Originally compiled and edited by the Communist Working Circle (CWC) in 1972, this is a republished collection of excerpts from the corpus of Marx and Engels. These texts show the evolution of Marx and Engels's ideas about the nascent labor aristocracy, and the enervating effects of colonialism and chauvinism on the British labour movement, with a focus on the British Empire of their time.

This edition of On Colonies includes a substantial introduction by Marxist economist Zak Cope and former CWC member Torkil Lauesen, centering these concepts in theory and history. Cope and Lauesen show how Marx and Engels's initial belief that capitalism would expand seamlessly around the globe in the same way as it did in Europe was proven wrong by events, as instead worldwide imperialism spread capitalism as a polarizing process, not only between the bourgeoisie and the working class, but also as a division between an imperialist center and an exploited periphery. This fundamental contradiction gave capitalism completely new conditions of growth and accounts for its tragic longevity.

Both foundational and indispensable, On Colonies provides a useful introduction to "Third Worldist" analysis of global capitalism, tracing its roots back to Marxism's earliest works.