State your opinion: The economy based on surplus production supported economic nationalism and also imperialism after industrial revolution.

Answer: I agree with the statement.

• After the Industrial Revolution, factories in England and Europe produced goods in huge quantities, far more than the home market needed (surplus production).
• To protect and promote their own industries, nations adopted economic nationalism: high tariffs on foreign goods, support to home industry and competition with other nations.
• Industries needed a steady supply of cheap raw material and fresh markets to sell the surplus goods; surplus capital also needed places for investment.
• So the industrial nations captured colonies in Asia and Africa. In my opinion surplus production was thus a root cause of both economic nationalism and imperialism.