As the Biden administration continues the blockade against Cuba, a Cold War revival against China, and a nearly $900 billion military budget, understanding V.I. Lenin’s theory of imperialism, enunciated in Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism has rarely been more important. The following questions derive from that work.
1. Modern imperialism is the foreign policy of a new stage of capitalist development which gives rise to finance capital. This stage of capitalism is characterized by
a. capitalism’s commitment to establish international law.
b. the rise of totalitarian regimes.
c. the merger of banking and industrial capital.
d. the greed of financiers like J. P. Morgan.
2. Modern imperialism is different than earlier forms of imperialism because
a. it spreads democracy throughout the world.
b. it is centered on the export of investment capital.
c. it is centered on increasing trade.
d. it is created by violent, stupid politicians like Donald Trump.
3. Imperialism represents the decay of capitalism because
a. it is immoral.
b. it gives power to government bureaucrats rather than businessmen.
c. it leads to higher taxes.
d. it erodes bourgeois democracy itself, as it increases military and police power.
4. Imperialism is capitalism’s last stage because
a. it creates a “global society” where the working class is replaced by social movements.
b. it grows into “ultra-imperialism,” where the great capitalist companies and states work together to rule the world and make capitalism the only world system.
c. it produces greater economic crises, depressions, and wars between the imperialist countries, as well as alliances and revolutions among the workers in the imperialist countries against capitalism and the masses in the colonies against imperialism.
d. it brings politicians like Donald Trump and Ron De Santis to power, who think that foreign policy comes from western movies like Fort Apache.
5. Which one of these, according to Lenin, is not a major characteristic of imperialism?
a. The concentration of industry
b. The search among capitalists for extra profits
c. The creation of alliances and wars to redivide the world among the great capitalist states
d. Raising the living standards of the people in colonial regions to increase profits for the major imperialist powers
Answers here.
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