Colonization or Globalization
By Dr. H. Salari
In advanced capitalism unequal development of different enterprises
due to dissimilar conditions leads to monopoly.
Monopoly capitalism has a tendency towards combination of production.
In combination of production, a giant enterprise brings together different
branches of an industry and its accessories, for instance from mining
and refinery of oil, to production of all kinds of plastics and chemical
compounds, and so on.
Combination of production strengthens the position of the combined
enterprises, especially during periods of severe depression, because
it controls the prices of both raw and manufactured materials, it
also can control the trade and grab its benefits while “pure” enterprises
can easily wipe out in these situations.
Highly concentrated combined monopolies divide the markets between
themselves, fix the production size and prices, and eventually share
the profits between themselves.
By growing stronger, monopolies are able to estimate all sources of
raw materials all around the world, evaluate the capacity of markets
and create new markets by all means, even by force.
But this is not the end of monopoly capitalism – banks, which are
first to serve as intermediary in the making of payments, grow into
powerful monopolies in the process of their development and concentration,
as Lenin writes, “Monopoly! This is the last word in the ‘latest phase
of capitalist development.’ But we shall only have a very insufficient,
incomplete, and poor notion of the real power and the significance
of the modern monopolies if we do not take into consideration the
part played by the banks”, (Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism).
As in the case of industrial enterprises, here too, small banks and
other “money industry businesses”, like insurance companies, mutual
funds, etc, are being squeezed out, subordinate, absorbed or “annexed”
to big ones.
These “concerns” of the banks “collect” enormous amount of capital
in their hands, and as they open a current account for an enterprise,
enables them to have the economic situation of that firm, “the result
is that the industrial capitalist becomes more completely dependent
on the bank.” (Lenin, Ibid .)
The merging of money industry capital, with industrial capital leads
to creation of “finance capital”, which plays a decisive role in the
economic life and transforms bankers into industrial capitalists and
financial oligarchy, here we are faced with Imperialism! Which is
quite different from ancient empires.
Brutal exploitation and rampant plunderage of the nations and their
natural resources lead to enormous accumulation of capital in the
metropoles. This “surplus capital will be utilized not for the purpose
of raising the standard of living of the masses… But for the purpose
of increasing profits by exporting capital abroad to the backward
countries. In these backward countries profits are usually high, for
capital is scarce, the price of land is relatively low, wages are
low, raw materials are cheap.” (Ibid.)
High profits due to administration fees, high interest rates, privatization
of national assets, low wages and lack of any protective measures
make these backward countries the paradise of finance capital and
the hell of their peoples.
To find its way through this paradise, finance capital does everything,
“from paying modest sum to buy off competitors, to the American device
of employing dynamite against them” (Ibid.)
“Competition” which was the main aspect and honor of capitalism, gives
way to “connection”. Contracts are made with companies not because
of their merit but because of their connection. For instance the 45
million dollar phone contract in the colonized Iraq goes to “MCI/WorldCom,
the company that bilked its shareholders out of $ 11 billion and has
very little experience in building wireless networks” (Trudy Rubin,
Knight Ridder Newspaper, June 28, 2003).
Culture of “connection” is utilized in all parts of daily life and
as a result a network of relations takes the place of fitness and
persuasion, and corruption mars every aspects of life.
When the export of capital takes place as loans, it is stipulated
that, “part of the loan granted shall be spent on purchases in the
creditor country, particularly on the orders for war materials…” (For
example purchase of 48 U.S. Lockheed Martin F-16 jet fighters by the
Polish government on April 2003). Lenin writes “…in this connection,
transactions between particularly big firms assume a form, which as
Schilder ‘mildly’ puts it, ‘borders on corruption” (Ibid).
In comparison with capitalism as the exporter of goods, benefits of
exporting capital is so huge and monopolist capitalist associations,
cartels, syndicates and trusts become so powerful that inevitably
force their ways out of metropoles through every parts of the world.
In 1916 “Lenin” wrote “capitalism long ago created a world market
(today so called globalization). As the export of capital increased,
and as the foreign and colonial connections and ‘sphere of influence’
of the big monopolist associations expanded in all ways, things ‘naturally’
gravitated towards an international agreement among these associations,
and towards the formation of international cartels (today are represented
by IMF, WB & WTO). This is a new stage of world concentration
of capital and production, incomparably higher than the preceding
stages” (Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism.)
At the present time the process of commodity production is much more
faster than the late 19th and early 20th century, but in comparison
what is now reaping through the business of usury by finance capital
is unbelievable, nevertheless “Lenin” pointed out, “finance capital
is such a great, such a decisive, you might say, force in all economic
and in all international relations, that it is capable of subjecting,
and actually does subject, to itself even states enjoying the fullest
political independence,… of course, finance capital finds most ‘convenient’,
and drives the greatest profit from, a form of subjection which involves
the loss of political independence of the subjected countries and
With the ever-progressing technology, not only shortage of all kinds
of raw materials are strongly felt, but hunger and hunt for new materials,
using for new advance technology begins throughout the whole world,
for instance hunt for a highly charged mineral “Coltan”, which is
used in cell-phones, computers and videogames, persuaded the companies
to create private armies especially in Democratic Republic of Congo.
As a result, 3 to 5 million people have been killed directly or indirectly
by these private armies there since 1998. In the word of Lenin “…finance
capital in general strives to seize the largest possible amount of
land of all kinds in all places, and by every means…” (Ibid.) This
is what we are witnessing now, everywhere in the world. Here the U.S.
government as the spearheading force of imperialism, not only directly
attacks and seizes the lands of Afghanistan and Iraq, but also has
armed forces in 136 countries all over the world.
It is interesting to observe that the process of imperialist colonization
which had been stopped (or was changed to covert Neo-colonization)
with the rise of The Soviet Union re-emerged with the fall of that
Nowadays the term “globalization” which is referred to the recent
global events does not reflect the whole essence of economical, political
and social changes taking place in the world. “Globalization” can
be attributed to “unemployment globalization”, “AIDS globalization”,
Hereby what is happening today in Afghanistan, Iraq, Philippines…
is not soft and media proclaimed civilized “capitalist globalization”,
but harsh and brutal imperialism, the highest and the latest stage
of capitalism which was described 87 years ago by “V.I. Lenin”, and
still is applicable. This is a stage that necessarily paves the way
for emergence of another stage, which is called “Global Socialism”.