[OPE-L:6602] Re: Imperialism -- Then and Now

[dashyaf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Paul and Gerry,
At 09:23 15/02/02 -0500, gerald_a_levy wrote:
> Re Paul C's [6576]:
>
>
> > 1. There are substantial empirical inaccuracies with regard to the
> export
> > of  capital in the standard Leninist theory as applied to
> British
> > imperialism in the first half of the 20th century in that the
> UK
> > was not a net capital exporter.

The evidence I have in my article in the  period before the First
Imperialist War supports Lenin's position - see FRFI 162, The labour
aristocracy and imperialism part 2. Between the wars takes us in a
different situation where the Empire was critical for Britain's survival
as an imperialist power. Again after the Second World War, Britain
brutally exploited the Empire and other areas of the underdeveloped world
to rebuild itself as an imperialist power, second only to the US. The
post-war boom is a unique period and needs examining in some detail. From
the late 1970s onwards Britain began to export capital on an enormous
scale - in 1993 capital exports (direct and portfolio) excluding
financial capital were greater than the total gross investment in Britain
for the first time since before 1914 and this was repeated in 1999 and
2000. This information is readily available.

David Yaffe