Imperialism, the highest and last stage of monopoly capitalism, moribund and decaying capitalism, the eve of the socialist revolution. Its principal distinctive feature is the dominance of monopoly capital in the economy, politics and ideology. Lenin provided comprehensive scientific analysis of imperialism in Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, published in 1917, and in other works. Lenin’s theory of imperialism was a great contribution to Marxism and a new stage in its development. It arms the working people and MarxistLeninist parties with an understanding of the basic features of modern capitalism and its profound contradictions, and exposes the methods used by the imperialists to retain their domination. At the same time it points ways that lead to the inevitable demise of capitalism in its final stage and its replacement by socialism. In his studies of the imperialist stage of capitalism, Lenin singled out its five basic economic features: 1) the concentration of production and capital is so high that it has produced monopolies which play the decisive role in the economy; 2) banking capital merges with industrial capital to produce finance capital and the financial oligarchy; 3) the export of capital, rather than the export of commodities, acquires especially great importance; 4) international monopoly unions of capitalists are formed, which divide the world; 5) the territorial division of the world among the major capitalist powers is completed. All the subsequent history of imperialism has confirmed Lenin’s definition of the essence of imperialism. Free enterprise capitalism developed into imperialism at the turn of the century. Lenin not only described the new phenomena characterising the imperialist stage, but revealed the historical place of imperialism. Imperialism is not a new mode of production, but a stage in the development of capitalism. Although it has important features that distinguish it essentially from capitalism, imperialism has not lost its capitalist nature, but has further exacerbated all the contradictions of capitalism. Underlying imperialism are the general foundations of the capitalist mode of production as before. The basic means of production are still owned by a handful of capitalists or their associations, primarily the monopolies. The working people are exploited on a growing scale. The basic economic law of capitalism, that of surplus value, also operates under imperialism. The main stimulus of capitalist production is still the pursuit of profit, with the monopolies deriving monopoly superprofit. Under imperialism, too, the economy of the capitalist countries develops under the impact of spontaneous economic laws, amidst the anarchy of production and competition. Replacement of free enterprise by monopoly domination does not eliminate competitive struggle, but simply makes it more involved and destructive. Imperialism has made an enormous step forward in socialising production and increasing labour productivity, to the limit possible at all within the framework of capitalism. But this progress in the development of the productive forces is used primarily in the interests of big business. Pre-monopoly capitalism, taken as a whole, developed on an ascending line. With the transition to the monopoly stage, capitalist production relations lost their relatively progressive character, and instead of a factor encouraging the development of the productive forces, became a colossal brake on social progress. Monopoly ownership dooms the productive forces to a one-sided development. Imperialism is a decaying and parasitic society, and this can be especially clearly seen today in the militarisation of the economy. From his profound analysis of the monopoly stage of capitalism, Lenin concluded that imperialism is moribund capitalism, the eve of the socialist revolution. In the epoch of imperialism, capitalist countries develop unevenly and spasmodically. Lenin, who revealed the law of the uneven economic and political development of capitalism in the age of 157 imperialism, established that all countries would not arrive at socialism at the same time. He inferred the possibility of a socialist revolution initially triumphing in several or even one country, and of the world revolutionary process developing through ever new countries leaving the imperialist system. The further course of history has fully confirmed this brilliant prevision. Imperialism heightens all the contradictions of capitalism to the extreme. The basic contradiction of capitalism is exacerbated and the contradiction between labour and capital is sharpening under the impact of the increased rate of exploitation and oppression of the working people by monopoly capital. The top circle of exploiters is narrowing, and the mass of people in capitalist society exploited by big business is growing. In their insatiable thirst for profits, the monopolies rob and oppress the working class and labouring peasantry, as well as working intellectuals, the petty bourgeoisie, and a section of the middle bourgeoisie. Colonies and dependent countries are greatly oppressed. Deep and irreconcilable contradictions divide the imperialist powers and the young independent states. Imperialism has not accepted the loss of its political domination in the developing world, but is trying to continue to exploit these countries through neo-colonialism, controlling their economies and politics. Imperialism supports reactionary regimes and circles in the newly independent countries in the struggle against the national liberation movement, impedes the elimination of their backward social relations, and does all it can to prevent their non-capitalist development. Contradictions are exacerbated between the imperialist powers themselves in the struggle for the appropriation of monopoly profit. These deep and sharp contradictions are eroding and destroying the capitalist system, drastically weakening it, and are leading to its ultimate downfall. Today, imperialism lost its monopoly in deciding world affairs, and has ceased to be the dominant force on the international scene. It is not in its powers to turn back the wheel of history. To preserve and prop up the enfeebled foundations of imperialism and to maintain its ground in the competition with the strengthening world system of socialism, monopoly capital combines its power with the power of the bourgeois state (see State-Monopoly Capitalism). Modern imperialism has failed to adapt itself to the new conditions, and to use the forms and methods of statemonopoly capitalism and the current scientific and technological revolution to strengthen and stabilise the capitalist system of economy, its ideology and politics, so the general crisis of capitalism is deepening. However, imperialism will not voluntarily make way for socialism which will inevitably replace it. As long as imperialism exists, the human race cannot be certain of its future. The unrestricted growth of militarism and of the arms race hampers detente. The contradictions of modern imperialism lead to the formation of a single general democratic current of progressive forces in capitalist society, and to the transformation of this current into an antimonopoly, anti-imperialist front. The three greet forces of today—the world socialist system, the international working-class and the national liberation movement— have joined together in this truggle. The decisive force in the anti-monopoly struggle is the world socialist system—the bulwark of peace and social progress. The antimonopoly struggle that has involved the overwhelming majority of the population in the capitalist countries has promoted the formation of both the material and social and political conditions for the ultimate replacement of imperialism by the new social system—socialism.