Imperialism

A policy whereby the dominant interests of one nation expropriate for their own enrichment the land, labor, raw materials, and markets of another people. This is done either through territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations. Although imperialism can exist without the creation of formal colonies, some political writers have likened imperialism to neocolonialism. Early imperialist empires include Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Persian and Roman empires.

Two types of imperialism exist. The first, formal, or direct, imperialism occurs when a foreign state manages the day-to-day political, social, and economic interactions of another land. America's domination over the Philippines exemplifies formal imperialism. The second type, informal, or indirect, imperialism exists when a foreign state works through local political parties to manage a distant society. Informal imperialism is demonstrated by Britain's, France's, and Belgium's continued management of their respective former African colonies subsequent to their independence from colonial rule.

The objective of imperialism is to open up peripheral, or Third World, economies to the investments of dominant capitalist countries, thus ensuring a continual supply of raw materials, including cheap labor, at low prices. The economies of the periphery provide the setting to meet the needs of the dominant capitalist countries rather than their own needs, thereby producing an unending dependency in the poorer regions of the world.

Imperialism may not be a necessary condition for capitalism, but it seems to be a natural outgrowth of advanced capitalism, since imperialism allows for peripheral countries to provide a continual supply of raw materials at low prices. Marxists, who strongly oppose imperialism, argue that imperialism exists when a powerful nation protects its foreign markets through business. Marxists see imperialism as the ultimate state of capitalism.

Although Americans have believed themselves to be anti-imperial, some have argued that America was imperialist since Thomas Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803. In addition to investments overseas, the United States historically has been interested in expanding its capitalistic interests through collaboration with and training of foreign business leaders, diplomacy, financial grants, Hollywood depictions of affluence, and military dominance. In addition, much of the world has adopted American forms of culture, fashion, language, and other facets of daily living, or what might be called “cultural imperialism.” For more information, see Foster (2006) and Parenti (1995).