The purpose of the paper is to provide the basis for a theory of imperialism that is consonant with open Marxism. The need for an open Marxist theory of imperialism derives from two sources: firstly, a critique from open Marxism of extant theories of imperialism that they treat contingent factors as necessary elements of imperialism. Secondly, and certainly a less theoretical point, is the obvious and intuitive value of an account of imperialism. Where states compete to immobilise capital within their own territory, this leads to unequal relationships between states, one of which is imperialism. It is essential to understand what the nature of this relationship is if we are to understand capitalism on a global scale, which is to say at all. This can only be accomplished by understanding what the state is, how it is constituted and what its function is within society. Open Marxism is particularly well placed to accomplish this. The paper argues that accounts of imperialism heretofore have been contingent and focused on the appearance of imperialism and spent little time considering its essence as a manifestation of the state’s power and desire to maintain the circuit of capital both nationally and internationally. The paper then seeks to show that open Marxism is well placed to achieve this and to move towards an idea of an open Marxist theory of imperialism.
Sutton, Alex
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences\Department of Social Sciences
Year of publication: 2013Date of RADAR deposit: 2018-11-30