European Colonialism

Paper Summary:

Historians have continually argued as to the motives of the imperialist expansion of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lenin and historians such as Hobson argue that economic motives alone motivated this expansion and other historians have presented different views as to the origins of expansion such as political and diplomatic causes as well as cultural factors such as religion and nationalism. It examines all these other motives, in order to conclude whether economic motives alone or a variety of factors caused the imperialist expansion of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

From the Paper:

"Lenin called Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism, in his book he outlined that any improvement in working class wages and living conditions could only be secured at the expense of the workers of the undeveloped world. In other words capitalism had found a new proletariat to exploit in the third world. In his book Lenin claimed that the Great War was in reality the result of capitalist states clashing with each other in their drive for new colonies and overseas markets. Many anti Marxist historians have criticized Marxist analyses of Imperialism; they have argued that imperialism had no connection to capitalism. "

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