5 ms·

I think colonization (at least the latter parts, maybe WWI and after) has been unjustly demonized. I live in a previously colonized country, and let me tell you

by mruts 8y ago

I think colonization (at least the latter parts, maybe WWI and after) has been unjustly demonized. I live in a previously colonized country, and let me tell you, The Germans and then the British knew how to run this country better than the locals ever did, even today. For 30 years after independence, the people literally starved under communism. And the president of the time is still regarded a hero, despite people remembering the mass famine!

powerapple 8y ago
good, let's go ahead and promote colonism. Imaging if Germans won the war and rule the world. Yep! What a world we are living in now!
- laHiesh1 8y ago
  I think it's important to draw a line between positive and negative colonialism. The British were legally given HK for 99 years, built infrastructure there, and turned it into a very wealthy territory that enjoyed many freedoms they would not otherwise have if it were a Chinese territory. Even today, there is a significant number of people within HK that want to go back to British rule. Why deny what the people want?
  - gcb0 8y ago
    because they are part of a ruling elite? I don't know anything, but that's usually the case
- ngcc_hk 8y ago
  Taiwan and a bit Hong Kong show there is a third way out of communist or colonisation.
- _iyig 8y ago
  Perhaps the answer is not a return to colonialism, but to ask what the colonial governments got right. They certainly got a lot wrong, about which much discussion has already been had. Maybe it’s also worth remembering the positive lessons from that period.
- dTal 8y ago
  Imagine, we must - for we can never know for sure whether such a world would indeed have been worse. They were, after all, very organized. Before the occupation, the main avenue in Copenhagen (a pair of two way streets) was chronically congested. The Germans changed it into a pair of one-way streets, doubling throughput. The change persists to this day. And as for the Holocaust - well, virtually all the Jews in German occupied territories were killed as it was. It's not clear that a German victory, whatever that means, would have resulted in many more deaths. And maybe a unified Europe, under whatever flag, might have resulted in some interesting benefits. I'm not suggesting it would actually have been a good thing - I find the idea rather sickening. I'm just saying that any historical counterfactual is arguable, no matter how obvious it seems at first. I think it better to point at actual instances of colonialism gone wrong - indeed WW2 still qualifies, and it's not necessary for the Germans to have won to make that argument.
hopler 8y ago
Colonists are mass murderers too. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade
pslayer88 8y ago
As an Indian, fuck you.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

by mruts 8y ago

powerapple 8y ago

good, let's go ahead and promote colonism. Imaging if Germans won the war and rule the world. Yep! What a world we are living in now!

laHiesh1 8y ago
I think it's important to draw a line between positive and negative colonialism. The British were legally given HK for 99 years, built infrastructure there, and turned it into a very wealthy territory that enjoyed many freedoms they would not otherwise have if it were a Chinese territory. Even today, there is a significant number of people within HK that want to go back to British rule. Why deny what the people want?
- gcb0 8y ago
  because they are part of a ruling elite? I don't know anything, but that's usually the case
ngcc_hk 8y ago
Taiwan and a bit Hong Kong show there is a third way out of communist or colonisation.
_iyig 8y ago
Perhaps the answer is not a return to colonialism, but to ask what the colonial governments got right. They certainly got a lot wrong, about which much discussion has already been had. Maybe it’s also worth remembering the positive lessons from that period.
dTal 8y ago
Imagine, we must - for we can never know for sure whether such a world would indeed have been worse. They were, after all, very organized. Before the occupation, the main avenue in Copenhagen (a pair of two way streets) was chronically congested. The Germans changed it into a pair of one-way streets, doubling throughput. The change persists to this day. And as for the Holocaust - well, virtually all the Jews in German occupied territories were killed as it was. It's not clear that a German victory, whatever that means, would have resulted in many more deaths. And maybe a unified Europe, under whatever flag, might have resulted in some interesting benefits. I'm not suggesting it would actually have been a good thing - I find the idea rather sickening. I'm just saying that any historical counterfactual is arguable, no matter how obvious it seems at first. I think it better to point at actual instances of colonialism gone wrong - indeed WW2 still qualifies, and it's not necessary for the Germans to have won to make that argument.

hopler 8y ago

Colonists are mass murderers too. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade

pslayer88 8y ago

As an Indian, fuck you.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]