stages of capitalism, surplus goods were exported to other markets. But in the imperialist stage, it is capital itself—investment, loans, infrastructure projects, and multinational operations—that is exported. This is not done to develop the recipient countries, but to exploit their labor, plunder their resources, and repatriate profits. Entire countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are trapped in cycles of debt and dependency because of capital exported from the imperialist core.

4. The Formation of International Monopolies

International cartels and transnational corporations now carve up the global economy like feudal lords. The world is divided not by democratic principles, but by who controls the ports, the oil fields, the data infrastructure, and the labor markets. From Amazon to ExxonMobil, these global monopolies exert control that rivals many national governments.

5. The Territorial Division of the World Among Imperialist Powers

This division began with colonization—Africa carved up at the Berlin Conference, Asia divided by spheres of influence, and the Americas subjected to the Monroe Doctrine. While formal colonization has largely ended, neo-colonialism has taken its place. Today, imperialism operates through debt traps, trade agreements, military bases, covert interventions, and puppet regimes.

III. Neo-Imperialism and the Age of U.S. Hegemony

Since the fall of the British Empire and the end of World War II, the United States has been the global enforcer of imperialism. It has over 800 military bases in 70 countries. Its dollar is the world’s reserve currency. It uses the IMF and World Bank to enforce neoliberal reforms. And it launches or supports military interventions under the guise of humanitarianism, democracy, or national security.

This neo-imperialism is less about direct rule and more about indirect domination. Structural adjustment programs, trade deals like NAFTA, and institutions like the WTO strip nations of economic sovereignty. They are forced to privatize water, education, and health systems. Workers are subjected to deregulated labor markets. Resources are extracted, and profits are expatriated to Western banks and corporations. This is imperialism without flags but with even deeper reach.

IV. Imperialism and War: The Business of Death

Imperialism is inseparable from war. The major wars of the 20th and 21st centuries—from WWI to Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and beyond—have been fought not to liberate people, but to secure markets, oil fields, trade routes, and spheres of influence. War is an extension of capitalist competition by violent means.

The military-industrial complex is one of the most profitable sectors in the global economy. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and other arms manufacturers thrive on conflict. Their profits depend on instability, regime change, and militarization. The Pentagon budget is not about defense—it is about sustaining capitalism’s global supremacy through force.

V. The Role of Racism and White Supremacy

Imperialism has always relied on ideological tools to justify itself. Chief among them is racism. The construction of racial hierarchies served to legitimize colonization, slavery, and genocide. Racism is not a byproduct of imperialism—it is one of its foundations. From the “White Man’s Burden” to the criminalization of migrants and the dehumanization of Palestinians, imperialism deploys race as a weapon to divide, conquer, and exploit.

The imperialist order is deeply racialized. The Global South is overwhelmingly Black, Brown, and Indigenous. Its domination by overwhelmingly white imperialist powers is not coincidental—it is a continuation of the white supremacist world order that emerged from slavery and colonialism.

VI. Resistance to Imperialism: From Bandung to the Barricades

From the Haitian Revolution to the Bandung Conference, from Cuba to Zimbabwe, and from Palestine to Venezuela, oppressed peoples have fought back. Anti-imperialist resistance has taken the form of armed struggle, cultural revolt, revolutionary education, and international solidarity. Despite betrayals, invasions, and sanctions, the global struggle against imperialism continues.

In the heart of the empire, the struggle against imperialism must include resisting militarism, exposing U.S. foreign policy, building solidarity with colonized peoples, and challenging corporate power. The anti-war movement, the abolitionist movement, and the fight for reparations are all part of a larger anti-imperialist front.

VII. The Crisis of Imperialism and the Future of Liberation

Imperialism is in crisis. The climate crisis, the resurgence of multipolar resistance, the collapse of neoliberal legitimacy, and the rise of revolutionary consciousness among youth all signal that the old order is unsustainable. But crisis alone does not guarantee liberation—it can also produce fascism, repression, and new forms of imperial violence.

Our task is to transform crisis into opportunity. To build revolutionary organizations rooted in the struggles of the working class. To support national liberation movements. To reclaim internationalism—not as charity but as solidarity. And to fight for a new global order based on cooperation, justice, and ecological sustainability.

Conclusion: The Revolution Must Be Anti-Imperialist

Imperialism is not a side issue. It is the central structure of global oppression. If we want to end poverty, war, racism, environmental collapse, and mass exploitation, we must confront imperialism at its roots. We must see the connections between police terror in Philadelphia and drone strikes in Yemen. Between redlining and debt slavery. Between gentrification and land grabs in Africa.

We cannot reform imperialism—we must overthrow it. And that requires a new kind of politics. Revolutionary. Internationalist. Rooted in the self-determination of the oppressed. Guided by theory, sharpened by struggle, and committed to liberation.

As the old world rots and the new one fights to be born, we must answer the call: Smash imperialism. Build the future. Organize to win.