Inequality, Imperialism, and the Outbreak of World War I

World War I was probably the most momentous historical event in the past 100 years. The possibility of the outbreak of the war among major powers was discussed extensively in the period before 1914. Left-wing economists, many of them Marxists, saw the forces leading to the war in the increasing power of monopolies and cartels whose needs for a wider “field of action” led the governments of advanced countries to engage in policies of foreign conquest. Such policies pursued by several countries would, in their view, end up by provoking a conflict. A number of episodes–most notably the Anglo-French conflict in Fashoda and the two Moroccan crises that pitted Germany against France and the UK–seemed to justify this point of view. Imperialism was seen to arise from domestic economic conditions; it was favoured by economic interests of the elites.

Link: The Economics of the Great War: A Centennial Perspective

Related Commentary: Inequality, Imperialism, and the First World War (Pro-Market 2018)