Kautsky's Theory Of Imperialism

According to political scientists and sociologists, the basic idea of ‘imperialism’ is the expansion of territory or conquests of foreign lands. But the Marxist understanding of ‘imperialism’ evaluates general changes in the socio-economic and political spheres of the capitalist state and the implication of the bourgeoisie class on the course of its history.

The word Imperialism derives its roots from the latin word ‘imperium’ which means ‘to command’ .The general understanding of the word Imperialism is that it is a policy that is used by one nation over another to exercise power on the grounds of ownership of resources, settlements, annexations etc. It is almost synonymous to “colonialism” where one sovereign power transfers its population

This was termed as imperialism by Lenin.

Karl Kautsky’s theory of imperialism: Karl Kautsky introduces the term of ultra imperialism, which is in stark contrast with the Marxist Leninist claim of imperialism. As discussed above, Leninist idea suggests that imperialism is the final stage of any capitalist system. In argument with that, Karl Kautsky theorizes the possibility of creating of a cartel which he suggests is another possible step in the evolution of capitalism.

Kautsky believes that imperialism is a policy adopted by industrialized states so as to cope with the loss of agrarian traditions in the core. His theory of imperialism suggests that industrialized states adopt peripheral states to acquire more agricultural land so as to sustain the core. (Academia)

He states that this is the main reason for the colonial wars that took place for expansion and brought about the rise of colonial empires. Hence, his solution to these wars was the formation of cartels amongst the capitalist

He states that, by the creation of a cartel, the capitalist states can use their combined financial capital to exploit the peripheral states together for the mutual benefits of the imperial states. His idea would eliminate the dangers of wars between the capitalist states and remove negative influences of imperialist designs. ( The Great Soviet Encyclopedia 1979, 2010)

Rosa Luxemburg’s theory of imperialism:

Rosa Luxemburg does not comment on the idea of imperialism. However, she has theorized the reasons for why capital states indulge in imperialism. Rosa believed that imperialism was based on capital accumulation. That is, the constant search for new markets outside the capitalist core.

She believes that capitalist states have the tendency to overproduce which would lead to a surplus value of the commodities not being realized. This is because, over production would result in too many commodities with not enough demand for them in the market. Hence, this would lead to a collapse in the economy of the capitalist state. (4 Theses on Rosa Luxemburg’s Theory of