Just to simplify both conservative and liberal theory on imperialism, I wanted to compare the two and show on what points they clashed. The conservative view of imperialism is that it is necessary in order to maintain the existing social order and balance. The conservatives state that imperialism is the only way to secure trade, markets, and maintain employment, but in reality it was a way to maintain power and wealth within the small elite group. It is based on the idea that WASP individuals are superior and have the right to "improve" the lives of lesser people by imposing their views and taking over their nations through imperialism. This view was the common way in which people supported imperialism. The counterpart to that view is the Liberal theory, which states that imperialism is a choice and that economic stability and security is maintained and can be gained through various other means that do not exclusively include imperialism. The liberal idea points to increasing the income of the majority through increasing wage levels and legalizing unions. All these are proposed way to fix the issues at home with legislation rather than imperialism. This view is what makes the liberal view of imperialism and the conservative view of the subject so different. In what other ways do these views differ?
I think the biggest way in which these ideas differ is that the conservative theory is pro-imperialism, in that it feels it is good and necessary for a successful country. However, the liberal theory is generally anti-imperialism because it seems to argue that it should be avoided and that problems within the current country should be addressed and solved, which makes more a more successful country. Both ideas strive for the same end goal of a successful and secure country, but they both take two opposite stances.
ReplyDeleteOne way that the liberal and conservative theories of imperialism differ is in how they approach social conflicts with other groups of people in terms of trying to assert superiority. According to the conservative theories, a country should be able to dominate another people and imperialize them because they should be considered as better than the less successful nations and groups, therefore they have the right to take advantage of them. In comparison, the liberal theories are extremely friendly towards other groups of people, as they stress the importance of dealing with issues domestically rather than trying to hurt other groups, which implies that these individual nations should be considered equally and treated properly by more powerful countries. These two factors are extremely significant in determining which sides these theories take, in that because the liberal theory of imperialism is extremely promoting of other groups, it is anti-imperialistic since they don't believe in treating these nations as if they are inferior, whereas the conservative theory of imperialism takes the exact opposite approach towards dealing with less powerful groups, making them pro-imperialistic. Also, I think these associations between specific theories about imperialism and how people treat other groups is very significant, as it created a lot of sociopolitical conflict in the United States during the early 20th century as political groups had differing views of imperialism, and thus, different views on how to treat other peoples, which really emphasizes the strong divide between the conservative and liberal theories in regards to how they approach foreign affairs.
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