LENIN:
'Capitalism is greatest oppressor of nations'
Imperialism is the highest stage in the development of
capitalism, one that has been reached only in the 20th century.
Capitalism began to feel cramped within the old national
states, without the formation of which it could not overthrow
feudalism.
Capitalism has brought about such economic concentration
that entire branches of industry are in the hands of
syndicates, trusts, or corporations of billionaires; almost the
entire globe has been parceled out among the "giants of
capital," either in the form of colonies, or through the
entangling of foreign countries by thousands of threads of
financial exploitation.
Free trade and competition have been superseded by
tendencies towards monopoly, towards seizure of lands for the
investment of capital, for the export of raw materials, etc.
Capitalism, formerly a liberator of nations, has now, in its
imperialist stage, become the greatest oppressor of nations.
Formerly progressive, it has become a reactionary force.
It has developed the productive forces to such an extent
that humanity must either pass over to socialism, or for years,
nay, decades, witness armed conflicts of the "great" nations
for an artificial maintenance of capitalism by means of
colonies, monopolies, privileges, and all sorts of national
oppression.
From "Socialism and War," 1915.
Reprinted from the April 25, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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