Table Of ContentRoutledge Revivals
Writings on Imperialism and
Internationalism
J. A. Hobson’s Imperialism: A Study, first written in 1902, was
undoubtedly his most prolific work. Yet Hobson wrote frequently
about the topic of imperialism over the course of his career, and a
number of his articles are included in this collection, first published in
1992. Exploring areas such as the presence of capitalism in South
Africa following his visits to the country in the lead-up to the Boer
War, free trade, and the ethical implications of empire, these articles
and extracts reflect how Hobson’s ideas changed over the decades in
which they were written. This is a fascinating collection of material
that provides an unparalleled depth of insight into the views of one of
the most important economic thinkers of the early twentieth century.
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Writings on Imperialism and
Internationalism
J. A. Hobson
Firstpublishedin1992
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WRITINGS ON
IMPERIALISM AND
INTERNATIONALISM
J.A. Hobson
Editedwith an Introduction by
Peter Cain
[f]
ROUTLEDGEITHOEMMES PRESS
© 1992RoutledgeIThoemmes Press
Published in 1992 by
R.outledgeI Thoemmes l)ress
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London EC4P4EE
Reprinted 2000
j.A. Hobson: ACollectionofEconomicWorks
6Volumes:ISBN0415 083044
Thearticlesreprinted herewereoriginally
publishedbetween 1891- 1930
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ofRoutledge andThoemmesAntiquarianBooksLtd.
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INTRODUCTION
Thereisnodoubtthatthe bookfor whichJ. A. Hobson
is best known is Imperialism: A Study, first written in
1902. The book went through three editions in his
lifetime, the last of them in 1938 two years before his
death, when Hobson wrote a new introdu~tion but left
the original text substantially unaltered (Hobson,
1988). Imperialism is undoubtedly Hobson's most
comprehensiveandimpressivestatementofhisposition.
Nonetheless, in a writing life of fifty years, Hobson
wrote about imperialism on many occasions and this
collection ofarticles and extracts demonstrates that his
perspectives and even his judgements on these matters
changed frequently, often in direct response to crises in
the political alld economic world around him (Cain,
1978; 1990).
'Free Trade and Foreign Policy' (Article 2), written in
1898 in response·to the battlebetween the greatpowers
for spheres of interest in China, was Hobson's first
attempt to offer a comprehensive theory ofimperialism
(Porter, 1968; Cain, 1985a). He was concerned to
refute the a~sumption ofthe imperialists that extending
Britishimperial authorityabroadwasvitalfortradeand
for economic survival and he did so by denying the
necessity ofthe link between foreign trade and growth.
Therootproblemoftheeconomywasamaldistribution
of resources which left too little of the income.0£ the
nation in thehandsofthemassofconsumersand meant
that a large percentage ofwhat was annually produced
and saved had to find foreign outlets. Imperialism was
v
vi Introduction
the military .and political manifestation of under
consumption and of the search for new markets for
foreign investment to relieve the crises caused thereby:
its antidote was social reform, which by redistributing
income and wealth more fairly, would lead to the
absorption of the surplus domestically and to a drastic
reduction in the need for overseas markets for capital
and, therefore, for goods. All the crucial ingredients of
the argument ofImperialism: A Study are here. What is
missing, however, is the claim made in the larger work
that the galvanizing force behind imperial policy was
financial conspiracy. Thatelementoweditsprominence
to Hobson's journalistic visits to South Africa made in
the run-up'to the BoerWar when he became convinced
that the war was being fought on behalf of the
mineowners backed by a kept press. The specificsofhis
South African experience are not strongly evident in
Imperialism: A Study, where the argument proceeds on
a high plane ofgenerality, butcan befound in The War
in South Africa (1900), in the article 'Capitalism·and
Imperialism in South Africa' (Article 3) and in later
works (Article 6 and Etherington, 1984).
One of the grand themes of Imperialism: A Study is
that the vast waves of foreign investment upon which
imperialismwas builtwouldleadintimeto anindustrial
revolution in what we now call the Third World,
devastating its traditional cultures. The consequent de
industrializationofthedevelopedworldwouldalsoturn
Western Europe into a service economy, ruled by
financial power, destructive of the liberty and demo
cracy which Hobson associated with the rise of urban
industry (Cain, 1979). The argument can be .found in
Part II of Imperialism (Hobson, 1988 pp. 285-327),
but it relies upon ideas first formulated by Hobson in
'Can England Keep Her Trade?' (Article 1) written in
1891 long before he became interested in imperialism
Introduction Vll
and when he was concerned more directly with the
problem of poverty in Britain. Given his narrow
perspective at the time, Hobson was quite willing to
suggest protection and the prohibition ofcapital export
as remedies. By 1898, of course, he was claiming that
social reform would solve the problem by reducing the
volume of foreign trade to relative insignificance. In
Imperialism he also showed himself a passionate advo
cate of free trade, arguing that tariffs were simply a
device for ensuring that the poorwouldpaythe costsof
imperial expansion. But his most explicit attack on
tariffs in this context was made in his article 'The
Inner Meaning of Protectionism' (Article"4), Hobson's
response to Chamberlain's announcement of his cam
paign for imperial preference and empire unity in 1903.
In this article he claimed that protection would simply
add to the underlying problem of maldistribution,
increasing the need for overseas outlets for trade and
capital and adding to the pressure of imperial expan
sion. Free trade, on the other hand, since it fostered
peaceful intercourse between nations, was an essential
basis of pacific internationalism.
InImperialism, Hobson brieflyidentifiedtheSouthof
England as an example of a service economy living off
the fruits ofimperialistexploitation (Hobson, 1988 pp.
151, 313-4), but his only extended analysis on these
lineswas made in'TheGeneral Election: ASociological
Interpretation' (Article 7). Here, Hobson examined the
deep divide, evident in the results of the January 1910
election, between the North of England, whose alle
giance was to the Liberal party, and a predominantly
Conservative South. Hobson believed that the electoral
division reflected a fundamental cleavage between the
provincial industrial sector in Britain, which under the
Liberals was increasingly inclined to support an exten
sion of democracy and social reform, and a service
