Description

At the time of writing, Britain was hit hard by the Depression and among the questions raised daily in the country were issues of British naval supremacy, empire trade and “imperial self-sufficiency.” Ralph Fox argued that British capitalism based on imperial monopoly was in crisis (at the time of
writing (1933). He also argued that the question of socialism in Britain was determined by the exploitation of the colonial peoples. There was therefore an intimate connection between national liberation of the peoples of the Empire and the struggle of the British working class.

This book remains important in any intellectual historical understanding of theories of Empire. It reflects the understanding of the British Empire and its manifestations primarily in India, and elsewhere, from the intellectual framework of socialism. Its value lies in the insight it provides into
this type of understanding at the time it was written.