CLASS 1What is imperialism?
What is imperialism, and why is it crucial for organizers to understand it clearly? How can we develop an analysis and approach to studying imperialism that clarifies our organizing and drives us to action? In this session, we will lay the foundation for this 4-part study, defining the enemy so we know why and how to fight against it. We will start by exploring Lenin’s analysis of imperialism to help us better understand the manifestations of this stage of global capitalism and our duty as revolutionaries in the U.S. today.
CLASS 2Monopoly Capitalism
How do we understand today’s global financial system? How did banks and financial institutions like J.P. Morgan, CitiBank, BlackRock and others come to dominate the world and how are these institutions impacted during times of crisis? This session will focus on the transformation of capitalism from a system dominated by free-market competition into a system defined by monopoly. Through a close reading of Lenin’s analysis of finance capital, we will examine how the concentration of production gave rise to monopolies, how banks merged with industry to form finance capital, and how this new financial oligarchy came to dominate economic and political life in the imperialist core and with global control.
CLASS 3The Division of the World
In 1884, European powers gathered to divide and claim Africa amongst themselves, setting the stage for the plunder and looting of the continent to secure their share of its resources. As a few powerful countries came to dominate most of the world, they competed amongst each other for access to new markets, resources and profits in order to fuel their growing monopolies. In this session, we will trace how these powers divided up the world, through economic monopoly and political and military conquest, the export of capital, international cartels, and how their increasing fight to maintain geopolitical dominance impacts our world.
CLASS 4The Struggle ahead
In 1916, Lenin described imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism – but in 2025, what stage are we in and how should we understand it? As we live through an era of escalating and overlapping crises, how do we make sense of our role within the larger march of history? This session will unpack imperialism’s internal contradictions: how it maximizes profits through deepening global exploitation while also creating the forces that will overthrow it. We will explore what this means for working-class consciousness, the future of revolution, our responsibility in the belly of the beast to bring imperialism to its knees.