In Lenin's now classic work Imperialism, he accounts for the increasing importance of the world market in the twentieth century. The concept of imperialism lies at the very heart of Marxist analysis and debate and Lenin offers a prescient scenario of a world shaken by competitive instability, war and crisis, dominated by monopolies, the merging of finance and industrial capital, and fierce territorial competition. It's relevance is now greater than ever.

A pivotal figure in twentieth century politics, Lenin was that unusual combination of theoretician, leader and revolutionary activist. He wrote widely and Imperialism, his best known work, is a work of scholarship and biting political analysis. Norman Lewis is a lecturer in International Relations and is researching at the University of Sussex. James Malone is an economics correspondent for Living Marxism.