• Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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    8 hours ago

    Imperialism is characterized by the following:

    -The presence of monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life.

    -The merging of bank capital with industrial capital into finance capital controlled by a financial oligarchy.

    -The export of capital as distinguished from the simple export of commodities.

    -The formation of international monopolist capitalist associations (cartels) and multinational corporations.

    -The domination and exploitation of other countries by militaristic imperialist powers, now through neocolonialism.

    -The territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers.

    The global north, Europe included, uses this export of capital to super-exploit foreign labor for super-profits. It also engages in unequal exchange, where the global south is prevented from moving up the value chain in production, allowing the global north to charge monopoly prices for commodities produced in the same labor hours.

    The point I am making isn’t simply about land conquering, but an ongoing process of shifting surplus value and resources from the imperialized to the core. Finance capital is the primary mechanism by which this functions.