Imperialism and Its Consequences

Imperialism defined simply is the "policy of extending the rule of an empire over foreign countries or colonies"; however, when we do mention the seemingly good and "necessary" deed, we fail to read the fine print. This selfish act of destroying a country, culturally, socially and economically, overwhelmingly exposes the negative consequences and the cruel state in which imperialism leaves countries. While imperialist supporters buy into the concept of the 'White Man's Burden', this immature validation is merely a cover for economic greed and political success. I do applaud Kipling for creating such a believable excuse for large empires and nations to use when enforcing this policy; however, imperialist leaders tend to look past the fact that imperialism could actually hurt their empire or nation. With economic benefit and political power in mind, imperialist leaders are blind to the fact that these positive outcomes are balanced with negative consequences. Spreading and dispersing territory leads to disunity and separation throughout the empire, which is essential to the success of any larger power, creating enemies close to an empire's border is never a positive achievement, and focusing on foreign affairs so strictly can lead to internal disorder and turmoil. All of these factors overlooked by imperial leaders contain merit but never seem to cross their minds, distracted by the potential gains.