John A. Hobson's Imperialism: A Study

By the 1800s, Europe had gained considerable power- centrally governed nation-states had emerged and the Industrial Revolution had deeply enriched different country’s economies. Advances in science and technology, industry, transportation, and communication provided Western nations with many advantages. Encouraged by their new military and economic prestige, European countries embarked on a path of aggressive expansion that today’s historians call “New Imperialism (1800-1914).” Europeans brought much of the world under their influence and control, dominating various countries politically, economically, and culturally. Though the West reaped the benefits of foreign imperialism, native peoples felt its harmful effects. For example, in Document

Imperialism has carved entire continents, destroyed ancient cultures, uprooted millions of people from their ancestral homes, and created an oppressive systems that traps third world countries. In the book “Promises Not Kept”, the author, John Isbister states: “Imperialism shaped today’s third world.” This statement explains how the third world itself is nothing more than the aftermath of imperialism. The best method to demonstrate how imperialism plays out begins with colonization. European empires used this method to spread themselves around the world, strategically expanding their power. A process that created social forces, which are continually felt today, such as poverty and oppression. These empires changed nearly every facet

Since the beginning of modern civilization, man has had a burning desire for land. European nations in particular are well known for being those of imperialists, the act of extending a nation’s power or economy through the process of acquiring land. The strive for power in Africa can be seen dating back to the late 18th century, and continued throughout the early 20th. Europeans practiced imperialism in Africa for several centuries for reasons including economic opportunities, national pride, and the interpreted moral responsibilities.

Imperialism, when one country dominates another for its own benefit, is an expansion policy that has reigned for centuries. Over time, imperialism has drastically changed in its magnitude and severity. At the turn of the nineteenth century, a “new,” more aggressive and competitive form of imperialism emerged and completely dismantled the domestic institutions of various developing countries. Africa in the nineteenth century is a prime example of the “new” imperialism in effect. How was Africa affected by imperialism? Who imperialized Africa? What caused African imperialism? How did the international environment affect the domestic institutions of Africa?

In 1859, Charles Darwin published his most famous work, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection (Encarta 96). This book explained Darwin's theory of natural selection, a process not unlike separating the wheat from the chaff, where the least fit are eliminated, and only the fittest survive. An extension of this theory known as Social Darwinism emerged in the late 19th century. "Social Darwinists believed that people, like animals and plants, compete for survival and, by extension, success in life" (Encarta 96). Under this theory, the individuals who acquire the power and wealth are deemed the fittest, while those of lower economic and social levels are considered the least fit (Griffin

Imperialism has been one of the most powerful forces in human history, serving to set the foundation of our modern world. While this has led to the formation of a global society where cultures, ideas, and innovations are spread across countries, imperialism has also left a history of exploitation, racism, and violence that is still affecting the world today. Imperial relationships are always imbalanced when it comes to power and influence; that is, one group (known as the metropole) maintains authority and control over another group (known as the periphery) with economic, political, and cultural dominance (Spiegel 2012). There are many reasons why one group chooses to dominate the other, such as expanding territory, extracting raw resources to fuel economic development, or to spread their beliefs (i.e. religion) (Spiegel 2012). In spite of these varied reasons, one of the main motivators for imperialism began with competition between empires.

Imperialism was an extremely big deal throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There were many occurrences where people who were involved in imperialism would succeed, but there were also failures. Throughout this time period, powers from Europe, the United States and Japan all contributed to both the positive and negative impacts of imperialism. These impacts affected parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Some of the few people that made huge changes during the “Age of Imperialism” are Dadabha Naoroji, J.A. Hobson, Mary Kingsley, Edgar Canisius, Albert Beveridge, and Rudyard Kipling.

How did Europeans conquer so much of the globe, laying waste to the indigenous civilizations and helping themselves to the natural resources of the lands they settled? Was it because the Europeans were superior to the indigenous people? Or was something far larger behind the European success at colonization? These are questions that Dr. Jared Diamond, a professor at UCLA, sought to answer in his book “Guns, Germs and Steel”, a fascinating look at why Europeans succeeded in expanding across multiple continents, and why the native populations fared so badly in the face of European exploration.

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, a scientific theory that supported the belief of evolution, was manipulated and applied to different areas of life, and thus it became the shaping force in European thought in the last half of the nineteenth century. Darwin, through observation of organisms, determined that a system of natural selection controlled the evolution of species. He found that the organisms that were most fit and assimilated to the environment would survive. They would also reproduce so that over time they would eventually dominate in numbers over the organisms with weaker characteristics. This new theory was radical and interesting to the scientific world but its effects reach far beyond this small institution of

Imperialism itself, although is sometimes meant to educate, is ultimately formed by an empire’s selfish desire to rule land. This is evident in the New Manifest destiny, carried out by the U.S, the British empire’s rule on several countries, as well as the Britain’s colonization of Africa many years ago that still takes a toll on them today. Although, in some cases imperialism is meant to educate instead of take-over. But, most countries who showed forms of imperialism had economic and strategic interests.

Looking back over the millennium now ending, one question in particular stands out: how did the inhabitants of Western Europe, a backwater in the year 1000AD, manage to gain economic and military dominance over much of the globe? Not so long ago, the answers to this question seemed obvious: Europeans were racially superior, and besides, God wanted them to win. As historians have shed race-driven and providential views of human history, new explanations have had to be formulated. Some of these new explanations are surprising; most of them conflict at some point with each other. Imperialism has been linked to multiple theories of the actual origins of the imperialistic

Imperialism is nearly unheard of today, because historically it emerges from and promotes racist ideologies. Though some would argue the practice is progressive, the accomplishments of Imperialism are enormously out-weighed by the damage it has done. Often it resulted in the deaths of innocent people, occasionally millions, as was the case in the Congo in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the early Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries. Rudyard Kipling and President Roosevelt are two individuals who thought of Imperialism as an act of servitude. However, two other men, King Leopold and Christopher Columbus have single-handedly proven the horrid circumstances that

It is hard to deny that the imperialism seen in the late 19th century and early 20th century was merely a continuation of American expansionism from the earlier 19th century. The sentiment toward expansionism and reasons as to why America must expand into the West remain the same when expansion began abroad. When the boundaries of the contiguous United States were all but settled, it was natural for the United States to turn overseas to continue its conquest of new lands. Justifying this was the notion held by expansionists that America had to keep on expanding and it was fated to do so. In the early 19th century, the notion emerges that it was a God given right to expand westward, or the famous “Manifest Destiny;” with so much land to the

The fact that the European influence was largely reflected upon world’s culture and economy is indubitably true. Such an impact, that has been deeply rooted inside the world for past several decades, acknowledged part of its people to notice its clear interference that has been covertly embedded over time within world’s evolution. Blaut reveals the secret of the phenomenon also known as “Eurocentrism”¹ in his article. Blaut proposes that “Eurocentrism is quite simply the colonizer’s model of the world.”². This statement beholds the dominant evidences behind inequal history between Europeans and the non-Europeans that will correspond and clarify colonial events.

Social Darwinism was a sociological theory that merged Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection and the work of Herbert Spencer, Malthus, and other scientific and sociological theorists to justify imperialism, racism, and conservative economic policies. The overall acceptance of the power of nature in defining human beings developed during the 18th century Enlightenment. Europe’s exploration not only brought about immense economic and agricultural growth, but also exposed them to “human behavior and life patterns within environments and under circumstances dramatically different than their own” (4). The most popular catch phrases of Darwinism, “struggle for existence” and “survival of the fittest”, when applied to the life of man in society, suggested that nature would provide that the best competitors in a competitive situation would win, and that this process would lead to continuing improvement” (6. Hoft). This misinterpreted sense of superiority engulfed much of society at the time and was used to justify the logistics behind certain actions regarding capitalism, racism, and imperialism. Furthermore, it served as the backbone of some of the most heinous acts imaginable including the genocide and sterilization of certain groups of people.