I understand how the free trade policies lead to monopoly, and I understand how financial monopolies take over industrial monopolies. But I don't really get the jump from monopolies to imperialism.
I understand how the free trade policies lead to monopoly, and I understand how financial monopolies take over industrial monopolies. But I don't really get the jump from monopolies to imperialism.
Extreme tl;dr strictly economic/political answer so keep in mind this lacks the social context of empire:
When you have a monopoly your exploitation (and thus profits) can only be increased in two ways:
1- further exploiting the workers and resources already directly under your control (this is the more difficult method because of diminishing returns)
2- expanding the realm of your exploitation
You can achieve this directly and independently through internationally operating corporations, or more commonly through effort by corporations to influence state power in order to open the doors for international business operations.
This is where the imperialism begins in modern terms where building an actual empire in the historical context doesn’t happen.