It cannot be denied that the 21st century has seen the entrance of newer players into the global superleague. Countries which were hitherto semi industrialized or semi peripheral as concerns the international economic system have been transformed into economic powerhouses almost overnight. Countries in the Far East, such as Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea make up this list. Of particular interest, however is the People's Republic of China.
In Imperialism, Lenin observes that weak and underdeveloped economies can become developed and industrialized - to the point of challenging the 'traditional' developed economies - at a very fast pace, as in the case of Germany in the second half of the 19th century.
Throughout the 20th century, China's economy was nowhere near those of the powerful Western countries. The situation is completely different now. China has made strides in industry and agriculture, and its economy is only second to that of the United States. In fact, so developed have the industrial firms been in China that they have been forced to spread their operations into other countries in a bid to maximize profitability. Less industrialized countries, especially those in Africa, have seen more and more Chinese investment in their economies.
But how mutual is this relationship? Is this genuine assistance towards better living standards from the people of China or is this another case of imperialist control of our economies already under the shackles of monopoly financial capitalism? Are the workers of China, whose vanguard should be the Communist Party of China, expressing their solidarity with the workers of the developing countries with the ultimate ambition of abolishing capitalism and creating a classless society?
Being a socialist society means being in transition towards a communist society, where classes have been abolished and the workers are in full control of the means of production. All aspects of Chinese society should, therefore, exhibit characteristics of a people in this transition. Rushing to occupy 'spheres of influence' with the view to develop one's economy by exploiting and further impoverishing those of developing countries is, however, not reflective of a socialist society on the road to communism, and is contradictory to the ideas of Karl Marx. Indeed, many have questioned the rightist turn that the Chinese government made after the death of Mao Zedong, founder of Chinese socialism. A proper definition of the Chinese mode of production would be State Capitalism, not Socialism.
Nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that China has risen, and is competing directly with America and Western Europe in the economic front. Areas that were previously considered under the complete economic control of the United States and their European counterparts are opening up to Chinese interests. Whereas this situation is understandable as the dynamism that is characteristic with the capitalist mode of production, the consequences are often intricate and difficult to understand. What is clear, however, is that whenever a new country emerges to challenge the traditional imperialist countries occupying the core of the global economic system, all manner of retaliatory measures are applied, in a bid to maintain the latter's position as the sole beneficiary of the system. In many cases, this conflict turns violent.
The First World War, many historians maintain, was an inter-imperialist war, driven by the need for the competing empires of Europe to restructure their territories. More importantly, the economic conflicts between Germany and Britain needed to be settled. The Second World War occurred primarily due to the emergence of the United States and Japan as major imperialist powers, and needed to be included in the list of 'exploiter' countries. A war was therefore inevitable, in order to reallocate 'spheres of influence' among the advanced capitalist states, as well as to deal with the growing influence of the Soviet Union.
Inasmuch as various conditions may trigger the outbreak of armed conflict, the primary reason is always the same; economic interests. The rise of China as an economic power, and its increasing influence in world geopolitics, only serves to move the world closer to armed conflict. The capitalists never relent to use force to meet their ends, and as long as capitalism remains our mode of production the world can only expect periodic wars driven by greed and the desire to exploit, with total disregard to the basic principles of human life.
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