Towards a critique of marxist political economy: Views from the imperialist centre

This article suggests that a critique of Marxist political economy is the key to understanding the development of 20th-century socialisms and the state of global capitalism today. Although such a project requires engagement with Marxist political economy in all parts of the world, this article focuses on Marxist political economy in the imperialist centres. More specifically, it focuses on the theories of imperialism by Hilferding, Luxemburg and Lenin in the years leading up to World War I and the Russian revolution, and the neo-Marxisms and new readings of Marx's Capital during the long post-World War II boom. Critical readings of these different theoretical approaches will allow a re-reading of Marx's Capital focusing on capitalist development from Marx's days to the present.