Justification for Oppression

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        What truly motivates imperialism is a question for the ages. Many would argue that greed is the culprit; others would argue that nationalism or something as simple as intolerance is what motivates one to amass enormous military forces in order to conquer lands. Whatever the case may be and whatever perspective one holds as to what in particular motivates certain individual to partake in imperialism, no one can deny the mind of an imperialist is an arrogant one. In the mind of an imperialist, his culture, cause or reasoning is superior to that of those he seeks to conquer. In the mind of an imperialist, no matter how inhumane his deeds, he is not a criminal nor is he a violator of human rights; he is a hero. Using the articles of Makau, Mosse, Grewal, Stoler, and Arendt and various other documents, this essay will explore and determine the reasons imperialists use to excuse their actions relating these to imperialistic actions of today.

        All past and present leaders of imperialist states have, in some way, attempted to justify their endeavors . Some have tried to insert some type of noble, honorable and beneficial reasoning for their ambition; others have simply attempted to change the colors of the picture into black and white for their populace : Black and White, I.e. “Good and Evil” The slogan of Ana imperialist leader has either to on the other hand,been “My ambition is solely run on the fuel of the hopes of prosperity for our nation” or “Our acts of war were provoked by and lesser, uncivilized, evil and inferior enemy”. In either case, arrogance anboth cases the belief of superiority takes its rightful place in the minds of imperialists. The first slogan is motivated by the Right to own through ability to obtain mentality, as in, one believes that since he has the ability to take from others, he deems himself superior thus, he has every right to take what he wants for himself. The latter is obviously motivated by the notion that “My culture, beliefs and values are superior to yours, therefore I am not only justified in fighting against you, but I am obligated to force my righteousness upon you…for your own sake”; thus trying to paint themselves as saviors and champions of truth in order to cover up their true intentions of obtaining power, glory and wealth.

        In his article, Makau touches on the mentality of Imperialism when he says‘…The first dimension of the prism depicts a savage and evokes images of barbarism. The abominations of the savage are presented as so cruel and unimaginable as to represent their state as a negation of humanity.” (Makau 2). Makau takes us on a journey into the mind of the imperialist as it pertains to how they perceive their potential captives. He explains how the imperialist praises himself as a savior and a leader of the civilized portion of humanity, whilst his opponent is a savage and thus, is inferior, therefore the desire to occupy and eventually conquer his lands is nothing short of admirable, honorable and above, actually beneficial to the captiveMakau 7s, since they will then be exposed to , in his eyes, the clearly superior culture and traditionsMakau 9. Makau also hints at the existence of the black and white perspective, or rather the “Good and Evil” perspective in the justification of imperialism when he states: “…The state only becomes a vampire when “bad” culture overcomes or disallows the development of “good” culture” (Makau 2). Mr. Makau also gives an example of the elitist mentality of many imperialist states when he describes the  blaring hint is supremacist thinking on the part of the European colonists in many parts of the world in the following quote:“…The fifth flaw concerns the role of race in the development of the human rights narrative. The SVS (Savages-Victims-Saviors)   metaphor of human rights carries racial connotation in which the international hierarchy of race and color is rein trenched and revitalized. The metaphor is in fact necessary for the continuation of the global hierarchy. In the human rights narrative, savages and victims are usually non-white and non-western, while the saviors are white. This old truism has found new life in the metaphor of human rights.” (Makau 5).

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        In the last quote, Makau gave a prime example if how many times , the imperialist sees himself as the savior. The imperialist justifies his ambitions by labeling his captives as savage and uncivilized, while he deems himself to be civilized and therefore superior. Thus, he is not be seen as a encroacher of human rights, but rather, one who the savage, inferior and uncivilized from themselves and forces upon them a far greater culture. Makau also exposed the hypocrisy in the modern day Human Rights movement in that is has adhered to this notion  of white supremacy in the face of colonialism, ...

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