Page "Anti-imperialism" Paragraph 2

The relationship among capitalism, aristocracy, and imperialism has long been debated among historians and political theorists.

Much of the debate was pioneered by such theorists as Hobson, Joseph Schumpeter, Thorstein Veblen, and Norman Angell.

While these writers were at their most prolific before World War I, they remained active in the interwar years.

Their combined work informed the study of imperialism's impact on Europe, as well as contributed to reflections on the rise of the military-political complex in the United States from the 1950s.

Hobson argued that domestic social reforms could cure the international disease of imperialism by removing its economic foundation.

Hobson theorized that state intervention through taxation could boost broader consumption, create wealth, and encourage a peaceful multilateral world order.

Conversely, should the state not intervene, rentiers ( people who earn income from property or securities ) would generate socially negative wealth that fostered imperialism and protectionism.