Imperialism and Dependency

Abstract

Originally, theories of imperialism sought to explain the absence of a profound economic crisis in the capitalist nations of Western Europe. They attempted to account for the continued growth of capitalism by focusing on the way in which the acquisition of colonies had enabled European powers to export capital and thereby postpone crises at home. Thus, the interest of these theorists of imperialism lay in the causes of imperialism in the metropolitan nations, rather than in its effects on the economic growth of the rest of the world.