Capitalism and Imperialism in the Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century: A Critical Analysis of Conventional and Marxist Theories of Imperialism

ABSTRACT This article provides a critical analysis of conventional and Marxist theories of imperialism. The article then looks at the globalization of capital and imperialism in the twenty-first century and explores the relationship between these two phenomena and examines the forces behind modern imperialism, class struggle, and revolution for the transformation of capitalist imperialism in the twenty-first century with all its political implications. It argues that contemporary capitalist imperialism and its inherent contradictions are going to set the stage for the rise of a global working class movement that will lead to the transformation of capitalist imperialism through a worldwide proletarian revolution in the twenty-first century. Thus, the article concludes by articulating the superiority of Marxist theories of imperialism as against their liberal and critical counterparts in predicting the future course of development of capitalism and the challenges that it will face by an organized international working class movement that is destined to rise up against the capitalist-imperialist system and replace it with socialism in the not too distant future.