Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In the post war era the world was divided into three camps; the First World, the U.S. and the western capitalist states; the Second Word, dominated by the Warsaw Pact nations; and the Third those post colonial nations non-aligned with either. So, in the context of my comments Third World is the perfect description.
The problem is that those 'Third World' nations are nothing alike. Different languages, pre-contact history, geography, ethnicity, etc.
A more meaningful question would be to ask, 'which countries would be better off from a reestablishment of colonialism'.
They were no different than the Ottomans, the Mongols, the Aztecs, the Mayans, the Huns, the Persians, the Zulus, and the many tribes from Biblical times. If you can find a spot of land that hasn't been conquered and reconquered since the dawn of mankind you would be living on Antarctica.
The need for Liberals to want to feel guilty over what Europeans had done in their past is underwhelming. I bet the descendants of Attila the Hun and the Turks don't lose a bit of sleep over their ancestors.
My theory is that guilt causes the release of endorphins.
What the West should do about the savage cultures of the world is precisely nothing. Let them kill each other if that is what they want. And that is exactly what they want because that is all they have done since the dawn of time.
We should provide an example to them of the correct way to live. And yes, our way is CORRECT. Reason, logic, individual rights, and capitalistic materialistic progress trump and are superior to the savage primordial prehistoric barbaric modes that we see in the third world.
However, we owe them nothing, and we should stay out of their horrible world. We are here for them to observe and emulate. When they discover Reason, Logic, and Liberty, they can join civilization. Until then, they are to be ignored. They create their own Hell, and we are not responsible for it.
And don't give me 1400 or 1600. I don't give a rat's azz what happened in Colonial times. What's done is done. And what was done to them was no worse than what they did to each other, and what they continue to do to each other.
As long as they threaten only each other, they are irrelevant and should be left alone. The Prime Directive as it were.
Many third world countries have proven that they are incapable of governing themselves properly. Should we consider reintroducing foreign control over those territories given the following conditions:
1) Voters in the countries would have to vote in favor of foreign control.
2) Voters would have a new referendum every 10 years.
3) The election would have international observers provided by the UN.
According to whom? Those who exercise military power and sanctions over smaller nations, corporate multi-conglomerates who privatize and control the major sectors of business, and these 3rd world countries have been proven incapable due to their lack of options?
Please.
We're still living in a world of European colonization. Where have you been?
Many third world countries have proven that they are incapable of governing themselves properly. Should we consider reintroducing foreign control over those territories given the following conditions:
1) Voters in the countries would have to vote in favor of foreign control.
2) Voters would have a new referendum every 10 years.
3) The election would have international observers provided by the UN.
I have to admit, I kind of like this idea. I can't help but think that colonialism has been a net benefit to many of the countries that were colonized, if for no other reason than to introduce semi-modern infrastructures (transportation, communication, sanitation, etc.) into areas that had previously been mired in Stone Age levels of subsistence.
However, I would add something to it. We make it clear that their choice is entirely voluntary, and if they vote no, we wish them a nice day and go away. And then we cut ourselves off from them. No foreign aid, no governmental assistance, no nothing. (Voluntary trade and private charity would certainly be allowed; I'm talking about government handouts, not capitalistic give and take.) And, we completely bar any immigration from any person from that country. Sink or swim, we tell them. You either stand on your own, or admit you can't do it and let us run the show. You don't want to play our way? Fine, then don't take our money. It's just that simple.
I have to admit, I kind of like this idea. I can't help but think that colonialism has been a net benefit to many of the countries that were colonized, if for no other reason than to introduce semi-modern infrastructures (transportation, communication, sanitation, etc.) into areas that had previously been mired in Stone Age levels of subsistence.
However, I would add something to it. We make it clear that their choice is entirely voluntary, and if they vote no, we wish them a nice day and go away. And then we cut ourselves off from them. No foreign aid, no governmental assistance, no nothing. (Voluntary trade and private charity would certainly be allowed; I'm talking about government handouts, not capitalistic give and take.) And, we completely bar any immigration from any person from that country. Sink or swim, we tell them. You either stand on your own, or admit you can't do it and let us run the show. You don't want to play our way? Fine, then don't take our money. It's just that simple.
Why would the rich countries of the world go back to colonialism when neo-colonialism is much more efficient? Why completely take over a country where you are responsible for all it's citizens when you can install a corrupt local Government that will gladly rape its country's resources for you (for a small fee of course) and that local Government will have to deal with the fallout from it's angry, impoverished citizens?
Why would the rich countries of the world go back to colonialism when neo-colonialism is much more efficient? Why completely take over a country where you are responsible for all it's citizens when you can install a corrupt local Government that will gladly rape its country's resources for you (for a small fee of course) and that local Government will have to deal with the fallout from it's angry, impoverished citizens?
What’s interesting about the whole topic is, Middle Eastern Christians and Muslims effectively colonized more than half the entire world and their religions are still controlling almost every continent they conquered to this day. Dam Middle Eastern Colonist
Why would the rich countries of the world go back to colonialism when neo-colonialism is much more efficient? Why completely take over a country where you are responsible for all it's citizens when you can install a corrupt local Government that will gladly rape its country's resources for you (for a small fee of course) and that local Government will have to deal with the fallout from it's angry, impoverished citizens?
What exactly is the 'raping' angle here? There are world market prices for raw materials and I rather doubt that ex-colonies sell everything for half price. There's bound to be a sizeable risk premium built into an oil company's relationship with a lot of these places, so I can't say that I blame them for paying off the locals.
If there's a certain unfairness going on, it's that the local elite will tend to spend the incoming money on the infamous Three M's (monuments, machine guns, Mercedes). Frankly, I see no way to either impose or encourage a fair rule of law and a non-corrupt elite in much of the third world. The lessons of somewhere like Singapore aren't transferable to Africa.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
