The Evolution of Imperialist Policies

Elise Thygesen
AP Euro
Pugliese
02-23-09
The Evolution of Imperialist Policies

The progression from colonialism to imperialism to 21st century globalization seems natural to me. Colonialism, the act of establishing a direct connection to another sphere of the world by controlling it with external power was a way for Western Europeans to assert their dominance over the rest of world in a very direct way by establishing diplomatic, legal, and economic ties to another territory of land. In a way, colonialism was a product of early globalization, as transportation mechanisms allowed explorers, sailors, kings, and foreign rulers to connect with another part of the world. Imperialism evolved out of the colonialist tendencies to create greater economic prosperity for the dominant power. Great Britain used their imperialist countries to gain access to rich land, resources, and labor, taking the majority of the economic gains from trade for themselves by exploiting their military and political prowess.
I would argue that the modern globalization is part of the historical progression from colonialism to imperialism. No longer needing to create offshore “colonies” to capitalize on resources, the West uses their industrial advantages to exploit developing countries’ resources. William Easterly even goes so far as to argue that modern foreign aid policies are merely a veiled extension of high-minded imperialism. It is impossible to ignore the fact that the gap between the richest people and the poorest people in the world is growing fast, and it is impossible to imagine what the next step in the historical progression of imperialism might be. However, it appears to be an unfortunate pattern of big winners and losers in globalization, suggesting the benefits of trade are not always equally distributed.