Imperialism: True Reform or Economic Motives?

Imperialism, often identified as “the white man’s burden” to civilize, educate, and reform indigenous peoples in third world countries, has been a constant issue since the 19^th century. Forcefully promoting and injecting culture, politics and economics into a country in a state of poverty has its benefits, such as economic success and stable political positions. With imperialism, third world countries are able learn the art of craft of establishing flourishing states, and reap the benefits of the colonizer. Ultimately, however, the question is if the benefits of imperialism outweigh the burdens.

            With colonization comes a loss of culture, a silenced indigenous voice, and often, oppression. In many cases, such as that of the French colonization of Algeria and the Belgian colonization of Rwanda, extreme cultural tensions emerge, and mass genocides result. This kind of backlash against enforced colonial policies is a major threat to the intrinsic point of colonization.

Although affluent countries appear to try and aid countries in need through colonial rule, they often end up thwarting the growth of the nation on its own, in turn harming the countries own cultural and religious growth. Other motives often motivate the colonization of a country: such as natural resources, and religious conversion. Although these motives seem legitimate, they eventually taint the national identity, and impede the type of nationalism that makes a nation strong. Personally, I believe that if a country is truly in need of reform and political support, the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations should contribute to the cause. All in all, colonization and imperialism were negative “reforming” movements that only stunted the progress of independence.