THE PERIODS OF CAPITALISM: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE MARXIST THEORY OF IMPERIALISM

Two conceptions of imperialism coexist uneasily in Marxist discourse. The more common views imperialism entirely as a phenomenon in the sphere of international relations, namely, the oppression of small nations and weak peoples by large countries. This is also the understanding of non-Marxist theory. The less common views imperialism as a stage of the capitalist mode of production. I argue that the second conception is correct, and take as my problem the construction of a theoretically rigorous concept of the imperialist variant of the capitalist mode of production.;Variants of the capitalist mode of production are specified by the dominant form of surplus value--profit of enterprise, interest, taxes, rent. The imperialist variant is specified by the dominance of interest. This is contrasted with two popular but deficient alternative characterizations--imperialism as the monopoly stage of capitalism, and imperialism as the period of the dominance of capital export.;The imperialist variant is analyzed through the use of two contradictory but dialectically related concepts derived from Lenin and Hilferding: parasitism--representing the tendency toward nonproductive activity; organization--representing the tendency toward resolution of intracapitalist contradictions. Their interplay and alternation summarizes the dynamic of imperialism much as the Marxist analysis of crises summarizes capitalism. Finally, the view that imperialism as a stage is grasped as the transition to socialism is rejected. I show how this idea has played a major role in blocking Marxist theory.;I approach this problem from two directions. First, the writings of Marxist theorists are examined to identify the two conceptions of imperialism, to specify how imperialism is understood as a stage of capitalism, and to analyze the connections between the two conceptions. Not suprisingly, Hilferding and Lenin provide the most important formulations. Second, I analyze the meaning of mode of production and related concepts such as social formation and economic level using Althusser's general approach and framework. I develop a general theory of the variant forms of modes of production, which provides the basis for periodizing the capitalist mode of production in particular.