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Imperialism

The title page of the first edition of V. I. Lenin’s work

The New Denial of Imperialism on the Left

John Bellamy Foster returns to the touchstones of anti-imperialist Marxist thought, found in the works of V. I. Lenin, Samir Amin, and others, in order to confront the rising denial of imperialism on the left. This worldview and its consequences, he writes, has troubling implications not only for the superexploited workers of the periphery, but for all of the workers of the world, and for the internationalist character of contemporary Marxism. | more…

Paraguayan Sorrow: Writings of Rafael Barrett, A Radical Voice in a Dispossessed Land

Paraguayan Sorrow: Writings of Rafael Barrett, A Radical Voice in a Dispossessed Land

Rafael Barrett was born into the Spanish elite, but in the six intense years that he spent in Paraguay, he shed his past to become one of the most notable voices speaking out against the rampant imperialism gripping Latin America. Arriving in a nation constructed upon a foundation of bones following the Triple Alliance War of 1864-1870, Barrett was thrown by chance into the “Paraguayan sorrow” that haunted that landlocked nation in the heart of Latin America. More than half the population had been wiped out in the merciless conflict. A ferocious pattern of capitalist imperialism had taken hold. The apocalyptic war had ended a

Monthly Review Volume 76, Number 4 (September 2024)

September 2024 (Volume 76, Number 4)

This month’s “Notes from the Editors” recounts the history of U.S. preparations for “prolonged and limited” nuclear war and Washington’s repeated refusal to abide by international agreements regarding nuclear weaponry. With the recent announcement that the United States will be stationing nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles on German soil—within minutes’ striking distance of Moscow—this history is now, troublingly, more relevant than ever. | more…

President Biden and Prime Minister Modi of India before the 2023 G20 Summit

Sub-Imperialist India in Washington’s Anti-China “Pivot”

Bernard D’Mello describes India’s role as a collaborator in the U.S. anti-China Indo-Pacific project. This role, he elaborates, grows directly from the imperial/sub-imperial relationship between the United States and India, which manifests itself in border disputes, military exercises, diplomacy, economic ties, and more, has heightened hostilities in the Indo-Pacific region while benefiting the power elite of both countries. | more…

Monthly Review Volume 76, Number 3 (July-August 2024)

July-August 2024 (Volume 76, Number 3)

While Israel’s horrific assaults on the people of Gaza continue, the voices against the U.S. support for the Zionist state grow ever-louder. This spring, the fight spilled onto college campuses. In this month’s “Notes,” MR editors take the long view, starting with the Free Speech Movement over half a century ago. | more…

Map showing locations of select strategic U.S. military installations (indicated by stars) along the first and second island chains in the Indo-Pacific.

Imperialism in the Indo-Pacific—An Introduction

John Bellamy Foster and Brett Clark introduce this summer’s special issue on “Imperialism in the Indo-Pacific,” exploring how the super-region came to be conceptualized among geopolitical strategists and its present-day role in U.S military strategy. “The United States,” they write, “facing the demise of its global hegemonic imperialism, is not only preparing for a Third World War; it is actively provoking it.” | more…

Taiwan, the U.S. and China

Taiwan: An Anti-Imperialist Perspective

“In the Western imagination,” the Qiao Collective writes, “Taiwan exists as little more than a staging ground for ideological war with the People’s Republic of China.” However, this not only obscures the deep historical and cultural ties between Taiwan and the mainland, but functions as a justification for U.S. imperial intervention in the South China Sea. | more…

Closeup of the Korean Demilitarized Zone that surrounds the Military Demarcation Line

The Korean Linchpin: The Korean Peninsula’s Enduring Centrality in U.S. Indo-Pacific Geostrategy

Tim Beal dives into the critical role that the Korean Peninsula plays in U.S. strategy for maintaining power in the Indo-Pacific. The United States, he concludes, has long used its position on the peninsula to advance U.S. interests in the Pacific theater, aiming its most recent efforts against the rise of China and Russia. | more…

Ceremony to lower a Japanese flag and raise a U.S. flag in Seoul on Sept. 9, 1945

Power Concedes Nothing Without a Demand: Peace in Korea and Northeast Asia Now!

In this forcefully argued piece, Dae-Han Song presents an overview of the past few decades of U.S. policy on the Korean Peninsula and its continued refusal to engage meaningfully with any peace process between the artificially separated North and South. The article ends with a series of demands that look toward a future of peace on the peninsula. | more…

DPR/MPR building complex in Jakarta

When the Ruling-Class Parties Harden: Indonesia and Great Power Politics in the Indo-Pacific

Iqra Angurah elucidates the strategic role in the Indo-Pacific in the context of the New Cold War and, in particular, the country’s close ties to the forces of multinational capital and Western imperialism. The alignment of the Global North and local elites underscores the need for a popular, socialist, and anti-imperialist movement among the Indonesian working class. | more…

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