Techno-imperialism at the center, inflation in Turkey (I)*

“There is nothing new under the sun,” they say, but there is so much room to write; so let us write...

The new version of imperialism, techno-imperialism, opens up enough space for us to write about it. It is not just the computers and programs we use; the digital cloud systems that cause this article to travel thousands of kilometers and be stored, the internet service provided by submarine cables and satellites, all move along the broad band of techno-imperialism. It is a fact that pollution has formed around the world due to satellites, and that the Americans are largely responsible for it.

As for us, we keep talking about our capital deficit in the semi-periphery and/or periphery... Because we do not have the heart to let the current account deficit and inflation get stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. One does not need to be a prophet to see that this cannot be solved by raising the exchange rate and deepening inequality again; today's “organic economists” cannot lead us down the wrong path...

Hundreds of economic thinkers have passed through this world—such as J.A. Hobson, R. Hilferding, V.I. Lenin, S. Amin, I. Wallerstein, H. Magdoff, M. Perelman, and A. Negri—who did not view the economy as something exclusive to the capitalist class. The new version of imperialism can also be understood by discussing the old one.

Let us first consider two thinkers of “classical imperialism” theories. Hobson’s (1902) underconsumption analysis is, in summary, based on the idea that when wealth inequality in central capitalist countries creates a demand gap that would create an investment field for capital, investments in the semi-periphery and periphery are financed through “capital exports” to maximize profits.

In the 19th century, the US railway network was built with British (credit) financing. Since the tendency toward underconsumption is a result of wealth inequality, according to Hobson, if this inequality is reduced, capitalism may not need to resort to classical imperialism in the sense of directly seizing resources. In short, according to Hobson, the malfunction of capitalism is repaired by imperialism.

But how can this be adapted to the present day?

The problem is resolved today by establishing a connection with techno-imperialism. When giant technology companies (Big Tech) find it difficult to find areas to invest their massive profits, they seize the digital infrastructure of developing countries. And that is exactly what is happening. Hobson says there is a “parasitic class” (financiers) behind imperialism. Today, this role has been taken over by tech giants that see data as the new “oil” and control the global flow of data. Recently, the Pentagon also reached agreements with all but one of the artificial intelligence systems and integrated them into its own system. This shows us that imperialism has been given the “start” signal to continue through power relations across all channels and for greater exploitation.

LENIN AND IMPERIALISM

In his book written in 1916, Lenin views imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism (the objections of Luxemburg and Kautsky are for another article) and lists five basic features while defining imperialism: Monopolization, the supremacy of finance capital, (again) capital exports, international trusts that divide the world, and the completion of territorial division. According to Lenin, when the last territory is divided, both capitalism and imperialism will end. The establishment of the Soviets is also intended to end capitalism, according to him.

If we ask how we can see Lenin’s theory of imperialism today, the detail of Hormuz is, of course, not insignificant in this division of territory. Especially if one-fifth of the oil passes through there...

Monopolization: The steel and iron monopolies Lenin mentioned are being replaced today by data monopolies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. These companies have become not just “market share,” but the “market itself.”

Capital exports are giving way to “data exports”: In the past, capital was exported for railway construction; today, cloud computing infrastructures and artificial intelligence models that bind the digital sovereignty of countries are being exported. The “commodities” (Negri) produced by immaterial labor in this digital environment are protected by legal barriers and digital and intellectual property law, ensuring the “enclosure” (Perelman) of digital pastures (big data).

Finance capital (Hilferding): Today, technology and finance are intertwined (FinTech). Algorithmic trading and digital currencies are a digital reflection of Lenin’s thesis of “banks dominating industry.” Now, the interests of both the techno-feudals (Varoufakis) who rule the digital world and the masters of arms and oil are merging through the algorithms created by finance capital. For example, the price increase in oil turns into a “surplus value production mechanism” (should we have called it surplus value extraction?) in some way through the coordination of the digital world with finance and weapons. In this case, when the center invests in weapons, oil and finance also find a response. The financing of large investments aimed at consumption in the semi-periphery and periphery (Wallerstein) leads to the flow of surplus value to the center through “key currencies” (Dollar and Euro) via the created digital financial environment, and also helps in managing problems like inflation in Turkey.

THE COUNTRY WHERE THE ULTRA-WEALTHY ARE INCREASING THE FASTEST

Mainstream economic ideology intervenes here, facilitating the surplus value transfer mechanism as a tool of consent for the “center” in an environment of unequal and combined development.

An example? Like this: Farmers, who are left alone behind the structural problems in agriculture, are made to determine the price of the products they produce according to the targets of monopolies. Because global agricultural monopolies determine both food security and food insecurity (the meaning of which is for another article) in both the center and the periphery. When you cannot determine the price of fertilizer, you can climb to the peak of food inflation. While increasing exports in the arms industry, the extent to which this increases imports is obscured, making it “indisputable.”

The number of people with wealth exceeding 30 million dollars has increased by 93.5 percent in the last 5 years, reaching 4,208. So, which country became the third country in the world ranking where the “ultra-wealthy” are increasing the fastest? (The Wealth Report 2026). It is a matter of debate how long the techno-rents created by techno-imperialism, which feeds on inflation stuck at 30 percent, will withstand the decline in production due to the “law of communicating vessels.” Because industry has started to send an S.O.S. When the problem of loan repayments, which has doubled compared to last year, is added, there are developments that stop the “dance of dialectics.” At this stage, blaming the Iran war is no different from kicking the ball into touch in football. If you do not build the game yourself, if you cannot create your own system, unfortunately, you cannot escape being the weak link of the system...

I wrote which country it was in the title as well...

Let me remind you...

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* The continuation and possible “solution” proposals will be in the next article..