Imperialist Capitalism in the Third World: Theory and Evidence From Colombia

Abstract

One of the key theoretical questions regarding contemporary imperialism has been the evaluation of the effects of international monopoly capitalism on the economies of Third World countries. Differences in the interpretation of the data have often been the result of differences in theoretical approach. This discussion of the consequences of imperialism has progressed through a series of interesting and prolonged debates on questions such as: Is the underdevelopment of Latin America a consequence of feudalism or of capitalism? Are the Third World countries crawling slowly amidst their backwardness, or is capitalist industrialization making fast strides? The goal of this essay is to illustrate, with the help of theory and through evidence, how the internal economic structure of Colombia has been shaped by the imperialist domination of the United States and, hopefully, to show the specifically different characteristics of capitalism when it develops under conditions of imperialist oppression. The theoretical framework of the essay is the theory of imperialism developed by Lenin (1960) imperialism is capitalism in capitalism's advanced or highest stage. Imperialism appears as the direct development and continuation of the fundamental attributes and contradictions of the capitalist mode of production. Capitalism does not reach this stage until its typical characteristics become its fetters, i.e. until free competition disappears and capitalist monopolies begin to appear. If free competition in commodity production characterizes capitalism, monopoly, or the opposite of free competition, characterizes imperialism. Monopolies, however, do not completely eliminate competition, but rather impose a new kind of competition where the contradictions, frictions, and conflicts are more sharply defined. Imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism.