Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism

“[T]he main purpose of the book was, and remains, to present […] a composite picture of the world capitalist system in its international relationships at the beginning of the twentieth century…”

Lenin states his goal—to present a unified theory and critique of the capitalist system and the inroads it has made into the modern world—along with the manner in which it affects international relations—at the start of the 20th century in which he writes.

“Capitalism has grown into a world system of colonial oppression and of the financial strangulation of the overwhelming majority of the population of the world by a handful of ‘advanced’ countries.”

Lenin introduces the language of “colonialism” as it relates to how capitalist states take over economic and social welfare. One of his principal theses is that capitalism functions as a systemic means of oppression anywhere and everywhere it touches.

“The enormous growth of industry and the remarkably rapid concentration of production in ever-larger enterprises are one of the most characteristic features of capitalism.”

Capitalism tends to concentrate capital, wealth, and resources in the hands of the few rather than in the hands of the many. The preferment of industry—as opposed to agriculture—makes this concentration even more rapid.