Jim Devine wrote: > Whatever one thinks of the details of the classical Marxist theories of > imperialism (Lenin, Bukharin, Luxemburg, etc.) one of the valid lessons is > that imperialism does not refer to a _policy_ of the capitalist elite. > (It's the "policy view" of imperialism that opens one up to conspiracy > theories.) Rather, modern imperialism is a _social system)_, a kind of > social relation that arises from capitalism. I agree but the post-WWII order was to a great extent planned by U.S.& UK government officials. These plans made it quite clear that the third world was to be used for its raw materials and cheap labor, that third world economies were to be subordinated to the core. The social and economic structures of third world have been shaped by the needs of the core economies, both consciously and unconsciously. The post-WWII imperialist plans, to a great degree, have been realized. I think Chomsky, Kolko, Mark Curtis and Bruce Cumings have done the best work showing the nature and extent of government planning for imperialist order. Sam Pawlett
