Carolus Wimmer | Committee for International Solidarity (Venezuela)
“The superstructure of any economic-social formation is always based on a specific mode of production, which it reflects in some way. Family, class, political, military, religious, educational, and other institutions are always oriented by the type of relations that dominate the production process. However, the development of each of the superstructural levels does not depend exclusively on the economic structure: there is interaction between the two, that is to say, they influence each other. Furthermore, each of the superstructural elements acts, albeit with unequal force, on the others; simultaneously, they act as causes among themselves, although, in the long run, it is the economic structure that prevails and conditions them all.”
This reflection by Venezuelan Marxist historian Arturo Cardozo, in his work “Colony, Class Struggle and Independence,” must be incorporated into the study of a new phase of imperialism and neocolonialism in the 21st century.
At a time when the number of imperialist aggressions and wars is increasing, we must examine their nature and causes in order to prepare ourselves in an organized manner for resistance. In Latin America and Venezuela, we emphasise that wars of expansion and ethnic expulsions are not anomalies of capitalism, but a consequence of the desire to accumulate capital for profit (Monroe Doctrine).
According to Lenin, “Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism,” is characterised by several fundamental features:
Concentration of production: Capitalist production has become concentrated in a few large monopolies, leading to the socialisation of production in its most varied aspects.
The new role of banks: The merger of banks with industrial capital has created a financial oligarchy that has acquired a decisive role in the economy of capitalist countries.
Capital export: The export and import of capital have become extremely important, facilitating the penetration and plundering of less developed countries by the great powers.
International capitalist associations: The formation of international capitalist associations that divide up the world has resulted in the territorial division among the most important capitalist powers.
These features reflect the development of the productive forces under capitalism and are essential to understanding the phenomena of war and imperialism today.
Imperialism essentially involves a nation’s desire and ability to dominate, subjugate, or persuade other nations to act in the interests of the empire itself. Imperialism is not a new phenomenon, but today it can be said to include a new form of colonialism. This type of neocolonialism does not necessarily take over large areas of territory from peoples or nations militarily, but seeks to destroy the sovereignty of established states, weaken them, and impose tutelage on them in its search for natural resources, advantages, and hegemonic power, as we see in the case of Venezuela. Furthermore, today, military warfare has been joined by a new form of warfare: hybrid warfare, which is economic, diplomatic, legalistic, cognitive, and media-based—and equally lethal.
Currently, there is only one empire in the world: the United States of America, and its goal is to remain so—to be the only hegemonic power, the only “Make America Great Again” superpower—with the help of its staunch allies in Europe, Asia, and Canada.
The United States is the only nation with approximately 800 military bases around the globe and fleets in all seas. It has the largest armed forces in the world and is the largest manufacturer and seller of weapons on the planet.
War has been its main instrument and business for much of the 20th century and now the 21st. As a result, Washington’s foreign, economic, and financial policies no longer differ from its military objectives.
The private and public spheres in the United States have become largely intertwined through the militarisation of its foreign policy, which masks a deep class struggle, both nationally and internationally, supported by the formidable power of the corporate media.
Empires have always tried to mask their military power behind their narrative façade of courage, quality, superiority, the need to protect, and benevolence. This provides an apparent reason for their domination over other peoples and nations that do not possess these “virtues.”
The American empire cannot maintain its power by force alone, as this would be prohibitively expensive; it needs to convince other nations to submit. An empire achieves this through its ideology, its superstructure, which masks, sustains, and promotes its military infrastructure.
American society—historically, culturally, and psychologically—is steeped in racism and classism, both integral parts of its hegemonic ideology.
However, today, Washington has lost much of its hegemonic aura and its narrative of manifest destiny and as saviour of the world, following a series of failures and lies such as the “domino theory” of the Vietnam War or the claim of the existence of “weapons of mass destruction” used to justify the invasion of Iraq.
The series of futile wars, endless coups, interference in the governments of other nations, and the US government’s disregard for international law have not helped either.
In other words, the ideology of US imperialism has worn thin. Whether Washington likes it or not, a multipolar world is emerging economically and politically, and the US justifications are no longer credible.
Savage Capitalism: An Undemocratic System Dominated by Finance
The economic system of imperialism is capitalism, which in its current stage is known as corporate capitalism, once also called “savage capitalism.” Washington is its main exponent.
This system is characterised by a preponderance of corporate finance and speculation. It is only marginally oriented towards production and the satisfaction of citizens’ needs; labour and its representatives have been undermined and marginalised by speculative economic activity.
The corporate market largely determines political decisions in this system, thereby undermining democratic institutions such as parliaments, political parties, laws, and the judiciary.
We are witnessing the unbridled power of corporations, which has led to widespread inequality and political polarisation, as economist Thomas Piketty clearly pointed out in his 2013 book Capital in the Twenty-First Century.
‘Internal authority’ is also fractured in the United States. Author Chris Hedges even considers that Washington is now “in the final stage of the rise of corporate totalitarianism.”
Financial capitalism contributes nothing of value to the real economy; it is casino capitalism made possible by the degradation of institutions that serve the common good: education, health, trade unions, and families.
A new colonialism has emerged, camouflaged with all kinds of deception: “free trade” (which is not free), promises of “trickle-down” investments (which never trickle down), and supposed “humanitarian interventions” to protect human rights (only some).
Governments in the Global North claim to help countries in the South develop (only when it suits their companies), teach other nations the supposed “rule of law” (based on their own standards), and even promote NGOs to supposedly protect democracy and the environment (while these organisations act as spies and saboteurs).
Venezuela is a case study. Between 2002 and 2012 alone, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a CIA entity, donated $100 million to create 300 NGOs that opposed the Bolivarian Revolution led by President Hugo Chávez.
The forms and consequences of imperialist aggression against Venezuela, in its quest to seize its vast wealth, were masterfully pointed out in Foreign Minister Yvan Gil’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025:
“From the first day of his term, President Hugo Chávez courageously adopted a nationalist and sovereign oil policy and embarked on a historic journey to restore the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a great multilateral instrument and guarantor of global energy security.
Today, 26 years later, world public opinion and the peoples of the world are well aware of everything that US imperialism did to overthrow President Chávez and put an end to the historic liberation project, which was successively endorsed and affirmed by the Venezuelan people in 32 elections.
With the physical departure of President Chávez, the people ratified in multiple electoral and political events the historic project of the emancipation of Venezuela, now led by President Nicolás Maduro. The war waged against us in all forms is well known and widely documented—the criminal aggression that has been carried out against Venezuela over the last decade to seize its natural resources and bring about regime change.
There have been countless attacks against Venezuela, including destabilisation efforts, conspiracies, an assassination attempt using drones, and economic warfare—the cruelest expression of which is the 1,042 sanctions that have been criminally imposed on the nation’s oil industry and productive sectors—as well as several incursions by mercenaries.
Added to all this is now an absolutely illegal and immoral military threat that violates the United Nations Charter, Venezuela’s rights as a sovereign state, and even the laws of the United States itself. Venezuela thanks this assembly for its solidarity.
It is time for the Global South, it is time for that long-awaited new world order, it is time to consolidate that new multipolar and multicentric world of peace and economic prosperity, free from hegemony. It is time to rescue the principles expressed in the Charter of the United Nations and to honour the fact that this organisation is at the service of the peoples, as stated in its preamble. Venezuela places its Bolivarian diplomacy of peace at the service of humanity to advance in that direction… These are the principles of free peoples, such as solidarity and complementarity.”
The farce that the United States is some kind of “defender” of Latin America against European threats, as proclaimed by the Monroe Doctrine, was exposed, for example, when Washington supported the United Kingdom’s colonial war against Argentina over the Falkland Islands.
The last word on imperialism comes from the eternal guerrilla Che Guevara, who stated: “It is the nature of imperialism to turn men into beasts, into bloodthirsty animals, ready to slaughter, to kill, to destroy the last image of the revolutionary, of the supporter of a government that has fallen under its boot or that is fighting for its freedom.”
Che warned that “imperialism cannot be trusted for a single minute—not even a little.”
There are too many examples to cite—in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and even in the less powerful nations of Europe—all of which have felt the boot of the Yankee empire on their throats.
The opposite of today’s imperialism lies in the social movements and forces that defend Socialism of the 21st Century. It represents the hope for the future of Latin America and the world against the criminality of imperialism.
Attempts at destabilisation, economic blockades, and criminal sanctions have failed to defeat the Bolivarian people, who today:
• Resist through popular, military, and police organisation;
• Advance with socialist-minded innovation;
• Prepare for new challenges toward building the communal state.
As Commander Chávez said: “For now and forever, the revolution will continue on its path.” Today, under the leadership of President Nicolás Maduro, that promise is being fulfilled day by day.
Socialism or Barbarism.
We shall overcome.
Sources
Cardozo, Arturo: “Colony, Class Struggles and Independence,” Carabobo Bicentennial Collection.
Monal, Isabel: “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism,” Marxist Library, Havana, Cuba.
Piketty, Thomas: “Capital in the 21st Century,” Economic Culture Fund of Argentina.
Hedges, Chris: “The Dark Rise of American Fascism,” YouTube.
Paez, María: “How the Imperialist System Works, and How Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution Resists It,” RT.
Presidential Press, Miraflores, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.