Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

NOTEBOOK “ο”

(“OMICRON”)


BELFORT-BAX ON IMPERIALISM (1900)

Die Neue Zeit, XIX, 1 (1900-01) November 21 1900), p. 247.

Belfort-Bax, “A widespread erroneous
conclusion”.
 “One of the most frequent errors encoun-
tered in discussing the questions of impe-
rialism
and the new colonial policy
has apparently found its way into some
socialist minds”.... And he goes on to
analyse the argument of those who favour
colonial policy because of the progressive
nature of capitalism. Bax refutes them....
 ...“Capitalist-national im-
perialism
is capitalism’s reply to
international Social-Democracy. ...World
history is now at the crossroads—either
national-capitalist imperialism or interna-
tional-Socialist Democracy!”...
N.B. 1900
imperialism
on
imperialism

...The present economic system ... (by extending to new fields of operation) ... “artificially prolongs its existence”....

 Incidentally, a Bernstein-Kautsky polemic. Bernstein
recalls that, back in 1896-97, Belfort-Bax was berating
Bernstein, while Kautsky supported Bernstein. Kautsky
replies: Bax at that time went so far as to say “better
slavery than capitalism”—literally so—and neither then
nor now have I supported Bax on that point,
regarding his statement as “sentimental utopia”. But
I have always been against colonial policy.

cf. Die Neue Zeit, XIX, 1 (1901), p. 804: N.B. M. Beer on the decay of Britain and on imperialism. Die Neue Zeit, XX, 1, p. 209: “Social imperialism” (Fabians), p. 243, the “imperialist-social era”.


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