Lenin's Imperialism. The Highest Stage of Capitalism formed part of the canon of mainstream Marxist writing for much of the twentieth century, and also represented a critical reference point for Marxist attempts to interpret international relations for much of the same period. At one and the same time both a stinging condemnation of the betrayal of the European working class by their political leaders in 1914, and a synthesis, with some original elements, of existing contemporary Marxist theory

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... on imperialism, Lenin's 'popular outline' subsequently (from around the time of the 'New Left' onwards) came under increasing fire for being both incoherent, irrelevant, and overrated. This article revisits both the contemporary genesis of the text, and the question of its longer term pertinence and relevance in the light of capitalism's current crisis.