Colonization or Globalization

By Dr. H. Salari

In advanced capitalism unequal development of different enterprises due to dissimilar conditions leads to monopoly.

Monopoly capitalism has a tendency towards combination of production. In combination of production, a giant enterprise brings together different branches of an industry and its accessories, for instance from mining and refinery of oil, to production of all kinds of plastics and chemical compounds, and so on.
Combination of production strengthens the position of the combined enterprises, especially during periods of severe depression, because it controls the prices of both raw and manufactured materials, it also can control the trade and grab its benefits while “pure” enterprises can easily wipe out in these situations.
Highly concentrated combined monopolies divide the markets between themselves, fix the production size and prices, and eventually share the profits between themselves.

By growing stronger, monopolies are able to estimate all sources of raw materials all around the world, evaluate the capacity of markets and create new markets by all means, even by force.

But this is not the end of monopoly capitalism – banks, which are first to serve as intermediary in the making of payments, grow into powerful monopolies in the process of their development and concentration, as Lenin writes, “Monopoly! This is the last word in the ‘latest phase of capitalist development.’ But we shall only have a very insufficient, incomplete, and poor notion of the real power and the significance of the modern monopolies if we do not take into consideration the part played by the banks”, (Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism).

As in the case of industrial enterprises, here too, small banks and other “money industry businesses”, like insurance companies, mutual funds, etc, are being squeezed out, subordinate, absorbed or “annexed” to big ones.

These “concerns” of the banks “collect” enormous amount of capital in their hands, and as they open a current account for an enterprise, enables them to have the economic situation of that firm, “the result is that the industrial capitalist becomes more completely dependent on the bank.” (Lenin, Ibid .)
The merging of money industry capital, with industrial capital leads to creation of “finance capital”, which plays a decisive role in the economic life and transforms bankers into industrial capitalists and financial oligarchy, here we are faced with Imperialism! Which is quite different from ancient empires.

Brutal exploitation and rampant plunderage of the nations and their natural resources lead to enormous accumulation of capital in the metropoles. This “surplus capital will be utilized not for the purpose of raising the standard of living of the masses… But for the purpose of increasing profits by exporting capital abroad to the backward countries. In these backward countries profits are usually high, for capital is scarce, the price of land is relatively low, wages are low, raw materials are cheap.” (Ibid.)

High profits due to administration fees, high interest rates, privatization of national assets, low wages and lack of any protective measures make these backward countries the paradise of finance capital and the hell of their peoples.

To find its way through this paradise, finance capital does everything, “from paying modest sum to buy off competitors, to the American device of employing dynamite against them” (Ibid.)
“Competition” which was the main aspect and honor of capitalism, gives way to “connection”. Contracts are made with companies not because of their merit but because of their connection. For instance the 45 million dollar phone contract in the colonized Iraq goes to “MCI/WorldCom, the company that bilked its shareholders out of $ 11 billion and has very little experience in building wireless networks” (Trudy Rubin, Knight Ridder Newspaper, June 28, 2003).

Culture of “connection” is utilized in all parts of daily life and as a result a network of relations takes the place of fitness and persuasion, and corruption mars every aspects of life.

When the export of capital takes place as loans, it is stipulated that, “part of the loan granted shall be spent on purchases in the creditor country, particularly on the orders for war materials…” (For example purchase of 48 U.S. Lockheed Martin F-16 jet fighters by the Polish government on April 2003). Lenin writes “…in this connection, transactions between particularly big firms assume a form, which as Schilder ‘mildly’ puts it, ‘borders on corruption” (Ibid).

In comparison with capitalism as the exporter of goods, benefits of exporting capital is so huge and monopolist capitalist associations, cartels, syndicates and trusts become so powerful that inevitably force their ways out of metropoles through every parts of the world.

In 1916 “Lenin” wrote “capitalism long ago created a world market (today so called globalization). As the export of capital increased, and as the foreign and colonial connections and ‘sphere of influence’ of the big monopolist associations expanded in all ways, things ‘naturally’ gravitated towards an international agreement among these associations, and towards the formation of international cartels (today are represented by IMF, WB & WTO). This is a new stage of world concentration of capital and production, incomparably higher than the preceding stages” (Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism.)
At the present time the process of commodity production is much more faster than the late 19th and early 20th century, but in comparison what is now reaping through the business of usury by finance capital is unbelievable, nevertheless “Lenin” pointed out, “finance capital is such a great, such a decisive, you might say, force in all economic and in all international relations, that it is capable of subjecting, and actually does subject, to itself even states enjoying the fullest political independence,… of course, finance capital finds most ‘convenient’, and drives the greatest profit from, a form of subjection which involves the loss of political independence of the subjected countries and people”. (Ibid)

With the ever-progressing technology, not only shortage of all kinds of raw materials are strongly felt, but hunger and hunt for new materials, using for new advance technology begins throughout the whole world, for instance hunt for a highly charged mineral “Coltan”, which is used in cell-phones, computers and videogames, persuaded the companies to create private armies especially in Democratic Republic of Congo. As a result, 3 to 5 million people have been killed directly or indirectly by these private armies there since 1998. In the word of Lenin “…finance capital in general strives to seize the largest possible amount of land of all kinds in all places, and by every means…” (Ibid.) This is what we are witnessing now, everywhere in the world. Here the U.S. government as the spearheading force of imperialism, not only directly attacks and seizes the lands of Afghanistan and Iraq, but also has armed forces in 136 countries all over the world.

It is interesting to observe that the process of imperialist colonization which had been stopped (or was changed to covert Neo-colonization) with the rise of The Soviet Union re-emerged with the fall of that country.

Nowadays the term “globalization” which is referred to the recent global events does not reflect the whole essence of economical, political and social changes taking place in the world. “Globalization” can be attributed to “unemployment globalization”, “AIDS globalization”, etc, etc.
Hereby what is happening today in Afghanistan, Iraq, Philippines… is not soft and media proclaimed civilized “capitalist globalization”, but harsh and brutal imperialism, the highest and the latest stage of capitalism which was described 87 years ago by “V.I. Lenin”, and still is applicable. This is a stage that necessarily paves the way for emergence of another stage, which is called “Global Socialism”.

Source : http://www.left.ru/inter/2003/november/salari.html