Multinationals as Agents of Imperialism

Multinationals are without doubt the most controversial of all non-state actors. In the eyes of many critics they act as the motor of capitalism in the contemporary markets, accused of toppling elected governments, exploiting under-developed countries, engaging in illegal activities, ignoring human rights, and willfully damaging the environment. At the same time, defenders of multinational corporations portray them as engines of progress, innovative in research and development, a modernizing force in international relations, and the best hope for overcoming the chronic under-development and poverty in the Third World. Against this background, the aim of this work, however, is to examine the character and function of multinationals as agents of imperialism. It tries to provide empirical validation for the basic Marxist thesis that the serious problems of third world countries can be linked to the operations of imperialist forces whose most powerful catalysts are the multinational enterprises