Anti-Colonialism & Dependency TheoryConfronting Imperialism and Center-Periphery Exploitation

Overview

• Brief Review• Colonialism & Anti-

Colonialism• Dependency Theory vs.

Modernization Theory

Brief Review

Our Story So Far…

Smith Ricardo

CLASSICAL LIBERALISM

List

MERCANTILISM

Marx

MARXISM

Engels

MODERNIZATIONTHEORIES

Weber Rustow

Modernization Theorists: • Seeking an

alternative to Communism, scholars proposed an alternative model focused on the stages of development from tradition to modernity.

Harvard sociologist Talcott Parsons and economist Walt Rustow advocated development as a means to promote capitalist democracy. Their ideas the basis of “modernization theory” and significantly shaped U.S. foreign policy.

Rustow’s 5 Stages of Development

Modernization Theory: • Third World societies

can and will undergo the same transformation from traditionalism to modernity previously undergone by the North.

• Prescription: Promote aid and capitalism to fuel development.

• Unit of analysis: nation-state• Prescription: links with the north,

shedding �tradition�

Diego Rivera, Frozen Assets

http://data.worldbank.org

Foreign Direct Investment FlowsLiberalized capital flows brought a major shift in the volume and distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) around the world.

1970 2015

Spillover Effects of Tequila Crisis

Gana

polsk

y&

Sch

muk

ler,

1998

From Thai Crisis to Global Contagion

Despite IMF intervention to help support the Thai baht, there was a region wide panic in SE Asian financial markets, leading to massive capital flight with impacts around the world.

There were 8,451 FDIC insured banks as of the 3rdquarter of 2008.

Colonialism

ColonialismIn the age of mercantilism, national competition was fueled by colonial expansion to gain resources and power by expanding territorial control and influence into the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific. Colonial exploitation continued well into the 20th century.

King Leopold of Belgium

King Leopold, 1835-1909 (ascended to crown in 1865)

In the late 1800s, Belgium established control of the Congo Free State, using forced labor and various forms of repression to exploit the local population to extract ivory and (later) rubber.

Rev. William SheppardEye-witness accounts by William Sheppard, Samuel Lapsley, and William Morrison brought world attention to Belgium’s exploitative practices.

Kuba

Forced Labor

Starvation

Mutilation

Mutilation

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

History of Colonialism

DecolonizationAfter World War II, much of the global south gained independence, either by benevolence or by violence.

Colonialism and HDI Today

• Are some colonial masters better than others?

Anti-Colonialism

Lenin on Imperialism•What is the context of

Lenin’s discourse?

•What is Lenin’s definition of “capitalist imperialism,” and why is it “highest stage of capitalism”?

• How does Lenin’s view differ from Marx/Engels, and with what consequences?

Lenin�s Basic Argument

• Imperialism as a special stage of capitalism•Monopolism and

imperialism are forms of parasitism that demonstrate the decay of capitalism: the evils of parasitic �rentier� states

The Bourgeoisie had to cover the world, looking for new labor supplies and cheap natural resources –always searching for new markets of people to buy their finished products.

5 Key Features of Imperialism

1. Monopoly concentration of production and capital

2. Financial oligarchy by merging banking and industrial capital

3. Primacy of export capital, rather than commodities

4. The formation of international capitalist “cartel” monopolies

5. Territorial division of the whole world among the great capitalist powers.

Colonial possession alone gives

monopolies complete guarantee

against all contingencies in the

struggle with competitors

Lenin- Revisionism, Imperialism and Revolution

• Lenin acknowledged that Russia seemed unripe for revolution • Its workers were agricultural

rather than industrial, andtended to be superstitious and deeply religious• Thus, Lenin argued, a

revolutionary �vanguard�was needed to educate workers of their true class interests

Other Observations —Worth Noting• Special role of Britain in 19th &

20th Century• Tensions related to rise of the

United States and Germany• Asia and Africa as a

battleground for imperialist powers• Large scale migration as an

indicator of imperialism • Buying off the upper

proletariat with a higher standard of living

Dependency Theory vs. Modernization

Modernization Theory

Economic development (human progress) leads to greater political participation (democracy). Or does it?

Dependency Theory• A new group of

theorists challenged the logic and claims of modernization theory, drawing especially on the experience of Latin America. • Their ideas were

promoted by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America headed by Raul Prebisch.

Andres Gunder Frank

Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Raul Prebisch

Core vs. Periphery• Dependency

theorists argue that the workings of the capitalist world system tend to perpetuate and reinforce economic inequalities among countries.

• Level of analysis: international system• Metropolitan-Rural & Center-

Periphery divide

The Chilean Example• Centralization under Spain’s

governance model (viceroyalties) • Monopolistic expropriation-

appropriation (siphoning of economic surplus from Chile to Spain)• Persistence: Latin America as a

special case of deep-seated dependency

Short of liberation from this capitalistic structure or the dissolution of the world capitalist system as a whole, the capitalist satellite countries, regions, localities, and sectors are condemned to underdevelopment.

Argument: Dependency Theory• Northern countries had

a “head start” on development, enabling colonial supremacy.

• Continued patterns of economic and political domination perpetuate post-colonial dependency, and must be broken.

the man

Solution: Import Substitution Industrialization

•Natural ISI: The Great Depression and World War II interrupted North-South economic ties.• State-led ISI:

Government policies and tariffs protected domestic industries.

—Fin—