The Marxian influence on Leonard Woolf’s theory of imperialism
| Published date | 01 September 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0047117819842309 |
| Date | 01 September 2019 |
| Author | Ricardo Villanueva |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117819842309
International Relations
2019, Vol. 33(3) 433 –454
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0047117819842309
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The Marxian influence
on Leonard Woolf’s
theory of imperialism
Ricardo Villanueva
Department of International Studies, Universidad del Mar
Abstract
In his own time, Leonard Woolf was one of the most prolific and respected experts on international
affairs. Yet, his paramount place in the field fell rapidly, partly because he was a writer whose ideas
have been labelled as utopian. This article employs Woolf to challenge the orthodox narrative
of the discipline of International Relations (IR) that oversimplifies the early stages of the field
as a dichotomy between idealism and realism. While this has already been done cogently by
Peter Wilson, this article discloses a Marxist dimension in Woolf’s thought and writings. This is
particularly important given that Marxism has regained significance in recent IR debates. Through a
contextualist approach, this article demonstrates that Woolf represents a considerable challenge
to conventional IR historiography and reveals the significance of Marxian-based understandings in
the early stages of the discipline as an alternative to idealism and realism. In addition, this article
shows some of the distinctiveness in Woolf’s Marxian writings on imperialism as an alternative
to Leninist understandings.
Keywords
disciplinary history, idealism, imperialism, International Relations, Leonard Woolf, Marxism,
revisionism
Introduction
Marxism has regained popularity in International Relations (IR) during recent decades.
After the end of the Cold War, it became commonplace to disregard Marxist approaches.
Yet, it experienced a renaissance in IR during the 1990s and in the first two decades of
the twenty-first century. Justin Rosenberg, for instance, has made noteworthy efforts in
retrieving Trotsky’s international thought through the concept of uneven and combined
development.1 Through the case of Leonard Woolf, this article aims to show that Marxist
Corresponding author:
Ricardo Villanueva, Departamento de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad del Mar, Campus Huatulco,
Huatulco, Código Postal 70987, Oaxaca, México.
Email: ric77@hotmail.com
842309IRE0010.1177/0047117819842309International RelationsVillanueva
letter2019
Article
434 International Relations 33(3)
ideas played a role in the international thought among not only early twentieth century
Communists but also their contemporary IR intellectuals.
Woolf is frequently considered to have been one of the most important intellectuals
writing during the so-called idealist theoretical stage of IR.2 His International
Government (1916) was one of the key influential texts behind Woodrow Wilson’s pro-
posal of the League of Nations.3 Consequently, Woolf has often been pejoratively
labelled as a utopian.
There have been recent notable attempts to stress the value of Woolf’s writings, espe-
cially highlighting the inaccuracies of the conventional narratives of the discipline.
Lucian Ashworth and Peter Wilson have made important efforts. Both scholars have
argued that denigrating Woolf as an idealist is imprecise and does not reveal much of his
output.4 While Ashworth and Wilson have already demonstrated that Woolf’s theoretical
insights are wrongly portrayed, this article spotlights the forgotten Marxian components
that are reflected in Woolf’s writings and thought.
The article contends that even though Woolf was generally a supporter of the League
of Nations, his international theory is considerably indebted to Marxist accounts.
Specifically, the article shows he utilises Marxism as a key tool for his theory in regard
to his conceptions of economic determinism, instrumentalism, anti-capitalism and social-
ism. However, the paper also stresses that he was seldom comfortable with rigid theoreti-
cal and ideological positions. Consequently, it shows that Woolf’s undogmatic socialism
is distinctive from other popular Marxist perspectives on imperialism.
Understanding the Marxian influence on Woolf’s writings and thought is important
for several reasons. First, the Marxist theoretical persuasion on Woolf’s accounts has
been obscured by IR conventional narratives and unexplored by revisionist efforts.
Second, being aware of the Marxian component of Woolf’s insights on imperialism chal-
lenges the traditional history of IR that depicts his writings as merely internationalist/
idealist. Third, recovering the Marxian influence on Woolf unveils the significance of
Marxism as an underlying theoretical tool used by some of the most influential intellec-
tuals during the disciplinary origins of IR. This last point is key because it transforms our
understandings of the early stage of the discipline from a dichotomy between idealist and
realist approaches – as exemplified by the so-called first great debate – to one that was
deeply engaged with Marxist theory. In addition, it is also relevant because it adds to the
recent renaissance of Marxism in IR. Finally, it reveals an alternative to other Marxist
understandings of imperialism.
The article proceeds in three parts. First, Woolf’s theoretical position in the disci-
pline is investigated by reviewing his relation with realism, liberal internationalism/
idealism, socialism and Marxism. The second part recovers some of Woolf’s Marxian-
influenced writings. In particular, Woolf’s understandings of economic determinism,
instrumentalism, anti-capitalism and socialism are explored. The last section highlights
the uniqueness of Woolf’s theory of imperialism as opposed to Marxian understandings
on economic determinism and socialism. The article concludes that although undog-
matical, Woolf commonly employed Marxism as an important theoretical tool for
explaining international imperial affairs. The primary thematic focus of the article is on
imperialism as this was Woolf’s most regular avenue of research and where he made a
distinctive impact.5
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