The Littlest Red Books #2: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Inspired by Mao Zedong's famous "Little Red Book", I wanted to make it easy for people to read and share brief, impactful pieces of revolutionary theory.

Theorists who have complicated and controversial legacies will be included. Take what resonates and leave what does not. It’s up to us to apply their ideas in ways that are productive for our present reality.

ABOUT "IMPERIALISM, THE HIGHEST STAGE OF CAPITALISM"

The story behind this becoming an entry in the series is not that deep. I literally just read the quote from Engels and started screaming. We have got to stop letting capitalists jingle their keys in our faces. Too many of us are falling for it! Start swatting the keys out of their hands.

This is a fairly long essay, and only a handful of very brief excerpts could fit in this zine.

FOREWORD TO "IMPERIALISM, THE HIGHEST STAGE OF CAPITALISM"

“Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism” was first published as a pamphlet in 1917 by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924). It explains how capitalism mutates into imperialism, and how imperialists use their gains abroad to manipulate workers at home.

Lenin includes a biting quote from German revolutionary Friedrich Engels (1820–1895): “There is no workers’ party…the workers gaily share the feast of England’s monopoly of the world market and the colonies.” Lack of class consciousness causes workers in the imperial core to identify with their bosses, not the global working class. The wins of the financial elite become everyone’s wins. And so, laborers are recruited to guard the plundered goods of those who work against their interests. We see this today in the United States, where both major political parties aim to distract us from the fact that the fundamental purpose of both is to preserve and advance the U.S. war machine.

Some familiarity with Marxist analysis is recommended before tackling the full essay. However, the goal of this zine is to highlight excerpts that echo the reality of late-stage capitalism today.

Excerpts from “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism” by Vladimir Lenin are available courtesy of the Marxists Internet Archive. The full text can be found here: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/index.htm