While Max wrote primarily about domestic political economy, or the dynamics and form of economic change within single country, Lenin extended Marx's ideas to the international political economy to explain imperialism and wac Imperialism, Lenin argued, was endemic to modern capitalismi. As capitalism decayed in the developed nations, these nations would attempt to solve their problems by exporting capital abroad As this capital required protection from both local and foreign challengers, governments would colonize regions to safeguard the interesas o their for eign investors when the area available for colonization began to shrink. capitalist countries would compete lor control over these areas and intra capitalist wars would eventually occur