I mperialism describes the domination of a one society or group over another, but this can happen in many different forms beyond colonial territory expansion. The key is that it involves the subjugation of an entire indigenous population. Some European intellectuals like Immanuel Kant and Denis Diderot critiqued imperialism for its cruelty to native populations. Philosophers as disparate as communist Karl Marx and utilitarian John Stuart Mill defended imperialism as an activity that would advance so-called "primitive" groups. Political economy is a term used for studying production and trade, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth. Political economy originated in moral philosophy. It was developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states, or polities, hence the term political economy. Political Economy of Imperialism The process through which a dominant countr...