The Imperialist Age and the Accumulation of Capital

Abstract

This chapter analyses the development of Luxemburg’s concept of the limits of capitalist accumulation and highlights the importance of this concept for her understanding of socialism and socialist strategy in the era of imperialism. Luxemburg’s approach to capitalist accumulation differed considerably from main left discourse. She emphasised the destructive effect that these processes had on colonial or semi-colonial economies and in particular on small-scale agricultural production. For Luxemburg, it was not simply an industrial system in the hands of a victorious working class, but rather the beginning of a new civilisation. This civilisation would inherit not only the wealth of heavy industry, but also be the recipient of a much richer cultural heritage that incorporated pre-capitalist civilisations. #According to her vision, in a new society elevated beyond capitalism, elements of pre-capitalist economic forms would re-emerge—production geared towards the satisfying of real needs, clearly visible relations between social actors, democratic self-determination for producers and direct democracy.