ABSTRACT
"Imperialism" derives from the Latin word imperium, "command, supreme authority". Roman imperialism contrasted with modern imperialism in that it reinforced the traditional local ruling hierarchies instead of generating a new basis of power among subject populations. Joseph Schumpeter examined the imperialist experiences of past centuries from ancient Egypt to the Arabs to Louis XIV and determined that imperialism was based on powerful drives and personal whims that capitalism fundamentally opposed. John Atkinson Hobson gave an economic interpretation to imperialism, and his work is believed to have influenced those who followed, including Lenin. Lenin's pamphlet Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism was largely derived from the work of others, especially Hilferding and Bukharin, but it has nevertheless been central to subsequent thinking on imperialism. The new imperialism was associated with the industrial revolution and, with the European push toward manufacturing, the demand for raw materials from the periphery, and the need to find markets for a surplus of production.
