People’s Resource for International Solidarity and Mass Mobilization
29 November 2024
As the most advanced industrial countries reach the stage of monopoly capitalism, the countries of the world start to realign accordingly—into (a) the imperialist powers themselves, now colluding now competing with each other; (b) their colonies and semicolonies, many of them with agrarian-feudal economies or other similar pre-capitalist modes of production; and (c) those in the intermediate position, with some capitalist development allowing them to deal with imperialism either as independent nation-states or as client states.
Thus, in the modern era of imperialism, we see the core of merchant-financier interests play out differently in the many countries that are now part of the global capitalist system.
In the imperialist countries, there remains a core of industrial production (including, as we said, services) but now under the control of monstrous financial oligarchies.
In the intermediate category are countries which have developed their own industrial capacity and continue to assert their national sovereignty. But as they exist still within the global capitalist system, they have to cope with the relentless intrusions of imperialist operations, which undermine their economic and political sovereignty. Here, the local big bourgeoisie is holding on to political and economic power, but is torn between asserting their inherent class interest of completely lording it over their home country (and home market and labor force) and other social classes, on one hand, and giving way to the dictates of imperialism and merely serving as its local partners and agents.
Finally, the biggest bulk of countries remain as neocolonies of imperialism, Here, the local big bourgeoisie has not even developed an independent industrialized economy but serves as imperialist puppets, its direct partners and agents in trade, finance, other lucrative sectors of the economy, and in wielding state power in behalf of its imperialist masters and other local ruling classes. This is what Marxists call the comprador big bourgeoisie. Insofar as the economy remains non-industrialized (agricultural, overreliant on extractive industries and bloated “service industries”), the big comprador bourgeoisie’s interests are closely intertwined with the landlord class, especially the big landlords engaged in export crops, extraction of raw materials, and real estate-based businesses.
Capitalist relations also start to encompass even those types of activities that were formerly part of individual professions, and non-cash-mediated service (in Marxist terms, reproduction-related) functions done within the household or community (e.g. cooking, cleaning, care-giving, repairs), or by state institutions (such as education and communications). In the current era of global capitalism, “service industries” have expanded tremendously.
The rest of this paper/presentation is focused on the comprador-dominated third category of countries, or what is often called “developing countries” or the Third World, while also exploring the status of those in the second category.
The term “comprador” (or compradore), originally a Portuguese word that simply meant “trader”, was first used widely in China during the late Qing Dynasty period, especially after the First Opium War (1839-1842). Compradors refered to local merchants and middlemen who facilitated trade between Chinese businesses and foreign (mainly European) trading houses. When Western colonial powers expanded their operations across much of Asia, the need and demand for highly trusted local comprador agents also expanded. The compradors served as intermediaries, translators, and negotiators that helped foreign firms navigate local markets, customs, and regulations. Often scions of notable merchant and landed families that acquired Western education and lifestyles, soon the biggest compradors developed into the wealthiest stratum of the local bourgeoisie. It was more interested in colonial finance and trade, and retention of feudal property and privilege, rather than local industrialization.
As the Western colonial powers turned monopoly capitalist, they sought the tightest class alliance with this dominant stratum (the big comprador bourgeoisie), and used it as their bridge to other exploitative local classes, especially the well-entrenched landlord class in agrarian societies. The big comprador bourgeoisie became imperialism’s most trusted ally in the various colonies, semicolonies, and neocolonies. Marxist-Leninist studies on the history and current class structure of many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America will show this. The big comprador bourgeoisie’s distinctive class characteristics may be listed as the following:
Its business interests traditionally (and to a large extent today still) concentrate on import/-xport trade, and banking supportive of trade, rather than domestic production for domestic consumption. It is dependent on and subordinate to big foreign monopoly capital and imperialist interests, both within the country and in international affairs.
Thus, from the post-World War II period and especially from the 1970s onward, the biggest compradors typically favor liberal policies on foreign investment, trade and finance. At the same time, they rabidly oppose independent national development, especially nationalist industrialization and alternative strategies that enhance such national development. What they see as development is a stunted, imperialist-dependent framework of development that allowed small industrial pockets or enclaves that served imperialist needs.
They command the biggest levers of economic wealth and enjoy political power at the highest levels, and are often described as the country’s business elite, enjoying close ties with both the state and foreign capital.
How do the big compradors wield their power within the neocolonial state? In most cases, the underlying power structure is a class alliance of big compradors and landlords, backed up by the forces of imperialism. But there is a wide spectrum of variations in how such power is managed. Just as a sampling, there are:
those that are still formally bourgeois-democratic republics, where the main political parties are tightly controlled by the big comprador-landlords, and by which they dominate as well as regulate the electoral, parliamentary, and democratic processes; imperialism exercises its overlord powers through its many agents in the key branches and top levels of bureaucracy;
those that have become openly dictatorial fascist dictatorships or military juntas, and those that still carry the old feudal shell of dynastic governance with a royal family at the core; here, the most dominant (wealthy and powerful) comprador-landlord group will traditionally control national power, making it a straightforward matter for imperialists to have a direct inside track through the absolutist structures of government;
those with a number of local fiefdoms led by powerful warlords and barely held together by a very weak central government; here, the comprador-landlords groups may likewise be fragmented, or clustered around imperialist-TNC groupings, or through military factions that have their own imperialist backers.
How does imperialism intensify the economic oppression and exploitation of these countries (whether neocolonies or independent states asserting national sovereignty)?
By colluding with its puppet big bourgeoisie (mostly driven by comprador interests) as agents of imperialist TNCs in resource extraction, subcontracting, expansion and tighter control of local markets, and other auxiliary operations beneficial to both imperialism and local exploiting classes.
These imperialist interests and gains are further strengthened via neoliberal policies, which are welcomed by the dominant comprador groups because these policies also benefit them;
By encouraging the cancerous growth of bureaucrat capitalism, which further exploits and oppresses the people in behalf of imperialism.
Bureaucrat capitalism could simply mean the big comprador-landlord groups using their private wealth to control the bureaucracy through their trusted hirelings, who in turn are rewarded through widespread graft and corruption at all levels.
It could also mean the big comprador-landlord groups directly using their political power to become top officials and thus more thoroughly plunder the public treasury and other state resources, using their loot to expand their big comprador-landlord properties and operations.
In its most concentrated form, bureaucrat capitalism becomes state capitalism that controls the dominant industries, utilities and economic facilities—still in partnership with and in the service of imperialism. The big comprador groups (usually centered around founder families) are at the same time the most powerful and privileged officials of the bureaucracy and state-owned corporations, radiating to all the lucrative sectors of the economy in what is now known as crony capitalism. This is especially prominent during periods of openly fascist dictatorships.
In the case of states that have gained some independence, are asserting their national sovereignty and resisting imperialist dictates, imperialism and its local agents impose a whole range of socio-economic and political sanctions, including gunboat diplomacy.
The NLM represents the whole range of people’s struggles, including state measures and policies, directed against imperialism.
In many countries, the people are waging national liberation movements to remove the shackles of imperialist domination in collusion with its local puppets. These NLMs may take the form of direct AS to overthrow the imperialist puppet regime, or of mass movements that resist imperialist dictates and advance people’s rights.
In other countries, the NLM may have won decisive victories, where revolutionary forces are in a power-sharing or coalition government with other forces, but the social transformation of society and emancipation of its toiling masses face major challenges including continued imperialist intervention.
We emphasize the anti-imperialist unity among these countries and their oppressed peoples, including states that assert national sovereignty. Whole range of fields of struggle:
- AS and mass movements supporting AS
- legal mass movements that advance the anti-imperialist agenda and people’s basic interests, including possible united front/tactical alliance with a government that resists imperialism
- full-scale ND rev led by proletarian party with socialist perspective