Imperialism and the great powers of the past
by tdaxp ~ March 7th, 2009I was in an online discussion recently, and when describing the Japanese colonization of Korea I almost said “liberation.”
After thinking about it for some time, I think “liberation” would have been the right word.
As popular as it is to run down colonization and imperialism, many historical examples exist of very beneficial empires. Nial Ferguson’s “British Imperialism Revised: The costs and benefits of ‘Anglobalization” (PDF), for instance, argues that the British Empire was beneficial not just to the white dominions such as Canada, but also to more culturally alien states such as India.
I think good arguments can be made for other empires too, such as the United States, France, and Japan (at least during the years of peace). Even empires that we are glad are gone, such as the Soviet Union, managed to provide a lower-middle-class lifestyle to millions who would otherwise not have obtained that.
A few months back I overheard a podcast interview with a blogger who was obviously angered by a comparison between America and the British Empire, and who responded by saying that British imperialism was a well known evil, that many studies demonstrate that, etc. Some, like Michelle Obama, seem to be agree. However, I think a more balanced view shows that wise imperialism can be beneficial to states subjected to it.
It is a tragedy that such imperial powers barely exist anymore. And not just in terms of wasted lives and generations, but in the genocides that exist in anarchies where no civilizing, imperial power is present.
