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Lenin's Theory of Imperialism Today

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Lenin's Theory of Imperialism Today Lenin's Theory of Imperialism Today: The Global Divide between Monopoly and Non-Monopoly Capital Samuel T. King, 2018 Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, Melbourne Abstract The income gap between rich and poor countries has increased since 1980, despite the rapid growth of capitalist commodity production in parts of the Third World. However, contemporary Marxist writing rarely acknowledges this and can't explain how the imperialist core has maintained its dominance. Over the same period, academic Marxism has come to reject Lenin's theory of imperialism, but not replaced it with another Marxist theory. Academic Marxists instead accept some version of the popular narrative that Third World nations (especially China) are ‘catching up’ with the imperialist core. It is shown that Lenin's Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism and its key theoretical concept—monopoly finance capital—provides a Marxist theoretical framework that can successfully explain the principle concrete developments in the international economy during the neoliberal period. These are: the growth of capitalism in the Third World yet lack of convergence with the imperialist core, how the global division of labour that developed during the neoliberal period concretely manifests and reinforces imperialist monopolistic dominance and how, on this basis, the imperialist core usurps the labour value1 created in the Third World. Much of essential conceptual framework developed in the thesis was explicit in Lenin's Imperialism but is lacking from contemporary discussion. It is argued, the most essential form of monopoly—and that which is the key to long-term reproduction of imperialist core dominance—is monopolistic dominance over the labour process. The latter is maintained by monopoly over the highest and most sophisticated labour. Monopoly capital develops in this way alongside and in connection with the parallel development of non-monopoly capital—much of which is based in the Third World. For this reason, the usurpation of value from Third World societies—i.e. Third World exploitation—is shown to be an integral and inevitable feature of international production and trade and underscores the longevity of the imperialist system. 1 The term "value" here is used in the sense developed in Marx's labour theory of value. ii In memory of Doug Lorimer, … without whose theoretical achievements the present work would not have been possible. Special thanks to Max Lane for suggesting I read chapters 13–15 of Capital Vol. 1 to compare Marx's view of industrialisation with Third World development today. Also for his thoughtful contribution to the development of the concepts here presented. Thanks also to Alice Auckbur, Allen Myers and Bronwyn Fitzgerald for their work and support for this project. iii Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………..….…. 6 PART I Income polarisation in the neoliberal period…………………….…..… 12 Chapter 1 Income polarisation in the neoliberal period.............................................. 12 PART II Contemporary Marxist response to international income polarisation and the decline of Marxist writing on imperialism….… 44 2.1 Contemporary Marxist response to polarisation...................................... 45 2.2 2011: Partial turn-around in analysis........................................................ 66 2.3 Decline of Marxist anti-imperialism in the neoliberal period................... 90 PART III Lenin's monopoly finance capital…………………………………….. 126 3.1 Prevalent caricatures of Lenin's monopoly finance capital...................... 129 3.2 Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism......................................... 137 3.3 Finance capital: its treatment by Lenin and by contemporary Marxists.. 146 3.4 Lenin's theory of monopoly little understood.......................................... 157 3.4.1 Lenin's theory of monopoly finance capital as a whole........................ 166 PART IV Monopoly finance capital in the neoliberal period……………..…….. 184 4.1 Monopoly finance capital in the neoliberal period................................... 184 4.2 Monopoly of highest labour productivity................................................ 209 4.3 Non-monopoly Third World capital........................................................ 235 4.4 Marxist literature on China...................................................................... 251 4.4.1 China: Third World capitalism par excellence..................................... 272 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. 289 Appendix 1: World States and Territories 2015........................................... 293 Appendix 2: Movement in GDP per-capita 1980–2015............................... 302 Appendix 3: Core and Non-Core Dominance by Sector.............................. 306 Appendix 4: Return on Assets to World's Largest Corporations................... 312 Bibliography.............................................................................................................. 313 iv List of tables and figures Table 1 First, Second and Third World population and income.................................. 13 Table 2 World income brackets, 2015.......................................................................... 16 Table 3 Growth in GDP per capita, 1980–2015........................................................... 27 Table 4 GDP growth rate, 1980–2016 (Constant 2010 USD)...................................... 32 Table 5 Growth in GDP per capita and 'projections' 1980–2015................................. 33 Table 6 Wealth per adult in China and US, 2000, 2007 and 2016............................... 34 Table 7 Growth rate of GDP per capita, 1980–2016 and required growth to catch up (Constant 2010 USD)...................................................................... 35 Table 8 Growth rates of 36 largest Third World states by population grouped according to 1980 GDP per capita (2010 Constant USD).............................. 39 Table 9 83 economic sectors and core and non-core dominance................................ 248 Figure 1 20 largest states, GDP per capita, 2015........................................................... 15 Figure 2 Top income Third World states, GDP per capita, 1960–2017......................... 17 Figure 3 Latin America, Third World 1 and 2 versus US, GDP per capita, 1960–2017 18 Figure 4 Largest states by population in the Americas, GDP per capita, 2016 ............. 19 Figure 5 Selected large Third World and First World states, GDP per capita............... 20 Figure 6 Portugal, Greece and Spain, GDP per capita, 1960–2016.............................. 21 Figure 7 Selected states, GDP per capita, 1960–2016................................................... 23 Figure 8 20 largest states, GDP per capita, 1960–2016................................................. 27 Figure 9 20 largest states, GDP per capita, 1960–2016 (current USD)......................... 28 Figure 10 75 largest societies, GDP per capita, 1960–2016............................................ 29 Figure 11 75 largest societies, GDP per capita, 1960–2016 (excluding Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Taiwan)....................................................................... 30 Figure 12 75 largest societies. GDP per capita, 1960–2016 (excluding Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Taiwan)....................................................................... 31 Figure 13 China versus highest income Third World States 1980–2016........................ 37 Figure 14 Selected Large Third World economies, GDP per capita, 1980-2015 (current USD).................................................................................................. 37 Figure 15 10 largest Third World countries, GDP per capita (including Russia)............ 244 v Introduction This thesis attempts to prove five closely related postulates. First, it will document that the neoliberal period, beginning around 1980, has not brought about a convergence in the income, wealth and general level of social and economic development between rich and poor countries. Rather, a large gap has been reproduced and reinforced whereby a small core of imperialist states—largely the same core states as 100 years ago—dominate the international economy and gain the lion's share of its income. In short, the period has reconfirmed the pre-existing international polarisation of wealth and income. Second, it identifies three influential currents of writers that claim their own work is consistent with Marx, which either do not acknowledge or only weakly acknowledge the international polarisation. Where polarisation is acknowledged, these currents are unable to provide a concrete and plausible explanation for how the rich countries' dominance is being reproduced. These currents are writers around the Monthly Review (MR), David Harvey and those influenced by him, and the International Socialist Current (IST)—the largest politically organised current identifying as Marxist in important imperialist core countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Third, the thesis shows that one Marxist interpretation of modern capitalism—Lenin's Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism—has been overwhelmingly rejected by these same contemporary currents, not through a process of detailed debate or consideration, but largely on the basis of caricature. Further, these Marxist currents have not replaced Lenin's Imperialism with any
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