Effects of Collonialisim
One of the main objectives of imperialism and colonialism was to exploit
the colonies and their inhabitants to generate economic wealth for the
mother country and her corporations. As a result, large numbers of
people were forced into slavery or the system of indentured laborers,
and vast areas of natural habitats were cleared and converted to
monocultural plantations.
Another impact of imperialism was the
export of Western values - resource exploitation, consumerism and
materialism to the colonies. In the meantime, the Enlightenment began to
shift West societies towards values such as democracy, independent
judiciary, free press and escape from religious tyranny. These, when
well developed offer checks and balances against excessive concentration
of power and corruption, and some safeguards against environmental
predation.
After the colonies gained independence, the newly
independent citizens uncritically embraced most of the negative values
and have vigorously continued the practices of their early colonial
masters.
One man who fought against the blind adoption of
materialistic values was of course Gandhi. Alas, no one can be a prophet
in his own land.
As a result, in the former colonies, the
environment, especially natural habitats and their species, is being
destroyed at a scale that is unprecedented in history.
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