Comments on: Blaming Colonialism Invalid, Even In Academe

By: Myron Pauli

Myron Pauli — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:27:09 +0000

Well, in all fairness to the anti-colonialists, it is certainly possible for the US or some country or business to BRIBE the local thug / sheik {Idi Amin, Mugabe, King Abdullah…} and take the oil / gold / diamonds at a cut rate price. Or we pay the thug / sheik with weapons or $$ for weapons which are used against his own people. I could see where that can cause resentment. But aren’t we or China or Exxon-Mobil just going along with a bad situation when we deal with the dictators …. the people of those countries have to rid themselves of their tormentors.

By: EN

EN — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:19:00 +0000

Excellent point Myron and let’s not forget that there’s still a strong belief that the US doesn’t pay for these resources it steals them. It’s amusing to hear people say that the US uses more natural resources then the world combines, as if the others can’t have them because we took them. The truth is that we developed and marketed them, making them available to everyone for the first time. There would be no resource market for Africa to sell without the West.

By: Myron Pauli

Myron Pauli — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:16:59 +0000

You can add one more canard – how the West “exploits” the natural resources of the Third World. In other words, France and Japan use the Congo’s Uranium up in nuclear reactors for electricity which powers their high speed railroads. …. and IF no “colonialists” had come to “exploit” those resources, the Congolese would have had their own nuclear reactors, high speed railoads, etc….

It is also interesting to look into the history of many countries to see how well they prospered AFTER they deported their Jews / Chinese / Whites / Indians (Uganda) or other “expolitative” peoples. Robert Mugabe – you’re doing a heckofa job!

By: EN

EN — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:56:23 +0000

The fixation on the wonders of tribal/rural living never ceases to amaze. The belief that the first world west destroyed Africa carries over from another flawed premise, that is the industrial revolution destroyed a lovely pastoral society in Europe.

Although anecdotal this story is borne out in Ayn Rand’s, Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal. My Great Grandfather (GGF) grew up on a farm in Sweden at the turn of the century. Out of nine children only he and his sister survived in this picturesque, but quite brutal, setting. Both surviving children immigrated to Minnesota. GGF had seven children in a crowded northern factory district and all but one lived. The surviving children went on to have families and pretty nice lives of their own choosing. All 21 Great Grand children save one (killed in Vietnam) are still around. This “failure” is what the Socialist multicult regards as first principles. Getting anything else right is not likely when you’re proceed from that point.

As for Africa, I believe it was Fred Reed who said it best. “If your ancestors were slaves brought to America, you won the lottery!”