Two Cheers for Colonialism ( Dinesh D'Souza

The Chronicle ^ | 5/10/02 | Dinesh D'Souza

[weikel]

Bump

[Pyro7480]

That essay is basically a shorter version of a chapter from his new "What's So Great About America" book. I just finished it, and it was a great read.

[swarthyguy]

I'd like to see a debate between him and Edward Said. Significant that this was in the Chronicle of Higher Education; not exactly a place where his viewpoints would be welcome.

[Snake65]

"All right. But apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system, and public health ...What have the Romans ever done for us? "

[Incorrigible]

Dinesh was live in the Hannity studio last week talking about this article. He hoped by publishing it in an academic publication that it would tweak more than a few noses.

He's a very intelligent guy with good wit and good writing skills.

[AshleyMontagu]

His book "The End of Racism" is a must read for any thinking person. The first half of the book will change the way you look at the world forever. The lefties charged him with racism, but they could never dispute the facts he laid out page after page.

[What Is Ain't]

Great read.

Dinesh is a longtime favorite of mine. He is a clear thinker and a very good writer - two qualities under appreciated in today's world.

[swarthyguy]

And much hated and despised by many in the academic world; he has received his choice share of insults.

[Slainte]

Now don't you go engaging in hyperbole. We all know that the academic world thrives on diversity and the free exchange of ideas.

Cough. Hard to type that without choking on my own tounge.

[swarthyguy]

i liked it when a white academic accused him of racism and not being colored enough in his attitude. Something like "Being colored, Dinesh, is deeper and goes beyond the color of your skin"!

[Constitution Day]

Ping!

Thanks for the info on the NC page re: D'Souza on the Jerry Agar show today.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to listen.

I did hear him discussing his recent book on the radio a couple weeks ago; sounds good.

CD

[Jason Gade]

bump

[KC_Conspirator]

In the late Middle Ages, say 1500, the West was by no means the world's most affluent or most powerful civilization. Indeed, those of China and of the Arab-Islamic world exceeded the West in wealth, in knowledge, in exploration, in learning, and in military power. So how did the West gain so rapidly in economic, political, and military power that, by the 19th century, it was able to conquer virtually all of the other civilizations? That question demands to be answered, and the oppression theorists have never provided an adequate explanation.

The answer is: The Renassaince

We have gone through it and much of the world, including the middle east and Africa, have not. Not only have these regions of the world not experienced an enlightening phase, many of them have out right rejected enlightening ideas to the point that they have descended back into savagery: such as in the middle east and Africa.

[Big Bunyip]

Time to take up the white man's burden

[Burkeman1]

For anyone wanting to really delve into colonialism should read Thomas Sowell's "Migrations and Culture" and "Conquest and Culture"- they literally are the most brilliant books I have ever read and though I was already a conservative- they deeply influenced what I believe more than any other book.

[Burkeman1]

I think Africa is literally at the same time in history as was Europe at it's darkest time- the years 500- to 1000- the dark ages. It is really amazing but we know more about late American Indian history than we do about Europe from 500 to 900ad. Europe during that time was a weird brew of tribalism, paganism, primitive Christianity, and the remenants of Roman culture in small weak states that often controlled nothing more than the major cities (and a major city in Europe during this period was no more than 20 thousand people.) Sub Saharan Africa is much like this today in certain respects- it is halfway between A grwoing Chritianity and paganism. It is tribal but coexists with false and weak states. This is Africa's dark age. In fact Africa is even worse off than Dark Age Europe. Northern Europe at least had the benefit of being ruled for several centuries by Rome and absorbed some of their beliefs. Africa was only ruled by Europe for 50 years or so.

It is amazing to me that England under the rule of Rome had things such as glassware production, cement, advanced mathematics, plumbing, sewer systems. The economy of High Rome England was not reached again in England until the middle of the 16th century!

Much the same in Africa today. It is often heard today that Africans who lived under colnial rule actually think back on those times as a Golden age- as better times. As did Europeons- who were constatnly trying to re-invent the idea of "Rome". For Northern Europeons in the Dark ages Roman civilization was a time of milk of honey- a nirvana they were trying to get back to.

[Youngblood]

Interesting piece. Something I’ve often thought about, as an Irish person, is what my country would be like had the British left us alone for all those centuries. Would we be a similar country today? Would we have the present polarized society in Northern Ireland? I suppose someone else like France or Spain would have taken us over anyway in order to gain a position of strength against Britain. However, whether we are better off today (northern conflict a pretty big aside) because of colonialism is not going to endear me to the glory of British imperialism, despite the very good relationship we enjoy with the British today. Acknowledging some residual benefits of imperialism does not excuse the repressive, selfish motives of the empire builders. That said, the author makes very valid points about the damage the various types of corrupt regimes have inflicted on their own people since the end of imperialism. At some point they're going to have to take responsibility for sorting out their own societies instead of blaming all their problems on the evils of imperialism.

[Cool Guy]

BUMP!