Originally published in 1916, it was one of the first attempts to account for the increasing importance of the world market in the twentieth century. The essay is a synthesis of Lenin's modifications and developments of economic theories that Karl Marx formulated in 'Das Kapital'. This remarkable Marxist text explains fully the inescapable flaws and destructive power of Capitalism. Lenin offers a predictive scenario of a world shaken by competitive instability, warfare and crisis, dominated by monopolies, the merging of finance and industrial capital, and fierce territorial competition. Its pertinence is now greater than ever. Lenin vaticinated that those third world countries used merely as capitalist labour would have no choice but to join the Communist revolution in Russia. His theoretical framework remains the best method for understanding recent global developments.