Imperialism and War: Classic Writings by V.I. Lenin and Nikolai Bukharin

by Phil Gasper (Editor), Nikolai Bukharin (Contributor), Vladimir Lenin (Contributor)

Here, with critical notes and context, are V.I. Lenin’s Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism and Nikolai Bukharin’s Imperialism and World Economy. They are both essential for understanding the nature of imperialism and war historically—and today.

V.I. Lenin (1870–1924) was a leader of the Russian Revolution and wrote extensively on the issues facing the working-class movement of his time.

Nikolai Bukharin (1888–1938) was a Bolshevik leader and intellectual, and later a Soviet politician until his execution at the hands of Stalin’s government.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Lenin, Politics

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Phil Gasper is a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame de Namur University in California. He writes extensively on politics and the philosophy of science and is a frequent contributor to CounterPunch.

Reviews

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lenin's and Bukharin's works compliment each other really well, though Lenin's work seems to me a little more simplistic in its language and links to Marx, while Bukharin cites long passages from Capital and does, in my opinion, a better, more rigorous job explaining the minute details.
Both authors spend a great deal critiquing Kautsky (Lenin more so than Bukharin) which is kinda funny, because Kautsky's idea of "peaceful capitalism" just about prevailed - ever since the introduction of the possibility of nuclear warfare, there hasn't been a direct conflict between the various imperialist powers, only indirect, proxy warfare.
If I were to choose between the two works, I'd choose Bukharin's, because Lenin's seems a bit too "evolutionary" (he follows the progression of capitalism linearly and, in my opinion, simplisticly). Both are still great books and worth a read as a starting point in the study of imperialism

[Justin T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really phreaked my understanding of the world economy and international relations.

[Eran · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up because I haven't read anything by Lenin and because I saw it on the drunk captain's desk in the movie Triangle of Sadness. Not sure what I was hoping for, but it was a snooze fest. Lenin's essay is an ad hominem attack on Karl Kautsky. If Lenin doesn't like something, he says it's bourgeois. Capitalism bad. Imperialism more bad.

[Soph Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and lucid analysis that I think will take a while to sink in but very glad I took the time to read both Lenin and Bukharin's classic works.