Hobson's 1902 book presents a controversial interpretation of Britain's motivations to conquer foreign lands in the nineteenth century. He proposed that ultra-wealthy financiers consciously worked to manipulate political leaders so they could invest money and sell goods in the new outposts of their country's empire. Hobson built his argument on an economic theory he called "underconsumptionism," claiming that the wealthy had accumulated more money than they could ever invest at home. New British territories gave them an ideal environment to place their money abroad. Dismissed and scorned in Hobson's lifetime, Imperialism: A Study is now seen as an powerful critique of imperial policy.