User:Evarenon/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge/Seminar Group 3/Imperialism

What is imperialism?
Imperialism generally tends to be considered as a political, military or economic phenomenon, which can be defined loosely as the domination of one group by another, in order to benefit the dominant group. These types of imperialism, for example, which are often addressed in the discipline of history, are, according to Harrison M. Wright, "the deliberate act or advocacy of extending or maintaining, for the primary purpose of aggrandisement, a state's direct or indirect political control over any other inhabited territory which involves treating the inhabitants inequitably in comparison with the norm for its own citizens."

However, imperialism can be seen to take other forms, including social imperialism and intellectual imperialism. Both social and intellectual imperialism may be viewed as similar to political and economic imperialism, in that they are also imposed on groups of people by a dominating one, and could be seen to arise out of political or economic imperialism.

Be that as it may, imperialism does not necessarily have to be imposed on people. For instance, several scholars, such as Uskali Mäki, have identified types of scientific imperialism (those of scope, style, and standing), which are types of disciplinary imperialism. Mäki describes this phenomenon as being when the institutional structures belonging to certain disciplines (for example conventions, principles, practices, styles, etc.) are challenged by another discipline. He also adds that this form of imperialism is not necessarily good or bad in terms of its impact on disciplines and academia as a whole.

As a result, imperialism should be defined rather generally, as it manifests itself in so many different forms. Johan Galtung achieves this by simply describing it as a type of "dominance relation between collectivities" (other dominance relationships, such as military occupation are not necessarily equivalent to imperialism, though they could occur together in some cases).

Economical context (Tancrede, Hadrien, Camille and Camilla)
Different economic opinions usually have different views about Imperialism. According to a website called Theories of Imperialism (No name nor date appear in the page), Conservatives will usually consider Imperialism as a way to preserve social and economic organisation in a developed country. On the other hand, for Marxists, Imperialism is a consequence of capitalism that leaded to terrible events such as World War I. Finally, like Marxists, Liberals also consider Imperialism as a bad thing globally. However, they don't consider it at all has "an inevitable consequence of capitalism".

Possible research questions on imperialism
To what extent does imperialism bring about (or even force) change? Laura, Emilie & Lily

Can imperialism be seen as an attempt of civilising? - Laura, Emilie & Lily

To what extent is inequality an imperialistic legacy? - Hadrien, Tancrede, Camilla & Camille

What are the modern forms of imperialism? - Hadrien, Tancrede, Camilla & Camille

To what extent did imperialism influence our culture today? Maeve & Ryan

To what extent are subjects submissive towards imperialist powers? Maeve & Ryan

Are politico-economic reasons the main motivation behind imperialism? Maeve & Ryan

What is the contemporary influence of imperialism? Amber, Jordan & LI

Do imperialist ideas still influence society as much they did in the past? Guan & Eesha

To what extent does imperialism influence culture in the modern world? Guan & Eesha

Can imperialism can be seen as an attempt of civilizing (Tancrede Hadrien Camille Camilla)
Defenders of imperialism have been arguing for what they consider being its “positives” aspects. Civilizing was often used as a pretext. French minister Jules Ferry, for instance, tried to justify imperialism in 1884 by evoking a “duty to civilize inferior races”. This often included imposing the education of their language, religion and politico-legal systems upon the colonised country. This can still be seen today through the occurrence of volunteer-tourism, through which students often go to foreign countries and teach them English. This is known as linguistic imperialism in which a language (English) is often seen as more important for a community to learn.

Another striking example could be the case of British author JR Kipling in one of his most infamous poem’s “the white man’s burden”. Taking the entire debate to another level of manifest racism, his claim was that White men, from western empires, had to undertake a “civilization mission”. The latter could be summarized by a few elements such as providing food and sanitary support, developing their “human” abilities as they are considered being “new-caught sullen people, half devil and half child”.

However, it is true that civilizing is often a consequence of Imperialism. For instance, Andrew Roberts, biograph of Napoleon, argues about the french Emperor that "the ideas that underpin our modern world (…) were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon". This statement is also true for other empires. Charlemagne is known (even if its historically contested) as the emperor that established school in France; the Roman Empire unified and developed technologically Europe during Antiquity; colonial empires did developed colonies sometime by creating structures and integrating economically the colonised lands.

In some cases, it is possible to express positives aspects of imperialism. For instance, US-imperialism on post-second-world war countries such as Germany, Italy, or Japan which led to their transformation from fascists dictatorships to some of the most powerful liberal democracies. Yet in this case, it’s about liberal imperialism, and the actions were stimulated by the US personal’s economic and political interests.

Nevertheless we can question the price of Imperiaism on the societies affected. The violence inflicted shows the immorality of Imperialism itslef, as criticized by Hobson. Napoleon, for example, throughout his imperialistic views and actions, and through the wars created, destroyed land and lives. Furthermore, in some cases, Imperialism has affected negatively the civilizations, and as Rob Johnson says, “the net result of British imperialism was the ‘arrested developmet’ of the colonies”. Additionally, imperialism has had a significant impact upon local economies causing them to become dependent economically. This can be seen today through trade agreements and economic relations between old colonised countries and the colonising country.

We can even question the notion of “civilizing” in itself. Considering imperialism as a process of civilizing implies that the empire’s civilization is superior to the conquered territories’ ones. This ethnocentrism was often proven false and was often contested, notably during the Enlightenment period. Therefore, authors such as Diderot in Supplément au voyage de Bougainville or Montesquieu in Persan Letters contested these kind of ethnocentric visions.

To what extent does imperialism bring about change? (Laura, Emilie and Lily)
From research into the topic of imperialism it soon becomes apparent that far from being straight-forward, imperialism is an issue which appears in many guises, ranging from social and ecological imperialism through to linguistic and academic imperialism. The many forms of imperialism, however diverse, share common themes and attributes to mark them out as imperialism. Etymologically speaking the term imperialism stems from the Latin word imperium, meaning supreme power hence various situations involving inequality and power can be viewed through the lens of imperialism.

One attribute in particular that imperialism seems to exhibit is its innate quality to force or bring about change. As described by C.K.Raju, for example, imperialism in the academic realm can cause significant negative change for the educational landscape in non-western countries, this shows how the imperialist influence in academia has provoked negative alterations to the research and scientific advances in the non-western world and impacted how they are viewed, globally. Syed Hussein Alatas adds to this by arguing that traditional imperialism has caused intellectual imperialism to arise, which persists to this day. He argues that due to the tendency of previous colonies' disciplines of social sciences and history being dominated by western imperialist scholars, native scholars have developed a captive mind. This results in their need for approval from western academia (shown in the general trend in Asian scholarship to aim to be published in western journals, which are considered the most prestigious), causing them to imitate western scholars, assessing their work in terms of western standards, and avoiding criticism of western scholarship in general. Alatas concludes that this causes docility and stifles creativity in non-western academics.

As well as bringing about negative change, however, imperialism can also be a force for positive evolution as suggested by David Rothkopf who suggests that in terms of cultural imperialism, the global population may actually benefit from the removal of cultural barriers by cultural imperialism, which in his words ‘may be a measure of civilisation’ and enable better communication between cultures. This fusing of the different cultures due to the dominance and almost infectious nature of ‘superior’ cultures (often western culture) is lamented by many as the loss of diversity and a symptom of societies decline, yet Rothkopf makes the valid argument that the more we are part of the same global culture the greater the stability and safety we experience as a member of society. Regardless of whether the phenomenon of cultural imperialism is viewed as positive or negative, there is no doubt that it is completely transforming the cultural landscape which we experience today.

Another example of imperialism forcing change is in the domain of languages and linguistics. Peter Mühlhäusler discusses the issue of linguistic imperialism, specifically focussing on the tangible changes to the language in the Pacific region. His article condemns the process of linguistic erosion which leads to minority languages being transformed and eventually made obsolete by dominating languages such as English, Mandarin and Spanish. This highlights the impact that imperialism can have on languages and how we communicate, an intrinsic factor of our society.

An additional essential factor of a society is its arts and culture, something often heavily affected by imperialism. Taking the case from Hobson on Imperialism in Asia, the British decreased the value of India’s craftwork and culture by industrialising the manufacturing process, damaging the nation's economy while Britain was only gaining from outside cash flow. There was a forced upon change on the environment from factory chemicals and also India’s goods in the market - something that would not be detrimental to the nation resembling the imperialism as it would not be their burden to salvage. Another example of cultural change is that imposed by Rome on its provinces, as is explored by Neville Morley. The Roman empire was often praised for its ability to integrate its provinces into Roman culture in a process often known as Romanisation. Although past literature has emphasised the role of Rome's superior culture relative to that of its conquests in achieving this, recent scholars have argued that in fact, natives often embraced certain changes, as the alternative was to forfeit the ability to participate in social life. For instance, adopting Latin was necessary if one wished to conduct business within the empire, communicate with any Roman officials, or serve in the army (where orders were given in Latin), among other things. Thus, Morley extrapolates that cultural changes caused by imperialism in general, even when not theoretically forced onto local populations, may be adopted anyway because the costs of not doing so would be too high or cause social exclusion.

Clearly, imperialism has enormous impacts on empires' peripheries. However, it can also cause changes in their centres as well. For instance, the Rome's interaction with its provinces sometimes caused it to re-evaluate and re-examine some of its beliefs. Its interaction with Greece, for example, caused it to have to re-evaluate its own place in history, relative to Greece's. In fact, by the time of Augustus, Greece's cultural heritage and importance in history had been accepted and was well-established in Rome, demonstrating that contact between the centre and peripheries within an imperial setting can also result in changes in the centre, and not just in the peripheries.

To conclude, it can be seen from these examples that change, both on the centre and peripheries, is an inextricable aspect of imperialism, forced onto an inferior social or minority group by a dominant power in order to retain their hold. The forced change can have negative and/or positive repercussions for the community which is affected and it could be argued that the changes aren't always foreseen by the imperialist power who is bringing about the change.

To what extent does imperialism influence culture in the modern world? (Guan and Eesha)
Given the growing influence of mass media in modern society, it may be natural to assume that the effects of imperialism on modern culture will be significant. This is largely supported by the theory of media imperialism, which argues that the dominance of mass media allows for the influence and transmission of imperialist ideas - thus the role that the media plays in our world today is instrumental in conveying imperialist ideas to society.

The development of technologies which allow the rapid transfer of information and conveying of imperialist messages globally arguably plays a larger role in reinforcing imperialist ideas than through other establishments which dominated the spread of such ideas in the past such as educational and religious systems. Furthermore, the means in which these messages are conveyed are through mass produced texts and other cultural forms such as films, literature and music, which are subtle and yet impactful in modern culture. This means of enforcing the imperialist hierarchy is arguably more widely accepted in society, due to the very belief that media is catered to the public and for the public - media imperialism, however, argues that the widespread influence of mass media from larger nations in fact allows for the reinforcement of imperialist power.

According to the theory of media imperialism, mass media has made it easier to create a culture of dependence in developing countries on media produced by Western colonizers - in both an economic and a cultural sense. The media homogeneity from more powerful countries affects and shapes the views of society, arguably creating a culture in which “Western culture” is the ideal.

Whilst this argument for the influence of imperialism on the spread of Western-centric mass media may hold true, it is, however, questionable how significantly imperialism has actually left lasting effects on modern culture. Despite the influence larger Western countries may have on media, it is not, perhaps, entirely true that different cultures will be as significantly influenced by Western culture as expected due to the spread of information globally, not just from imperialist powers - thus arguably reducing the influence of imperialism on modern culture.

It must be acknowledged that culture and identity are organic and will evolve over time - however, assuming that a culture will change and fit into the mold created by imperialism is a shallow one. The problem here lies in the assumption that societies will remain passive in the face of a dominant cultural power, disregarding the active and creative dimension of people in generating their own culture.

In conclusion, whilst the modern world has given imperialism a seemingly easy way to permeate culture and impose its ideals on the general masses, its roots largely stem from the notion of capitalism and economic purposes, and therefore may not be reflected in cultural identity.

To what extent are subjects submissive towards imperialist powers? (Maeve & Ryan)
In terms of academic imperialism, there are many definitions. Disciplines can attempt to dominate other sub disciplines, can place themselves in a hierarchy and can have Eurocentric research and methodologies. Due to the many definitions it is unclear whether academics are submissive to these processes, yet there are commentators. One can argue that there is a parallel with colonialism. Occupied territories were spoken for, were unable to control their representation and ‘the western way’ was seen as the most instructive and civilised. This remains unchanged today, for example in medicine, where ‘global mental health’ is so ingrained in western culture that it is rendering invisible the perspectives of mental health across the globe which are shaped by different philosophies and understandings of life. Is the west projecting their ideas of medicine onto other cultures and are they accepting it? Some believe there is very little resistance among academics in non-western universities, neither a will to conduct research outside the framework of western academic preoccupations and interests, therefore showing an extent of submission. However, there can not be total submission towards academic imperialism. Many researchers, for example Nancy Cartwright, a philosopher of science, opposes the power quantum mechanics has within physics, and the ‘imperialistic tendencies’ of physics and economics in general. Furthermore, this topic is being heavily discussed, therefore the sheer number of critiques from academics show discontentment with the system.

Viewing subjects submission to an external imperial force in different countries and on a different scale of cultural, linguistic and ethnic similarity facilitates a more adept perspective of the significance of these attributes. That is, submission to an imperial power will depend upon the cultural “claims” that this power might have upon your country or indeed the extent to which you feel politically or historically represented or aligned with this country. Of course, in almost all cases, the subjugated state will feel hostility and resentment towards what are normally undesired politico-economic advances. Merely, it’s worth considering how social factors influence the level of submission or resistance. Barbara Bush claims that the emergence of a “black consciousness” in Africa in so far as it was driven by Garveyism led to “governmental alarm in the 1920s”.

It seems clear that a subjugated population consisting of less than conscious individuals wouldn’t consider the state of things and how they are being treated. As a result of this emergent “Africanism”, African countries would become less submissive to a dominant force and begin a process of regaining power. The concept of a population not being quite aware of the tragedy of the way in which they are being treated is mirrored throughout colonial rule. In Latin America, the US pivoted from a militarily dominated structure of politco-economic influence in promoting capitalism to a “less confrontational and violent way”. These less violent methods are arguably likely to be more subtle and less noticeable for a population that has less of a “consciousness” as described by Bush. Education level becomes relevant here as we investigate the extent to which subjects are aware of the subjugation under which they are placed, a strategy that, when subtle and non-confrontational, is perhaps imperceptible for an uneducated proletariat.

What is the contemporary influence of imperialism? (Amber, Jordan and Li)
Imperialism is often seen as the product of the industrial revolution, in which western countries rushed to expand their empires by colonising non-western nations due to varied economic, religious and political motivations. It is suggested by Schumpeter, that if imperialism was just a quest for territory or a search to increase profits, then there would be no historical significance to the age of imperialism. In Britain, imperial trade was recognised as essential during the interwar period as loss of economic power created an economic need. This reliance on the overseas empire, deepened the economic association between metropole and empire, creating the need for political control of the colonies. Although, the age of imperialism subsided by the beginning of the 20th century, the influence of imperialism can still be seen in contemporary economics and politics.

In the 19th and 20th century, monopoly took place of free competition and was considered the economic essence of imperialism. Imperialism was embodied in private-monopoly capitalism, then became state-monopoly capitalism. Now, globalization enhances international monopoly, since technology advancement and the invention of Internet provided the possibility for international capital groups to manipulate capital, such as stock and forward markets, thereby controlling global economic systems. This shows that monopoly is still an important feature of contemporary capitalism. Undoubtedly, economic globalization and monopoly brought extreme convenience to life and greater efficiency in production, but there are still some drawbacks: this kind of capitalism enlarges the poverty gap, accelerating inequality in the world; private ownership is regulated by markets and its blindness may cause severe financial crisis. As mentioned in the readings, imperialism has taken a form of global value chains or production networks in 21th century and generally, is beneficial to the development of global economy.

Imperialism also continues to affect current politics. New imperialism describes the influence of imperialist pasts on contemporary politics. It is defined as the process of incorporating low income countries, including ex-colonies, into global governance (Tilky, 2006). Western powers influence other economies in this way, bringing about economic and political gain to themselves, often at the expense of the lower income countries. The western view is often imposed on these lower income countries, influencing their development in a direction of western ideals. An example of this can be seen in the governance of the US in the 1900s. Movements were made to establish control over world’s free markets, in a manner that can be viewed as imperialist. The military interventions of the country at this time, in regions like the middle east, also bear resemblances to imperialist invasion (Foster, 2003).

It can therefore be suggested that an imperialist past has influenced the political stance of some western countries in more recent history. In general, it can be seen from those passages that imperialism exerts influence on both economic and political aspects. Although Lenin’s theory criticized imperialism and capitalism, people should consider them objectively and pay more attention to the positive values, thereby applying them to modern society.