john milios - imperialism or (and) capitalist expansionism. some thoughts on capitalist power, the...

7/25/2019 John Milios - Imperialism or (and) Capitalist Expansionism. Some Thoughts on Capitalist Power, the Nation-State a

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Imperialism or (and) Capitalist Expansionism.

Some Thoughts on Capitalist Power, the Nation-State and the Let

by John MiliosDepartment of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law,

National Technical University of thens!milios"hol#$r%!milios"centrl#ntua#$r

!"stra#t

This paper critically reviews some fundamental theses of the theories of imperialism#

&t claims that a theory of imperialism, if based on Mar'(s theory of capitalism, shall

on the one hand re!ect the traditional monopoly)capitalism approach and on the other

adopt a broader definition of imperialism, denotin$ the *economic, political and

ideolo$ical+ e'pansionist tendencies inherent in every system of capitalist power *in

every capitalist social formation+#

This means that an anti)imperialist- political strate$y aimin$ at defendin$ certaincapitalist national states a$ainst the new world order-, can by no means be re$arded

as an answer to the strate$ies of capitalism .not even those put forward by the

capitalist $reat powers-. and a prere/uisite for social chan$e# The state, as the centre

for the e'ercise of capitalist class power is the mechanism for concentratin$ the

$enerali0ed social violence of capital, a vehicle for international alliances of the

*national+ bour$eois classes and at the same time a machine for promotin$ the

e'pansionism of each country(s social capital#

$. Introdu#tion

1or more than a century, imperialism constitutes a 2ey)term of left theory and politics#&t denotes the a$$ressiveness but also the ripe characteristics of modern capitalism or

of certain capitalist formations#

However, the term imperialism has never referred to one and the same theoretical

approach or political strate$y# 1rom the era of 3lassical Theories of &mperialism

*Hilferdin$, Lu'embur$, 4u2harin, Lenin5+, different and often conflictin$ theories

and political strate$ies have been formed amon$ left intellectuals and political

or$anisations#

6hat, first of all, seems to me to be very problematic from the point of view of

Mar'ist theory, is the formulation of certain anti)imperialist- approaches which tend

to present history as stru$$le amon$ nations- *the capitalist $reat powers suppressin$all other nations+, oustin$ thus the Mar'ist approach of class stru$$le as the motive

force of history# ccordin$ to a recent version of this anti)imperialist- ideolo$y and

political approach7

8 1ollowin$ the collapse of the Soviet Union, a New 6orld 9rder- has been

created, characteristic feature of which is systematic violation of the principle of

national independence and state soverei$nty# ny states that do not fall into line with

the rules are sub!ected to sanctions and politico)military pressure, until they submit to

the norms of imperialist su0erainty#

8 This means that opposition to imperialist strate$y is now the nodal point of

resistance for all with aspirations of a different world# &n this settin$ the national state

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and stren$thenin$ of its soverei$nty is perceived as a prere/uisite for the self)

determination- of a people and the demand for democracy and social chan$e#:

&t is obvious to me that such approaches theoretically and politically

underestimate class power and class stru$$le, i#e# capitalist e'ploitation and

dominance over the wor2in$ classes, not only in the capitalist countries considered to

be sub!ected to the imperialist yo2e or threats, but also in the $reat powers- of thecapitalist world#

However, dominant approaches to imperialism suffer from two even more severe

theoretical wea2nesses7

a+ They consider that *economic, political, territorial, cultural etc#+ e'pansionist)

imperialist tendencies characteri0e only the $reat powers- *i#e# developed)

imperialist capitalist countries+, and not every system of *economic)political)

ideolo$ical+ capitalist class power#

b+ They further consider these e'pansionist)imperialist tendencies to have ta2en an

ultimate form, characteristic to mature capitalism-, since the late :;thcentury#

&n doin$ so they do not only e'clude the era of early- capitalist e'pansionism*from the :


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&n the followin$ two sections of the paper & will challen$e these two main theses

of the dominant theories of imperialism# & will try to show, on the one hand, that if the

term imperialism- is of any use as a concept decipherin$ the functionin$ of capitalist

power and e'ploitation it shall be e'panded- to include also the e'pansionist

tendencies of any capitalist class power, and on the other that theories of monopoly

capitalism- are alien to Mar'(s concept of capitalism, i#e# to the theory of value andcapital *of the capitalist mode of production+ formulated by Mar'#

%. Capital, state and expansionism& 'uestions o theor

2.1 The bourgeois political power as nation-state

3apitalism, the rule of capital over labour, does not constitute e'clusively an

economic relation of e'ploitation but refers to all of the social levels *instances+7 it

entails also relations of political dominance and ideolo$ical subordination# 3apitalism

comprises the totality of capitalist power relations, the fundamental social)class

interdependencies which define a system of social power *a society+ as a capitalistsystem# &n it, there is thus articulated the particular structure of the capitalist state#

3apitalist e'ploitation is rendered possible and appears as a natural order- throu$h

the functionin$ of the state# 1urther, the nation in its modern)day sense is an

inseparable aspect of the capitalist social order, very tan$ibly e'pressin$ the political

and ideolo$ical)cultural predominance of capital, which homo$eni0es every

community within a political territory into a national community-#

t the economic level the state ma2es a decisive contribution to creatin$ the

overall material conditions for reproduction of capitalist relations# These include

policy for mana$in$ the wor2force, interventions for an increase in the profitability of

a$$re$ate social capital, the national currency and state mana$ement of money, the

institutional and le$al framewor2 safe$uardin$ the freedom- of the mar2et,

mechanisms for disciplinin$ labour power and institutions of social pacification#

These material conditions differ from country to country, however much conver$ence

there may be today between advanced capitalist countries#

t the political and ideolo$ical)cultural level, the state le$itimates the e'ercise of

bour$eois political power as national independence-# The nation concentrates within

this framewor2 aspects of the ideolo$ical dimension of capitalist power, that is to say

the material results of sub!ection . of all that is indeed sub!ected . to the !urisdiction

of a state *wor2ers, capitalists, the self)employed5##+# The nation is inseparable from

the institutions which impose its dominion and confirm its e'istence, such as

universal suffra$e for nationals-, i#e# adults who belon$ to the nation and areinte$rated as citi0ens into the state, which appears to embody to the national interest

and national)popular soverei$nty#

Throu$h this mechanism the nation transforms-, that is to say renders

universally bindin$, the class interests of capital, presentin$ them, settin$ them in

operation, as national interests#F

capitalist social formation is thus national in the dual sense of the term7 that

which lends it coherence is the element of national unity# 3apital is constituted as

FLouis lthusser remar2ed in reference to the nation state7 3lass stru$$le is at the heart of the

constitution of nations7 the nation represents the form of e'istence indispensable to the implantation of

the capitalist mode of production, in its stru$$le a$ainst the forms of the feudal mode of production#5I a nation can be constituted only by means of a state . a national state- *lthusser :;;;7 ::+# Seealso Milios =GG


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social)national capital# &ts lon$)term interests are formulated and safe$uarded as

national interests#

National unity is not an ima$ined- construct *or community-+# &t e'presses the

mode of functionin$ of the state, of institutions of democratic ri$hts-# &t mana$es in

this way to present the world as a world of nations, and to ma2e it function as a world

of nations# 3lass power and e'ploitation stay out of the firin$ line# The class interestsof wor2ers remain hidden from si$ht# 6hat appears to e'ist is conflict- or

emulation- between national interest and forei$n national interests#

4our$eois historio$raphy shapes and pro!ects as self)evident- a history- whose

motive force is the clash of the nation- with forei$n intri$ues-, or at the very least

with emulation and collaboration between the specific nation in /uestion and forei$n

nations-#

The theoretical revolution of @arl Mar' consists in the first instance in his bein$

able to $ive a scientific $roundin$ to the position that concealed behind the stru$$le

of nations- lies the class struggle, the drivin$ force of History#

2.2 Colonisation as an historical form of capitalist expansionism

Mar'(s theory also shows that from the dynamic of the capitalist mode of production

*at every social level+ there emer$es the tendency towards e'pansion of the dominion

of everycapitalist social formation beyond its boundaries# 3apitalist e'pansionism has

as one of its deep foundations the internationali0ation of capital, the e'tension of the

economic activity of individual capitals beyond the boundaries of the country from

which they start out# Ceople and fla$s are often impelled to follow the international

e'pansion *of the influence+ of individual capitals# Nevertheless, the active vehicles of

the e'pansionism at each individual con!uncture are not !ust economic interests-#

State interest- and national interest- are !ust as fre/uently encountered, as capital,

state and nation are inter)related aspects of one and the same social system#

The first form of capitalist class power, pre)industrial)commercial capitalism, is

lin2ed to the emer$ence of the absolutist state# The absolutist state is a bourgeois

state. &t comprises the type of political power that safe$uards the transition from

feudalism to capitalism, subse/uently stabilisin$ the social power of capital7

6hat 5I too2 place in the a$e of merchant capital *the :Athand :Kthcenturies+ was the

accumulation of hu$e capitals in the hands of the commercial bour$eoisie 5I# The

transition from feudal to capitalist economy en!oyed the active promotion of state

authorities, whose increasin$ centrali0ation ran parallel with the $rowin$ stren$th of

merchant capital 5I# To smash throu$h the privile$es of the estate holders and towns, a

stron$ crown was essential# 4ut the bour$eoisie also needed a powerful state to protect itsinternational trade, to con/uer colonies, and to fi$ht for he$emony over the world

mar2et- *Eubin :;;7 =)


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The colonial system ripened trade and navi$ation as in a hot)house ###I The colonies

provided a mar2et for the buddin$ manufactures, and a vast increase in accumulation

which was $uaranteed by the mother country(s monopoly of the mar2et# The treasures

captured outside Burope by undis$uised lootin$, enslavement and murder flowed bac2 to

the mother country and were turned into capital there- *Mar' :;;G7 ;:+#

Nevertheless, colonialism continued even after the victory of industrial

capitalism and the formation of $i$antic enterprises# &n the new historical period, also,

it functioned as a vehicle for e'tended reproduction of capital and the social and

political processes structurally interconnected with it7

9n the one hand, the immediate effect of machinery is to increase the supply of raw

material 5I 9n the other hand, the cheapness of the articles produced by machinery, and

the revolution in means of transport and communication provide the weapons for the

con/uerin$ of forei$n mar2ets# 4y ruinin$ handicraft production of finished articles in

other countries, machinery forcibly converts them into fields for the production of its raw

material# 5I 4y constantly turnin$ wor2ers into supernumeraries,( lar$e scale industry,

in all countries where it has ta2en root, spurs on rapid increases in emi$ration and the

coloni0ation of forei$n lands, which are thereby converted into settlements for $rowin$

the raw material of the mother country, !ust as ustralia, for e'ample, was converted into

a colony for $rowin$ wool- *Mar' :;;G7


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&n the con!uncture of sharpenin$ anta$onism between the ma!or capitalist powers

over the colonies, in :;G=, the !ournalist and writer J## Hobson focused on a new

popular term to describe the phenomena of his a$e7 imperialism# &n his boo2 of the

same name *mperialism. ! study+ he maintained that capitalism had become

imperialism, as it had entered a phase of over)savin$- and over)production-, Awhichis a phase of parasitism- and declineK#

Hobson distin$uished between *early+ colonialism and imperialism- on the basis

of an ar$ument purely apolo$etic for colonial e'pansion7 He claimed that pre)

imperialist colonialism aimed at propa$atin$ civilisation and industry to the

temperate 0ones-#

Many of the ideas of Hobson influenced the Mar'ist theories of imperialism that

were formulated a few years later#

1ollowin$ Hobson, the Mar'ist theories of imperialism e'plicitly distin$uished

between the early colonialism and the correspondin$ phenomena of the latest- phase

of capitalism to which, e'clusively, they $ave the name of imperialism- . without

followin$, thou$h, Hobson(s apolo$etic ar$ument concernin$ the civilisin$ effect-of early colonialism# Mar'ist writers claimed that the latest phase- of capitalism was

the outcome of the domination of monopolies-#

Eudolf Hilferdin$ *:KK):;:+ in his "inance Capital, was the writer who

introduced into Mar'ist theory this idea of a latest phase- of capitalism, which is

characterised by the followin$ features *Milios :;;;, =GG:+7 the formation of

monopolistic enterprises *which put aside capitalist competition+% the fusion of ban2

and industrial capital *leadin$ thus to the formation of finance capital, which is

considered to be the ultimate form of capital+% the subordination of the state to

monopolies and the finance capital% finally, the formation of an e'pansionist policy of

colonial anne'ations and war#;

AThe over)savin$ which is the economic root of imperialism is found by analysis to consist of rents,

monopoly profits, and other unearned or e'cessive element of income 5I Thus we reach theconclusion that &mperialism is the endeavour of the $reat controllers of industry to broaden their

channel for the flow of their surplus wealth by see2in$ forei$n mar2ets and forei$n investments to ta2eoff the $oods and capital they cannot sell or use at home 5I The prime ob!ect of the trust or other

combine is to remedy this waste and loss *caused by unemployed capital, J#M#+ by substitutin$re$ulation of output for rec2less over)production- *Hobson =GG


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The idea of a latest-, monopolistic)imperialist sta$e of capitalism, possessin$

the above described features was adopted by 4u2harin, Lenin, @auts2y and others,

*despite the disputes amon$ them, in relation to specific features of this approach or

its political conse/uences+, shapin$ thus what is called the Mar'ist theories of

monopoly capitalism, that dominated, until recently, most Mar'ist streams of thou$ht,

and especially Soviet Mar'ism *see bal2in et al :;F, 4rewer :;G, Milios :;+#

. ! Criti'ue to the notion o *+onopol Capitalism

ccordin$ to Mar', capital constitutes a historically specific social relation of

e'ploitation and domination# This relation manifests itself in the first instance in the

commodity character of the economy, in the $eneral e'chan$eability *throu$h money+

of the products of labour on the mar2et# The capital ) wa$e labour relationship can be

first of all analysed at the level of the isolated unit of capitalist production, the

enterprise, which Mar' calls individual capital# 4ut this relationship also, and

especially, acts at the level ofsocial capital, i#e# the capitalist economy as a whole,

where the immanent causal structures *laws-+ of the system apply#Social capital is thus the concept of capital at the level of the capitalist economy

as a whole, i#e# it is the comple' concept embracin$ empirically detectable re$ularities

of a capitalist economy, but also all the laws- .the hidden causal determinants. of

the capitalist system *the capitalist mode of production+# t this level of social capital,

the individual capitalist is simply personified capital, functionin$ in the production

process simply as the bearer of capital- *Mar' :;;:7 ;


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competition# Social capital is associated with the predominance of the tendency

towards e/ualisation, throu$h competition, of the $eneral rate of profit, which is the

condition that ensures the self)or$anisation of individual capitals into a rulin$

capitalist class7

The various different capitals here are in the position of shareholders in a !oint)stoc2company- *Mar' :;;:7 =


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The above conclusion concernin$ the paradi$m shift introduced in Mar'ist

economic theory by Hilferdin$(s "inance Capital may be further elucidated on the

basis of Mar'(s monopoly theory in ?olume F of Capital# This theory is e'plicitly

formulated by Mar', contrary to the belief that monopolies can be studied only in the

framewor2 of the latest phase- of capitalism, which was supposedly formed only

after Mar'(s death#Mar'(s theses can be summarised as follows# The fact that there is a tendency

towards e/ualisation of the rate of profit, that causes individual capitals to constitute

themselves as social capital, does not mean that at any $iven moment the rates of

profit of different individual capitals will automatically be e/ual# monopoly was

thus defined in Mar'(s theory as an individual capital which systematically earns an

above)avera$e *e'tra-+ rate of profit *and not as a company which monopolises the

mar2et+#

Mar' in Capital draws a distinction between two ma!or types of monopoly7

natural and artificial monopolies# Natural monopolies arise from monopolistic

possession of the elements of production in their natural form, which leads to

increased productivity *in relation to the social avera$e+ and increased *monopoly+profit *Mar' :;;:7 K)


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tenet of Mar'ist theory of the capitalist mode of production *Mar'(s theory of value

and capital+# 9n this point Mar' is une/uivocal7

3apital arrives at this e/ualisation of the $eneral rate of profitI to a $reater or lesser

e'tent, accordin$ to how advanced capitalist development is in a $iven national society7

i#e# the more the conditions in the country in /uestion are adapted to the capitalist modeof production- *Mar' :;;:7 =;K+#

. Con#luding remars with regard to the theor o imperialism and the Let

4eyond the fact that the concept of monopoly capitalism- is theoretically

unsubstantiated, whereas approaches of underconsumption, declarin$ a permanent

e'cess supply- or e'cess production- under capitalism are also theoretically

unfounded *for a detailed treatment see Milios et al =GG=7 ::=)::, :


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the causal structures immanent in the capitalist mode of production and to the relation

of *national and international+ class forces formed in each specific historical

con!uncture#

&f the traditional anti)imperialist- problemati/ue is of little use for the Lebanese

Left, to interpret or ta2e stance on the Syrian invasion in the country, so it is also the

case for the Serbian or the 3roatian Left, in their effort to interpret or ta2e stance tothe war in former Pu$oslavia# &n both, as in all other, cases, the role of the local

rulin$ classes and the e'pansionist tendencies of their power, as well as of

nationalism as a process of imposin$ capitalist interests to the labourin$ classes shall

be ta2en into account#

9bviously in the pursuit of international influence the he$emonic powers of the

advanced capitalist world can claim the lion(s share#:

The anti)imperialist- interpretation of the world pro!ects the military

interventions of the United States and its allies as one uni/ue element in a post)3old

6ar new order-# 4ut from the time of the naval battle of Navarino in :=K *which

enabled the creation of the Oree2 state, as the 9ttoman forces were defeated by the

intervenin$ Oreat Cowers+ and the landin$ of 1rench soldiers in the Celoponneseunder Oeneral Maison in u$ust :=, up until the military interventions of the

6estern Cowers to Soviet Eussia, @orea and ?ietnam, the he$emonic powers of

capitalism have always reserved the ri$ht- to intervene in local conflicts, performin$

the role of the international $endarme- and in their choice of allies employin$ the

criterion of their own strate$ic interests7 safe$uardin$, in other words, the power

relationships and e/uilibria by means of which their he$emonic role is reproduced#

The /uestion therefore is not whether the he$emonic capitalist countries

intervene in the contradictions that are emer$in$ and sharpenin$ all over the planet

but whether the character of those interventions has been transformed followin$ the

end of the 3old 6ar and the collapse of the Bastern bloc#

4eyond the obvious dis!uncture in the balance of forces $iven that the United

States has remained the sole superpower, the answer to this /uestion must be

ne$ative, as recent developments constitute a breach within continuity7

Since the end of the Second 6orld 6ar the political framewor2 on the basis of

which the international policy of the 6est has been e'ercised has remained

unchan$ed7 The basic a'is of this framewor2 is the safe$uardin$ of 6estern

he$emony throu$h maintenance of the borders which emer$ed from the conditions of

the Second 6orld 6ar7 Oiven that the stability of e'istin$ borders is $uaranteed and

every attempt to revive the lo$ic of the historic unity of blood and soil- that would

draw it into /uestion is dele$itimated, 6estern international policy strate$y secures

the consensus of the $reat ma!ority of states on the planet#:

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