I agree, this war is terrible. I wish it could be stopped today. I wish it didn’t happen. Yet it has happened and is ongoing. It won’t stop, and we can’t hasten that end, without a rigorous analysis and understanding of what’s actually going on.

Yes, I have read Lenin. Well, I’ve read a lot of Lenin. Not everything. What do you think he has to do with this war? You know he’s been dead for a long time, right?

That bunch of names represents the state of the art in imperialism studies, give or take a few others. I’m listing then because I’m curious about what people have read. It’s no use me going off on one about this or that theory if the people I’m talking to haven’t read the theory.

Also, you should know, that those writers aren’t all in agreement. Hobson, Ferguson, and perhaps Cope and Harvey, for example, would likely be critical of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Like I said, I didn’t list them as a rhetorical ‘gotcha’; that part of my comment means it cannot be read as something like a trump card to close down the discussion. It’s meant to open up the discussion.

I take it that you haven’t read any of them and considering your position, I suggest starting with Ferguson and Hobson.