What exactly is imperialism? Imperialism has taken many forms and continues to exist in the world today. It is the economic and/or political domination of a society by another society. More than often the society under imperialist domination comes out of the relationship very much worse off than the imperial country. In today's world the imperialist power supreme is the United States of America, along with some of the more powerful European states such as Britain. At one time Britain was the supreme imperialist power of the world but with the collapse of empire this status has slowly eroded.

Historians of imperialism usually divide the history of imperialism into a number of distinct epochs or periods in time. It is crucial to understand and have an awareness of such history as many of the economic problems experienced by Third World countries are in part caused by their domination by imperialist powers.

This is what many would refer to as the first stage of imperialism, or, phase of underdevelopment.  This stage began about the 16th century being ushered into existence by the pioneering journeys of people such as Columbus who "discovered" America.  Almost immediately merchants from the European nations, Spain, Britain et. al. began to set up operations in these newly discovered lands.  This stage is marked by the activity of plunder, that is, robbery of these countries wealth and even of its people.  When Columbus discovered the Indian people he described them as gentle and placid people, he then promptly returned with 17 ships full of armed soldiers.  It was this superior military technology which enabled the European merchants, and noblemen, to dominate the indigenous populations of such countries.  With them these Europeans also brought diseases, diseases which the indigenous population had never been exposed to and which consequently they had little immunity to.  The result was that whole populations of people were almost wiped out through murder and disease.  This stage would not, and could not, last indefintely.  There were certain contradictions built into this system which brought abour its downfall.  To put it simply, you can only plunder so long before there is nothing left to plunder.

After mercantile capitalism came the next stage of imperialism - colonialism. During the stage of mercantile capitalism companies were involved in the plunder of the newly discovered territories.  They were the governing power in the territories in which they settled.  During the colonial stage European nation states entered into the fray, they actually took over the administration of the colonies.  Armies were sent to those countries in which the indigenous population did not accept their rule.  In many cases immigration was encouraged to the given country. Capitalists used these colonial markets, which were protected, to sell their products.  Sometimes the quite developed industries and systems of trade of the dominated country were ruined.  Historians such as Baran believe that this happened in India under British colonial rule.  India had quite a well developed textile industry when Britain acquired it as a colony.  Its products, however, competed with British products and so Indian manufacturers were discouraged trhough various means, such as tariffs.  India was turned into a supplier of raw materials for British industry and so the same thing happened in other countries, much the same practices being perpetrated by other colonial powers.

This is the present day stage, it began around about 1945.  Since about then many former colonised countries have gained their "independence".  For many Latin American countries this "independence" came relatively early, some gaining independence in the 19th century.  Yet despite this independence it remains the case that many of these former colonies find that they are still very much dominated by their former colonial masters, or, that they have gained new masters.  Writers such as Andre Gunder Frank believe that the West still dominates with regard to what is known as the Third World.  He uses the metaphor of satellite and metropolis to desrcibe this domination.  Each metropolis dominates and drwas wealth from its satellite(s), and at the top of this hierarchy of domination and exploitation sits America.  The point is simple, while the former colonies have gained formal political independence they still remain economically dependent on the West and thereby their "political independence" counts for little.

As far back as the Communist Manifesto Marx had wrote of an international or world market. By this he meant that capitalism was slowly spreading across the world. As a result the old modes of production were being transformed. Although the costs for many were high this was necessary as it was a further step along the road to socialism. In order for a socialist revolution to occur a bourgeois revolution must have occurred. To put it simply, the material conditions must be in existence. Marx would appear to have believed that a world would be created in the image of the capitalist West.

A more recent Marxist analysis of imperialism is given by Lenin in his book:"Monopoly Capitalism". Imperialism was now less about finding sources of raw materials and markets and more about investment. Finance imperialism involves the investment of capital in poorer countries. This allows the company to take advantage of cheap labour costs and therefore higher profits. The capitalist governments and states help this process by imposing their rule and dividing up the entire world. Thus, during the early 20th century most of the world was divided out between powerful countries. New countries were created often by someone sitting down and drawing a line on a map. Many historians would argue that part of the reason for the First World War lay in squabbling over control of such foreign countries and their resources.

A more recent analysis of imperialism is given by Baran and Sweezy. They are writing from the 1960s whereas Lenin was writing from the turn of the century. In many ways the work of Lenin anticipates the work of later Marxist scholars. Like Marx, Baran and Sweezy see capitalism as a world system of exploitation. They also see it as a hierarchical system with some societies at the top, such as America, and others at the bottom, such as the countries that make up the Third world. In between these two extremes come countries such as Britain and other European powers.

Like Lenin they highlight the fact that imperialism is now more about finance imperialism than about finding sources of raw materials. The multi-national corporations are central to their analysis. They write of the multi-nationals:

"What they want is monopolistic control over foreign sources of supply and foreign markets, enabling them to buy and sell on specially privileged terms, to shift orders from one subsidiary to another. to favour this country or that depending on which has the most advantageous tax, labour and other policies- in a word they want to do business on their terms and with whoever they please..."(Baran and Sweezy)

The state plays a significant role with regard to this new imperialism, quite an important role. If we accept that the state acts on behalf of the capitalist class then we must also accept that the state will act on behalf of its own national bourgeoisie, or, the capitalists that locate and invest in their country. The state can further the interests of the capitalist class with regard to the poorer and less powerful countries of the world in a number of ways. There are, however, two main ways to ensure that foreign governments and states act in the interests of the national bourgeoisies. One is economic the other military.

Chile provides an example of the military way. In the early 1970s the people of Chile democratically elected a Left-Wing government lead by President Allende. When they came to power they began a moderate programme of reform. One of these reforms was to nationalise certain industries, without giving generous compensation to those who owned them. Allende argued that they had already made billions from exploiting the people of Chile. Some of these industries where controlled by American companies. These companies had also (allegedly) given money to help the American president win the election. As a result the democratically elected government of Allende was overthrown by a military coup with help from the CIA. The American state had protected the interests of American big business in the most brutal manner possible. This is the military way of ensuring the interests of the national bourgeoisies. There are plenty of other examples of the military option when it comes to maintaining imperialism.

Another way to ensure the imperialist domination of nations is through economic means. The governments of the Third World are usually in a situation of financial dependency. During the 1970s many of them borrowed money from commercial Western banks in order to pursue development policies. Unfortunately interest rates soared, along with a world recession, and as a result the debts spiraled out of control. As a result the IMF (International Monetary Fund) had to step in, many would argue in order to bail out the reckless Western banks who had lent money without any assessment of the risk involved. The banks reasoned that a government could not go bust, but it could, and it did. This is where the IMF stepped in, and continues to play a role.

The IMF is, more or less, an instrument of American policy. The votes cast in the institution go on the contribution made to the collective fund. The USA makes, naturally enough, the largest contribution and therefore can dictate policy. When a foreign government applies to borrow money from the IMF they are not just simply given the money no questions asked. In order to qualify for such a loan the government has to agree to implement a programme of "structural reform". This programme of structural reform inevitably involves the opening up of their markets to foreign capitalists, the free flow of capital, a more export oriented economy, the privatisation of state controlled industries and lastly drastic reduction in social spending, that is, spending on health, education and welfare. When a country accepts these terms and implements them it inevitably leads to a decline in living standards but it helps to open up the country to foreign investment, that is, finance imperialism. Those countries that refuse to implement such terms will not be given a loan, and as a result will have little other means of raising revenue.

The IMF therefore act as an instrument of the imperialist powers, in particular America. This is not the only lever that the imperialist powers possess over the Third World. The governments of the Third World also owe large sums of money directly to the more rich Western governments. Those countries that are owed the most money are called the Paris Club because of the fact that they meet in Paris. Countries in this group of nations includes countries such as Britain, France and other European nations. The governments of these countries can negotiate for special deals but in order to do this successfully they must obviously do something in return. Sometimes this "something" will involve helping foreign states in their wars or perhaps even fighting a war with a neighbour. For doing such things these countries may have their debts reduced of they might get export credits.

Lastly, another way of ensuring that financial imperialism prevails in poorer countries is through aid. Unlike loans aid would appear to come with no strings attached. Aid, however, is not usually given without something in return. Quite often a country such as Britain might give aid to a specific country but only if it agrees to buy certain British products. There are examples of countries that have been lent money only to have to spend most of it on useless military equipment. Aid can also be something akin to a bribe. America during the 1980's give huge sums of money to various regimes, usually because of their anti-Communist stance, but the result was that much of the money went strainght into the pockets of various political leaders.  Sometimes the multi-nationals involved will directly bribe politicians in order that their interests are protected.