Export of Capital

Monopoly capitalist, financial oligarch and monopoly bourgeoisie government’s investment and loan to foreign countries in order to obtain high monopoly profits or seek other economic, political and military interests. The capital exported by the governments of capitalist countries and their subordinate institutions is called “national capital export”, including gifts, loans and government export credits. The capital exported by private capitalists or capitalist groups is called “private capital export”, including private direct investment, securities investment and private export credit. There are two basic forms of capital export: one is the output of productive capital, which mainly refers to the direct investment in foreign countries to set up factories, exploit mineral resources, run other enterprises, buy local original enterprises or joint ventures with local private individuals, organizations and governments. The other is the output of loan capital, which is mainly lent by the government, banks or enterprises to foreign governments or private enterprises.

Capital export has appeared in the stage of laissez-faire capitalism, but it was mainly commodity export at that time, and capital export was only a small and individual phenomenon. With the development of capitalism to the stage of monopoly, capital export has developed on a large scale, and has a particularly important significance. Regarding the possibility of capital export, Lenin argued that in the period of monopoly capitalism, what monopoly capital required was not average profit, but excess profit. Monopoly rule provides the premise and condition for the acquisition of excess profit, resulting in a large amount of excess capital. The surplus capital can no longer find profitable investment place in China, so we must find a way out abroad, which leads to capital export. The so-called “excess” of capital is relative. If capitalists can use the accumulated capital to develop backward economic sectors and improve the living standards of the domestic working people, of course, there will be no “surplus” capital. As for the necessity of capital export, Lenin pointed out that the destination of capital export was developed countries and backward countries, but at that time it was mainly backward countries. Because there is less capital, lower land price and wages, and cheaper raw materials, capitalists can get much higher profits there than in China. In particular, many backward countries have joined the capitalist world system. In these countries, the commodity economy has developed to a certain extent, the self-sufficient natural economy has gradually disintegrated, and a large number of farmers and small handicrafts have gone bankrupt, resulting in cheap labor force and broad commodity market. In addition, “major railway lines have been completed or started to be built, and the minimum conditions for industrial development have been guaranteed.”

Capital export is of great significance to capitalist countries. First of all, capital export usually leads to higher profits than domestic investment; Secondly, capital export can drive more commodity export, making debtor countries become their commodity markets;Third, monopoly capital can also take part of the high profits to buy off the workers’ nobles and the agents of the countries where their capital is located, destroy the workers’ movement in their own countries and cultivate the comprador class in the countries where the capital is located. Therefore, the export of capital is an important manifestation of the parasitic monopoly capitalism. In a word, capital export expands the sphere of influence of financial capital from home to abroad, forming a network of exploitation of financial capital all over the world, resulting in a world system of capital domination and financial strangulation on the vast majority of the world’s residents.

Like many other phenomena of capitalist mode of production, capital output also clearly reflects the basic contradiction of capitalist mode of production: On the one hand, capital export makes the financial oligarchs who export capital obtain more profits, on the other hand, it makes the capital exporting countries develop a certain degree of stagnation trend; On the one hand, capital export brings economic exploitation and enslavement to capital importing countries, and increases their dependence on capital exporting countries, on the other hand, capital export promotes the development of productive forces in the capital importing countries and strengthens the desire of these countries to develop their national economy independently; On the one hand, capital export leads more and more countries to the track of capitalist mode of production and market economy, on the other hand, it expands the scope of capitalist exploitation and enslavement, and strengthens the control of capital exporting countries over capital importing countries; On the one hand, capital export can promote the export of goods and promote the expansion of foreign trade among countries, on the other hand, it deepens the contradictions among imperialist countries, leading to the sharpening of the struggle for territory and sales market among various imperialist countries. Generally speaking, capital export accelerates the pace of financial capital spreading across the world and strengthens the dominance of financial capital across the whole world. Lenin said: “The export of capital influences and greatly accelerates the development of capitalism in those countries to which it is exported. While, therefore, the export of capital may tend to a certain extent to arrest development in the capital-exporting countries, it can only do so by expanding and deepening the further expand and development of capitalism throughout the world.”

After the World War II, there have been some new situations and changes in the capital export mode capitalist countries: First, compared with the export of private capital in the past, the export of state capital accounts for a large proportion; second, the main objects of capital export before was the industrially backward colonial and semi-colonial countries, after the war the focus of monopoly capital investment has gradually shifted to the industrially developed countries, and the mutual capital export between developed countries accounts for a large proportion; third, the direction and structure of investment also underwent some changes; previously, investment in the development of mineral resources took up a larger proportion, but since the World War II, investment in manufacturing industries has grown faster; fourth, multinational corporations have become an important tool for capitalist capital export; fifth, the United States has become the largest capital exporter after the World War I.