StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

White Man's Burden - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
European imperialism of the last few centuries were heavily centered on the perceived moral responsibility of its leaders toward other supposedly backward regions of the world.White Man's Burden…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.5% of users find it useful
White Mans Burden
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "White Man's Burden"

White Man's Burden-Discuss the social, religious and cultural excuses that were used to justify imperialism and gunship diplomacy. Are these tacticsemployed by the West today, if so, how, why, where and against whom? European imperialism of the last few centuries were heavily centered on the perceived moral responsibility of its leaders toward other supposedly backward regions of the world. Also referred to (not without a sense of irony) as the White Man's Burden, this notion of cultural, religious, scientific and administrative superiority over far-off civilizations had led to several negative consequences.

Irrespective of the real intentions (some are benign while others are pure snobbery) behind this construction, it has not ceased to exist with the demise of conventional projects of imperialism. Rudyard Kipling, a writer who captured the essence of British imperialism in India, acknowledges the duplicity and hypocrisy that White Man's Burden entails in his poem of the same title. The opening lines of the poem stingingly point out presumptions about cultural superiority by the White folk: “Take up the White Man's burden-; Send forth the best ye breed-; Go bind your sons to exile; To serve your captives' need;; To wait in heavy harness,; On fluttered folk and wild-; Your new-caught, sullen peoples,; Half-devil and half-child.;..

” (Kipling, 2005, p.29) World War II can be said to have brought the curtain on conventional imperialism, where the modus operandi was use of military force. Whilst use of force continues to play a role in geo-political power struggles today, the role of economic might and cultural propaganda are also major factors. This transfigured mode of imperialism manifested in the form of the Cold War, where direct military confrontation was substituted by warfare on the ideological front. Today, in the economic realm, neoliberal capitalist system remains uncontested despite ample evidence of its failings.

Similarly, the purely materialistic consumerist culture (which goes hand in hand with capitalist ideology) is ceaselessly promoted by the public relations industry headquartered in the United States. In the book titled The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, William Easterly points out that most impoverished nations in the world continue to remain as such due to the West's obstinate adherence to the neoliberal project (which gets implemented at the cost of ignoring local realities and priorities).

In the book, establishment economists such as Jeffrey Sachs, leading institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc are criticized for helping make loans to low-income countries, because the chief consideration for such loans is their profitability to Western Multi-National Corporations (MNCs). Under this framework, local progress and development are incidental to the capitalist cause. (Loungani, 2006, p.388) Add to this the ongoing American hegemony in the domain of culture and religion, and we get a sophisticated form of imperialism.

Talking of religion in particular, the ongoing War on Terror, is projected squarely as a war against 'Islamic' terrorism, with the Arab world being the epicenter of the opposing religious ideology. The implication being that Christianity is somewhat more benign and peace-oriented than the terror-mongering radicalism of Islam. Considering the dubiousness of all such claims, it remains an unfortunate fact that the phenomenon of White Man's Burden continues unabated in the age of post-modernism.

The following words sum up this sentiment: “There is reason to be skeptical that we in the West can or will do much to help those in the Rest. That is, without wasting resources and doing more harm than good. The bottom billion needs to put "themselves" on the path to prosperity - via Smith's famed peace, easy taxes and a tolerable administration of justice - more than they need a helping hand from us.” (Arielle & Storr, 2009, p.125) WORKS CITED John, Arielle, and Virgil Henry Storr. "Can the West Help the Rest?

a Review Essay of Sachs' the End of Poverty and Easterly's the White Man's Burden." Journal of Private Enterprise 25, no. 1 (2009): 125+. Kipling, Rudyard. "The White Man's Burden." Herizons, Fall 2005, 29+. Loungani, Prakash. "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good." The Cato Journal 26, no. 2 (2006): 382+. Mishra, Pankaj. "The White Man's Burden: While Colonialism Took a Terrible Toll on the Inhabitants of India, They Were Not Its Only Victims.

Pankaj Mishra on the Men, Women and Children Whose Lives Were Transformed by Serving Britain Abroad." New Statesman, 19 September 2005, 48+.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“White Man's Burden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1413781-white-man-s-burden
(White Man'S Burden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1413781-white-man-s-burden.
“White Man'S Burden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1413781-white-man-s-burden.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF White Man's Burden

Living standard of slaves

As a result this phrase 'White Man's Burden' came into existence as a remedy to the enlightens of the industrial revolution and people were ready to buy this theory as this theory easily softened the guilt feeling of the educated class and apparently justified the brutal acts and decisions taken to control and cover the colonial agitations.... (Stowe, 37-8) But the problem is that every aspect is viewed from the parameters of the white man and the Black man is only the receiver, both in beating and mercy....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Probable reasons of why racists mitigate their views whenever possible

If one of such example comes in the shape of Nazism the other side of the same story tells us the existence of such interesting phrases like 'White Man's Burden".... his phrase, 'White Man's Burden', is a very interesting clue to the statement that 'why racists mitigate their views whenever possible'.... But there are multiple folds to the idea of racism and though an act of violence against a black youth by few white neo-Nazi and the killing of a Christian priest by some religious fundamentalists look very different from each other but to its core they are all the same and inseparable....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Manufacturing during the pre-Civil War

The researcher also will tell about some literary works like “A Marble Monument to Cruelty” by Ray Sprigle; “The White Man's Burden” by Rudyard Kipling; “Tulsa Race Riot Panel Recommends Reparations” by Renee Ruble.... The White Man's Burden is a famous poem written by Rudyard Kipling, considered Britain's imperial poet.... (Modern History Sourcebook: Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden, 1899 ).... New Freedom"Works Cited:  Modern History Sourcebook: Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden, 1899 ....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

White Man's Burden

In the paper “White Man's Burden” the author analyzes the theme of money and power, which is the real motive behind Ernest Crosby's poem The Real “White Man's Burden.... True enough, American influence has shown the world that the "White Man's Burden," though cunningly done, for Crosby, truly pays well....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

The White Mans Burden by Rudyard Kipling

Ritcheson argues Lines like "Take up the White Man's Burden/ Ye dare not stoop to less/" are authentically American and fail to connect with European psyche on the basis of the promotion of freedom and liberty (Ritcheson 1974, 5... Rudyard Kipling's controversial poem "Whiteman's burden", originally published in 1899 was released to the public with the subtitle The United States and the Philippine Islands.... His ideal of the Whiteman's burden is authentically American and very different from the European ideals as well....
18 Pages (4500 words) Book Report/Review

Effects of colonization on aboriginal peoples of North America

This was consistent with the British Empire's task of carrying the "White Man's Burden".... The "White Man's Burden" also serves as the justification for the annexation of the lands and resources of these indigenous populations.... The discovery of the American continent stirred the imagination and hopes of the major European nations....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Movie: White Man's Burden

The unjust punishment meted out to him angers White Man's Burden Order No.... 246886 October 27/10/08 White Man's Burden White Mans Burden , directed by Desmond Naskano was made in 1995.... While many films convey the struggle of blacks in America through the eyes of blacks, White Man's Burden conveys the struggle by making whites imagine how it feels to be black.... The film White Mans burden attempts to portray the effects of race and social status on a persons beliefs and behavior....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Necessity of Foreign Aid

This essay "The Necessity of Foreign Aid" presents the effects of foreign aid, through organizations such as USAID, UKAID, DFID, and many more.... They have worked tirelessly to support in different areas as education and health, which have been successful.... hellip; Dambisa Moyo gives a concrete argument when she views that aid should be invested with a process that is domestic, in turn creating jobs for locals....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us