POLITICAL ECONOMY OF IMPERIALISM

Imperialism describes the domination of a one society or group over another, but this can happen in many different forms beyond colonial territory expansion. The key is that it involves the subjugation of an entire indigenous population. Some European intellectuals like Immanuel Kant and Denis Diderot critiqued imperialism for its cruelty to native populations. Philosophers as disparate as communist Karl Marx and utilitarian John Stuart Mill defended imperialism as an activity that would advance so-called “primitive” groups.

Political economy is a term used for studying production and trade, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth. Political economy originated in moral philosophy. It was developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states, or polities, hence the term political economy.

Political Economy of Imperialism

The process through which a dominant country establishes political control — called a sphere of influence — over a poor country is political imperialism. Colonial expansion is one type, as is the establishment of puppet governments. Both the United States and Soviet Union used puppet governments during the Cold War. The intrastate wars that took place in Latin America during this period are now understood as proxy wars in which both countries tried to install sympathetic leadership via behind the scenes financial support and military training. Economic imperialism — coined by political theorist Leonard Woolf — refers to the way in which dominant powers establish economic power over developing countries. During colonial expansion, this meant exploiting forced labor and pillaging local resources to enrich the dominant countries. Left-leaning social scientists sometimes refer to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as bodies that exert the West’s economic domination over poor countries. They argue that this happens through structural adjustment programs that impose harsh austerity programs on sovereign states to force loan repayment. Historically, monopoly capitalism and imperialism made it impossible for underdeveloped countries to follow the traditional path of capitalist development. The large monopolistic capitalists of leading capitalist countries sought to eliminate competition. Since investment in development of a country might lead to potential competition, these large monopoly capitalists lost interest in developmental investment. Therefore investment went into exploitation of natural resources to be used as raw materials in the industrially advanced countries. Consequently these underdeveloped countries’ economies became one-sided, raw material and food exporting economies.

With its limited demand for manufactured goods supplied amply and cheaply abroad there was no opportunity for profitable investment in a “native” industry that would cater to a domestic market. Most of the equipment the factory needed was bought in the imperialist’s country and not in the underdeveloped country. This resulted in an expansion of the advanced country’s internal market. This lack of developmental investment resulted in a self-perpetuating lack of investment and continued backwardness. By establishing a “home” industry in the underdeveloped arearmers in many countries.

Conclusion

Imperialism types can overlap with another and are often difficult to isolate. The George W. Bush Doctrine of preemptive warfare in Iraq — with the goal of establishing a democracy there — is sometimes viewed as political imperialism. But the drive for influence over the oil supply in the Middle East — including preemptive war in Iraq — can also be interpreted as economic imperialism. When American influences in music, television and film seep into native Iraqi culture, that’s cultural imperialism.

Reference

Baran, Paul. The Political Economy of Growth. Monthly Review Press, 1962.

Baran, Paul and Sweezy, Paul. Monopoly Capital. Monthly Review Press, 1966.

Boggs, James. The American Revolution. Monthly Review Press, 1963.

Dobb, Maurice. Economic Growth and Underdeveloped Countries. International Publishers, 1967.

Fanon, Frantz. Studies in a Dying Colonialism. Monthly Review Press, 1965.

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the -Earth. Grove Press,