Certainly monopoly under capitalism can never completely, and for a long time, set aside competition of the world market. Certainly, the possibility of diminishing the costs of production and increasing profits by introducing technical improvements, is an influence in the direction of change. Even so, the tendency to stagnation and corruption which is characteristic of monopoly continues to make itself felt, and in certain spheres of production, in certain countries, for certain periods of time, it takes the upper hand.
Ownership (monopoly) of colonies which are especially big, rich and well situated, acts in the same way.
Moreover, Imperialism is an immense concentration of money capital in a few countries, a concentration which amounts to 100 or 150 milliard francs in various securities. Hence the inevitable development of a class, or rather of a category, of bondholders (rentiers), people who live by clipping coupons, people entirely strangers to activity in any enterprise whatever, people whose profession is idleness. The export of capital, one of the essential economic bases of imperialism, detaches still more bondholders from production; and sets the seal of parasitism on the whole country, living on the labour of several overseas countries and colonies.
"In 1893," writes Hobson, "British capital invested abroad represented about 15 per cent. of the total wealth of the United Kingdom."81 Let us remember that in 1915 this capital had increased about two and a half times. "Aggressive imperialism," says Hobson further on, "which costs the taxpayers so dear, and means so little for the
