Dear reader,
You are holding in your hands the 15th issue of the International Communist Review, published 110 years after the first edition of a seminal work by the leader of the Great October Socialist Revolution, V. I. Lenin: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism.
In this work, Lenin, drawing on an extensive body of material covering the most diverse aspects of the economy and policy of capitalism, offers a profound scientific analysis of the economic and political essence of imperialism as the highest and final stage of capitalism. He demonstrates that, under monopoly capitalism, all the contradictions that have characterized capitalist society since its inception are intensified; that the capitalist monopoly, although it “inevitably engenders a tendency of stagnation and decay” [1], simultaneously leads to the broadest socialization of production and constitutes the finest “material preparation”[2], the final step before the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and the construction of the communist mode of production.
In other words, the dominance of large joint-stock companies within the capitalist economy serves as a harbinger of the new society, demonstrating the maturation of the material conditions necessary for the overcoming of capitalism [3].
This work by Lenin exercised a decisive influence on the further development of Marxist–Leninist theory and on the correct guidance of the international communist movement.
Indeed, as Lenin himself emphasized: “Unless the economic roots of this phenomenon are understood and its political and social significance is appreciated, not a step can be taken toward the solution of the practical problem of the communist movement and of the impending social revolution”[4].
Furthermore, according to Lenin, imperialism is characterized by the following features: “(1) the concentration of production and capital has developed to such a high stage that it has created monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life; (2) the merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the basis of this ‘finance capital’, of a financial oligarchy; (3) the export of capital as distinguished from the export of commodities acquires exceptional importance; (4) the formation of international monopolist capitalist associations which share the world among themselves, and (5) the territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers is completed.”[5].
The Leninist characteristics of imperialism reflect the fundamental economic aspects of the emergence of this stage of capitalism. They constitute a scientific formulation intended to assist the revolutionary movement in developing the necessary strategic line. Lenin, however, also warns us about the “relative value of all definitions in general, which can never embrace all the concatenations of a phenomenon in its full development” [6], and of the need to supplement the above definition with the political dimensions of the imperialist stage of capitalism.
The political essence of imperialism lies in its turn towards reaction across the board. “Both in foreign and home policy imperialism strives towards violations of democracy, towards reaction”[7].
The parties participating in the 15th issue of the ICR underline the continuing relevance of this work, particularly today, when attempts by various opportunist forces to sow confusion regarding the concept of imperialism and the imperialist system as a whole have multiplied.
At the same time, through the pages of the ICR, an effort is made to shed light on contemporary and specific aspects of today’s imperialist world and the fierce inter-imperialist contradictions within it, to clarify issues, and to provide answers to pressing questions.
Specifically, the article of the Communist Party of Greece titled “On the Attitude of Communists Towards Inter-Imperialist Contradictions and Imperialist Alliances”, examines a series of topical issues concerning the struggle within the International Communist Movement over the contemporary imperialist system. Among other matters, the article highlights the need for a Communist Party to “attempt, through its daily political action, to put its stamp on future developments, to lead the labour movement and the social alliance, for the revolutionary overthrow of the dictatorship of capital, for socialism.”
The article by the Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan, titled “The Struggle For the Redevelopment of Rare Earth Metal Deposits in the World as Another Round of Inter-imperialist Struggle for Resources in a New Technological Period” examines a particular aspect of the contemporary confrontation among imperialist blocs: the struggle for the control and exploitation of rare earths. As emphasized in the article: “Inter–imperialist contradictions are now most prominently visible against the background of the redistribution of deposits of rare earths and rare metals - the ‘oil of the 21st century’, which are vital during the transition to a new technological stage in the development of productive forces.”
The issue of promoting the war economy occupies a central place in the capitalist states and the imperialist EU, forming part of the war preparations of its member states through increased military expenditure and rearmament. This issue is addressed in the article by the New Communist Party of the Netherlands, titled “Capital’s Strategic Drive Towards a War Economy in Relation to Political and International Realignments Within the Imperialist System”, which states that “this article examines the strategic drive toward a war economy as an expression of the laws of motion of capital and the political forms these laws currently assume.”
The issues of nationalism and fascism in the era of imperialism, as well as the tasks confronting communists, are examined in the article by the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain titled “The Rise of Nationalist and Chauvinist Currents and the Tendency of Political Systems Toward Reaction”. The article emphasizes that “the historical development of capitalism in its imperialist phase continuously confirms Lenin’s thesis that, as the domination of monopolies deepens and the contradictions of the capitalist system intensify, the bourgeoisie progressively abandons its own ‘democratic’ forms of rule and turns toward increasingly reactionary, authoritarian, and violent methods. This process corresponds to the objective necessity of maintaining class power in a context of crisis, inter-imperialist competition, and the potential rise of working-class struggle.”
The Communist Party of Mexico in its article “On the Conflict between the US and China in Latin America” examines how inter-imperialist contradictions are manifested in the Latin American region. As it emphasizes: “one of the characteristics of the contemporary world is the sharp competition between the economies of the United States and China, that has been taking place for the last 30 years, and which is also expressed in the political, diplomatic field, but points to a direct military clash not only between these two countries and the blocs of allies of each one, but on the plane of a generalized war, a new world war. Many of the outbreaks of war underway today are a result of this.
Understanding the class character of this conflict is crucial for the workers and peoples, and of course for the international communist movement, which faces a set of difficulties arising from weaknesses, distortions, and theoretical confusions, especially on the question of imperialism.”
In turn, the Communist Party of Turkey, in its article “Imperialism and the Middle East: Turkey’s Strategic Shift in the Region” examines the rupture in Turkish foreign policy in 2024 and the underlying dynamics regarding inter-imperialist contradictions in the Middle East. The article stresses that “the analysis must begin from a broader framework that includes the involvement of various imperialist powers and regional actors. Moreover […] this framework cannot be reduced to a mere struggle for power. One of the central issues at stake is the economic restructuring of the Middle East.”
In the article “Austrian Imperialism and the European Union” by the Party of Labour of Austria, Austria’s position within the imperialist European Union is examined, particularly as a significant regional bourgeois state in Central and South-Eastern Europe. The article presents data concerning the strength of Austrian monopolies and their economic penetration into the countries of the region. As noted, it examines “the role of Austrian imperialism within the EU and the question of what impact the imperialist war in Ukraine has on the orientation of Austrian imperialism.”
The Communist Front, Italy, in its article “The Position of Italian Capitalism in the Inter-Imperialist Conflict” focusing on the case of Italy, notes that “Italy, even in fierce competition with other EU countries such as France, is seeking to expand its economic and strategic sphere of influence in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel, and the Horn of Africa —an ambitious area of action referred to as the ‘Greater Mediterranean’ as the ‘natural’ sphere of projection of Italian imperialism.”
Finally, in the section “On timely political and theoretical issues”, an article by the Communist Party of Greece is presented under the title “The Conflict over the New Division of the World amid Realignments in the Imperialist System”. As the article characteristically emphasizes, “the correlation of forces does not remain stable, but changes on the basis of the uneven development of capitalism. On this basis, inter-imperialist contradictions are intensifying, imperialist alliances are being shaken and rearranged, and contradictions within and among these imperialist alliances are sharpening, including intra-bourgeois contradictions within capitalist states.”
The Editorial Board of the ICR