Ultra-imperialism
Encyclopedia
Ultra-imperialism, or occasionally hyperimperialism and formerly super-imperialism
, is a potential, comparatively peaceful phase of capitalism
, meaning "after" or "beyond" imperialism
. It was described mainly by Karl Kautsky
. "Post-imperialism" is sometimes used as a synonym of "ultra-imperialism", although it can have distinct meanings.
(SPD) in the era of the Kaiserreich
. Kautsky coined the term in 1914, but he had speculated on the issue several times in 1912 already. He postulated that in the field of international relations a "stadium [approaches], in which the competition among states will be disabled by their cartel relationship". Thus, Kautsky’s Ultraimperialismus concept was shaped by the idea of cartel
s made up by states for the purpose of international policy.
The basic idea of a possible pacification of imperialism did not really originate from Kautsky. The British left-liberal John Atkinson Hobson had written in 1902 in a similar context about a potential "inter-imperialism", which could be established by a "combination" of great powers ("combination" or "combine" then being used to designate cartel
s). In 1907, Karl Liebknecht
stated in his brochure Militarismus und Antimilitarismus that "a trustification of all actual and potential colonies among the colonial powers, so to speak […] a disabling of the colonial rivalry among the states [could take place in the future], as it occurred to some extent for the private competition among capitalist entrepreneurs in the cartels and trusts". – On the eve of World War I these peace-loving social-democrats and liberals in Europe hoped that the great powers would – beginning with the British Empire and the Deutsche Reich – unite into a "states' cartel
" or a "combination" of states giving the rivals organization and reconciliation.
".
Kautsky elucidated this thought in the September 1914 issue of Die Neue Zeit
. He described the current phase of capitalism as imperialism
. In Marxist theory, imperialism consists of capitalist states superexploiting labour
in agrarian regions in order to increase both the imperialist nation's productivity
and their market
. However, imperialism also required capitalist states to introduce protectionist
measures and to defend their empire
s militarily. He believed that this was the ultimate cause of World War I
.
Kautsky noted that before the War, while industrial accumulation had continued, export
s had dropped, as a result of a tendency of industry
to expand out of proportion to agriculture
. He pointed out that growing nationalism
in the more industrially advanced colonies would necessitate a continuation of the arms race
after the War, and that should this occur, economic stagnation
would worsen.
In Kautsky's view, the only one way in which capitalists would be able to maintain the basic system, while avoiding this stagnation, would be for the wealthiest nations to form a "cartel
", in the same manner as which bank
s had co-operated, agreeing to limit their competition and renounce their arms race
, in order to maintain their export markets and their systems of superexploitation. In doing so, he postulated that war
and militarism
were not essential features of capitalism, and that a peaceful capitalism was possible.
's Imperialism and World Economy, written in 1916, he conceded that "in the abstract one can think of such a phase. In practice, however, he who denies the sharp tasks of to-day in the name of dreams about soft tasks of the future becomes an opportunist."
Lenin developed Bukharin's theories of imperialism, and his own arguments formed the core of his work Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism. He wrote that Kautsky's theory supposed "the rule of finance capital lessens the unevenness and contradictions inherent in the world economy, whereas in reality it increases them." He gives examples of disparities in the international economy and discusses how they would develop even under a system of ultra-imperialism. He asks, under the prevailing system, "what means other than war could there be under capitalism to overcome the disparity between the development of productive forces and the accumulation of capital on the one side, and the division of colonies and spheres of influence for finance capital on the other?"
and ultra-imperialism. Martin Thomas
of Workers Liberty claims that this "since the collapse of the Stalinist bloc in 1989-91, that 'ultra-imperialism' has extended to cover almost the whole globe", but that "rather than being a sharply polarised world of industrial states on one side, agrarian states on the other, with the industrial states joining together to keep the agrarian states un-industrial by force, it is a very unequal but multifarious system, with political independence for the ex-colonies, rapidly-permuting new international divisions of labour, and many poorer states exporting mostly manufactured goods."
Other commentators have pointed to similarities between Michael Hardt
and Antonio Negri
's theory of Empire
and Kautsky's theory, although the authors themselves claim their theory is founded in Leninism
.
Opponents of the theory of ultra-imperialism argue that, whatever similar forms may have existed during the Cold War, since its end, inter-capitalist competition has tended to increase, and that the nature of capitalism makes it impossible for capitalists to make conscious decisions to avoid behaviour if in the short term it proves beneficial.
- a new concept in the field of International Relations theory
- uses the basic conception of Kautsky's ultra-imperialism, but is not a Marxist theory.
Super-imperialism
Super-imperialism is a Marxist term with two possible meanings. It refers either to the hegemony of an imperialist great power over its weaker rivals, who then are called sub-imperialisms, or to a comprehensive supra-structure above a set of equal-righted imperialist states...
, is a potential, comparatively peaceful phase of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, meaning "after" or "beyond" imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
. It was described mainly by Karl Kautsky
Karl Kautsky
Karl Johann Kautsky was a Czech-German philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theoretician. Kautsky was recognized as among the most authoritative promulgators of Orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895 until the coming of World War I in 1914 and was called by some the "Pope of...
. "Post-imperialism" is sometimes used as a synonym of "ultra-imperialism", although it can have distinct meanings.
Origin of the term
The suggestion of a possible "Ultraimperialismus" is normally attributed to Karl Kautsky, the leading theoretician of the Social Democratic Party of GermanySocial Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD) in the era of the Kaiserreich
Kaiserreich
Kaiserreich is the German term for a monarchical empire. Literally a Kaiser's Reich, an emperor's domain or realm. When the proper term is used without disambiguation, it is assumed in Germany to refer to the German Empire of 1871-1918, during which the large majority of historically-independent...
. Kautsky coined the term in 1914, but he had speculated on the issue several times in 1912 already. He postulated that in the field of international relations a "stadium [approaches], in which the competition among states will be disabled by their cartel relationship". Thus, Kautsky’s Ultraimperialismus concept was shaped by the idea of cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
s made up by states for the purpose of international policy.
The basic idea of a possible pacification of imperialism did not really originate from Kautsky. The British left-liberal John Atkinson Hobson had written in 1902 in a similar context about a potential "inter-imperialism", which could be established by a "combination" of great powers ("combination" or "combine" then being used to designate cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
s). In 1907, Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht
was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
stated in his brochure Militarismus und Antimilitarismus that "a trustification of all actual and potential colonies among the colonial powers, so to speak […] a disabling of the colonial rivalry among the states [could take place in the future], as it occurred to some extent for the private competition among capitalist entrepreneurs in the cartels and trusts". – On the eve of World War I these peace-loving social-democrats and liberals in Europe hoped that the great powers would – beginning with the British Empire and the Deutsche Reich – unite into a "states' cartel
State cartel theory
State cartel theory is a new concept in the field of International Relations theory and belongs to the group of institutionalist approaches. Up to now the theory has mainly been specified with regard to the European Union , but could be made much more general...
" or a "combination" of states giving the rivals organization and reconciliation.
Kautsky's statements in 1914
In 1914 Kautsky published an article on imperialism, which subsequently was translated into English and published in the USA. In these he argued, there could be a way out of direful wars among the imperialist powers, a solution now named "Ultraimperialismus" or "super-imperialismSuper-imperialism
Super-imperialism is a Marxist term with two possible meanings. It refers either to the hegemony of an imperialist great power over its weaker rivals, who then are called sub-imperialisms, or to a comprehensive supra-structure above a set of equal-righted imperialist states...
".
Kautsky elucidated this thought in the September 1914 issue of Die Neue Zeit
Die Neue Zeit
Die Neue Zeit was a German socialist theoretical journal of the Social Democratic Party of Germany that was published from 1883 to 1923. Founded by leading socialist politicians and theorists, it became the most important organ of the SPD competing with Sozialistische Monatshefte...
. He described the current phase of capitalism as imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
. In Marxist theory, imperialism consists of capitalist states superexploiting labour
Workforce
The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
in agrarian regions in order to increase both the imperialist nation's productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
and their market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
. However, imperialism also required capitalist states to introduce protectionist
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
measures and to defend their empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
s militarily. He believed that this was the ultimate cause of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Kautsky noted that before the War, while industrial accumulation had continued, export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
s had dropped, as a result of a tendency of industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
to expand out of proportion to agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. He pointed out that growing nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in the more industrially advanced colonies would necessitate a continuation of the arms race
Arms race
The term arms race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for the best armed forces. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation...
after the War, and that should this occur, economic stagnation
Economic stagnation
Economic stagnation or economic immobilism, often called simply stagnation or immobilism, is a prolonged period of slow economic growth , usually accompanied by high unemployment. Under some definitions, "slow" means significantly slower than potential growth as estimated by experts in macroeconomics...
would worsen.
In Kautsky's view, the only one way in which capitalists would be able to maintain the basic system, while avoiding this stagnation, would be for the wealthiest nations to form a "cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
", in the same manner as which bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s had co-operated, agreeing to limit their competition and renounce their arms race
Arms race
The term arms race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for the best armed forces. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation...
, in order to maintain their export markets and their systems of superexploitation. In doing so, he postulated that war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
and militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
were not essential features of capitalism, and that a peaceful capitalism was possible.
Lenin's criticism
Lenin disagreed with Kautsky's approach. In an introduction to Nikolai BukharinNikolai Bukharin
Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin , was a Russian Marxist, Bolshevik revolutionary, and Soviet politician. He was a member of the Politburo and Central Committee , chairman of the Communist International , and the editor in chief of Pravda , the journal Bolshevik , Izvestia , and the Great Soviet...
's Imperialism and World Economy, written in 1916, he conceded that "in the abstract one can think of such a phase. In practice, however, he who denies the sharp tasks of to-day in the name of dreams about soft tasks of the future becomes an opportunist."
Lenin developed Bukharin's theories of imperialism, and his own arguments formed the core of his work Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism. He wrote that Kautsky's theory supposed "the rule of finance capital lessens the unevenness and contradictions inherent in the world economy, whereas in reality it increases them." He gives examples of disparities in the international economy and discusses how they would develop even under a system of ultra-imperialism. He asks, under the prevailing system, "what means other than war could there be under capitalism to overcome the disparity between the development of productive forces and the accumulation of capital on the one side, and the division of colonies and spheres of influence for finance capital on the other?"
Recent positions on the idea of ultraimperialism
Some Marxists have pointed out similarities between the co-operation between the capitalist states during the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and ultra-imperialism. Martin Thomas
Martin Thomas
Martin Thomas is a British Historian.Thomas did both his undergraduate and doctoral studies at Oxford University, completing his D.Phil in 1991. He joined the history department at the University of the West of England, Bristol in 1992 before leaving to take up a post at the History Department of...
of Workers Liberty claims that this "since the collapse of the Stalinist bloc in 1989-91, that 'ultra-imperialism' has extended to cover almost the whole globe", but that "rather than being a sharply polarised world of industrial states on one side, agrarian states on the other, with the industrial states joining together to keep the agrarian states un-industrial by force, it is a very unequal but multifarious system, with political independence for the ex-colonies, rapidly-permuting new international divisions of labour, and many poorer states exporting mostly manufactured goods."
Other commentators have pointed to similarities between Michael Hardt
Michael Hardt
Michael Hardt is an American literary theorist and political philosopher perhaps best known for Empire, written with Antonio Negri and published in 2000...
and Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri is an Italian Marxist sociologist and political philosopher.Negri is best-known for his co-authorship of Empire, and secondarily for his work on Spinoza. Born in Padua, he became a political philosophy professor in his hometown university...
's theory of Empire
Empire (book)
Empire is a text written by post-Marxist philosophers Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt. The book, written in the mid-1990s, was published in 2000 and quickly sold beyond its expectations as an academic work.-Summary:...
and Kautsky's theory, although the authors themselves claim their theory is founded in Leninism
Leninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
.
Opponents of the theory of ultra-imperialism argue that, whatever similar forms may have existed during the Cold War, since its end, inter-capitalist competition has tended to increase, and that the nature of capitalism makes it impossible for capitalists to make conscious decisions to avoid behaviour if in the short term it proves beneficial.
Related theories
State cartel theoryState cartel theory
State cartel theory is a new concept in the field of International Relations theory and belongs to the group of institutionalist approaches. Up to now the theory has mainly been specified with regard to the European Union , but could be made much more general...
- a new concept in the field of International Relations theory
International relations theory
International relations theory is the study of international relations from a theoretical perspective; it attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories act as a pair of coloured sunglasses,...
- uses the basic conception of Kautsky's ultra-imperialism, but is not a Marxist theory.
See also
- Military-industrial complexMilitary-industrial complexMilitary–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
- New imperialismNew ImperialismNew Imperialism refers to the colonial expansion adopted by Europe's powers and, later, Japan and the United States, during the 19th and early 20th centuries; expansion took place from the French conquest of Algeria until World War I: approximately 1830 to 1914...
- Permanent war economyPermanent war economyThe concept of permanent war economy originated in 1944 with an article by Ed Sard , Walter S. Oakes and T.N. Vance, a Third Camp Socialist, who predicted a post-war arms race...
- World System Theory
Literature
- Karl Kautsky: Der Imperialismus, in: Die Neue Zeit. 32 (1914), Vol. 2, p. 908–922.
- Karl Kautsky: Imperialism and the War, in: International socialist review, 15 (1914).
- Karl Kautsky: Ultra-imperialism, download via: Marxist’s Internet Archive, http://www.marxists.org/archive/kautsky/1914/09/ultra-imp.htm [This is an unauthorized new (2002?) translation of Kautsky’s imperialism-article of 1914 and at the same time a fake: Kautsky never published an article with this title. Anyhow, the translation result is now in some aspects better than that of 1914].
- W.I. Lenin, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Russia 1917.
- Holm A. Leonhardt: Bibliographie zur Ultraimperialismus-Theorie. Bibliography on Ultraimperialism Theory. In: Homepage des Instituts für Geschichte der Universität Hildesheim http://www.uni-hildesheim.de/media/geschichte/Bibliographie Ultraimperialismustheorie.pdf (available since January 20th).
- Holm A. Leonhardt: Zur Geschichte der Ultraimperialismus-Theorie 1902–1930. Die Ideengeschichte einer frühen Theorie der politischen Globalisierung. In: Homepage des Instituts für Geschichte der Universität Hildesheim http://www.uni-hildesheim.de/media/geschichte/Geschichte Ultraimperialismustheorie.pdf (available since January 20th 2008).
- Martin Thomas: Introduction to Kautsky's "Ultra-imperialism: a debate". in: Workers Liberty 2002, http://www.workersliberty.org/node/1037 "Ultra-imperialism.
- John A. Willoughby: The Lenin-Kautsky Unity-Rivaly Debate, in: Review of Radical Political Economics. Vol. 11, 1979, Issue 4, p. 91–101.