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Unit 1: Imperialism — Then and now

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Instructors: Bikrum Gill and Corinna Mullin

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Vladimir Lenin described imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism — a period in which the consolidation of capitalist forces into monopolies necessitates their outward expansion, capturing the land, resources, labor, and markets of another people.

In this contemporary understanding of the term, imperialism has been the organizing logic of the global economy for several centuries. Yet, its effects remain underplayed or ignored in academia and significant parts of the (Western) left.

Without a foundational understanding of the mechanisms of imperial accumulation at the global scale, it is impossible to formulate a coherent strategy at the national level.

In Unit 1, we look at imperialism: What it is, how it has been theorized, and how it has evolved?

Required Readings

• 📖 V.I. Lenin, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (1917)
• 📖 Kwame Nkrumah, “Introduction”, Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism
• 📃 Corinna Mullin and Azadeh Shahshahani, “To organize in times of crisis, we need to connect the dots of global resistance against Imperialism”

Recommended Readings

• 📖 Kwame Nkrumah, Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism 1965
• 📖 Dani Wadada Nabudere, The Political Economy of Imperialism
• 📃 Samir Amin, “U.S. Imperialism, Europe, and the Middle East”
• 📃 *Climate Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century* by Jayati Ghosh, Debamanyu Das and Shouvik Chakraborty

Additional Readings

• 📖 Utsa Patnaik, Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present (2021)

Study Questions