From: "Karl Carlile" <joseph-AT-indigo.ie>
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 22:31:00 +0000
Subject: M-G: Lenin and the rate of profit


A KARL CARLILE MESSAGE:

Lenin in his booklet, Imperialism, The Highest Stage Of Capitalism 
argues that in the developed economies capitalism has become 
"over-ripe" and that consequently capital cannot find a field for 
profitable investment. In response to this Lenin makes the claim 
that for the purpose of increasing profits these imperialist countries 
export capital to the"backward countries". He comments that in "these 
backward countries profits are usually high. He continues:

The export of capital is made possible by a number of backward
countries having been already drawn into world capitalist
intercourse: main railways have already been built in those
countries, elementary conditions for industrial development have
already been created, etc.

Now  Lenin proclaims:

The need to export capital arises from the fact that a few countries
(what are often called the imperialist countries) capitalism has
become "over-ripe" and ....capital  cannot find a field for
profitable investment. (Bracketed comments are mine). 

If the above passage is valid then it follows that tropical Africa
must in large part form a destination for the export of capital. Yet
this has not been the case. If anything the rate of export of
capital to this region has been contracting rather than expanding so
much so that this region of the world containing millions of people
has been largely marginalised by the developed economies in terms of
economic development.

Furthermore most capital exports from individual imperialist 
economies have been to other imperialist economies. This means that 
capital exports are concentrated predmominantly within the so called 
core economies. Now if, as Lenin claimed, capital is over-ripe in these 
core economies then it should follow that the biggest percentage of 
the export of their capital should be going to the so-called third 
world especially to regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.

The only valid conclusion that can be drawn is that Lenin was patently 
wrong and that all copies of his booklet Imperialism, The Highest Stage of 
Capitalism ought to be consigned by all god fearing 
socialist revolutionaries to recycling containers.

                                      




                          Yours etc.,
                                     Karl   


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