Super imperialism

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Super-imperialism is an - ambiguous - Marxist term. What is meant is either the hegemony of an imperialist power over its weaker rivals, who then represent sub-imperialisms , or a summarizing supra-structure above a series of imperialist powers with in principle equal rights . - The last, older meaning has become rare, but can still be found in English-speaking countries.

Origin of the term

The word superimperialism - as super imperialism - can be proven for the first time in November 1914 as an (incorrect) translation of the newly emerged German term ultra-imperialism into English. William E. Bohn, the translator of Karl Kautsky's essay 'Der Imperialismus', apparently believed that the terms cartel and ultra-imperialism could not be expected of the readership of the American magazine 'International socialist review'. Bohn faced a twofold problem: cartels were much less well known in the United States than the corporate-like, more tightly organized trusts - and ultra in English means something like exaggerated , extremist . He therefore rewrote Kautsky's thoughts with phenomena and concepts that American readers were familiar with trusts , whose streamline command structures, participating companies but ultimately lost their independence, and with great - what a bit ultra might mean - but in the context of trusts rather implied an organizational superstructure of the imperialist powers in the sense of a common world government. In this respect, Bohn falsified Kautsky not insignificantly.

Newer meaning of the term

With the revival of the discussions on the theory of imperialism in the 1970s, the term super-imperialism resp. super-imperialism with a changed content cut. It now served to describe the supremacy of the USA superpower in a system of imperialism in which the possibilities of the other imperialist powers are neglected and thus second class. At the same time, the German term ultra-imperialism has now been translated into ultra-imperialism in the English-speaking world and used to denote a more equal inter-imperialist cooperation.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl Kautsky: The imperialism . In: The New Time . 32 (1914), Vol. 2, pp. 908-922.
  2. ^ See: Karl Kautsky, Imperialism and the War, in: International socialist review, 15 (1914), 286.
  3. ^ Bob Rowthorn, Imperialism in the Seventies: Unity or Rivalry ?, in: New Left Review, 59 (1971), 31; Michael Hudson: Super imperialism: the economic strategy of American empire, New York, 1972.

literature

  • Michael Hudson: Super imperialism: the economic strategy of American empire , New York, 1972.
  • Karl Kautsky: Imperialism . In: The New Time . 32 (1914), Vol. 2, pp. 908-922.
  • Karl Kautsky: Imperialism and the War . In: International socialist review , 15 (1914).
  • Karl Kautsky: Ultra-imperialism (= better translation, but unauthorized, 'forged' version of Der Imperialismus (1914), probably created in 2002). In: Marxist's Internet Archive, http://www.marxists.org/archive/kautsky/1914/09/ultra-imp.htm .
  • Holm A. Leonhardt: Bibliography on the ultra-imperialism theory. Bibliography on Ultraimperialism Theory . In: Homepage of the Institute for History of the University of Hildesheim http://www.uni-hildesheim.de/media/geschichte/Bibliographie Ultraimperialismustheorie.pdf (available since January 20, 2008).
  • Holm A. Leonhardt: On the history of the ultra-imperialism theory 1902–1930. The history of ideas of an early theory of political globalization . In: Homepage of the Institute for History of the University of Hildesheim, http://www.uni-hildesheim.de/media/geschichte/Geschichte Ultraimperialismustheorie.pdf (available since January 20, 2008).
  • Bob Rowthorn: Imperialism in the Seventies: Unity or Rivalry? . In: New Left Review , 59 (1971).
  • Martin Thomas: Introduction to Kautsky's "Ultra-imperialism: a debate" . In: Workers Liberty 2002, http://www.workersliberty.org/node/1037 "Ultra-imperialism.