Imperial expansion rescued the bourgeoisie from being superfluous within the nation.

Evidence

Expansion then was an escape not only for superfluous capital. More important, it protected its owners against the menacing prospect of remaining entirely superfluous and parasitical. It saved the bourgeoisie from the consequences of maldistribution and revitalized its concept of ownership at a time when wealth could no longer be used as a factor in production within the national framework and had come into conflict with the production ideal of the community as a whole. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 410

Categorization

• DEFINE: Arendt’s definition of superfluity takes shape: the bourgeoisie’s fear of having no social function inside the national community was the motor that pushed it outward into empire.