The
New Intellectual Colonialism
The intellectual colonialism has also
taken a new turn. Western academia, up to World War II, commonly
defended colonialism, denigrated traditional cultures, and rewrote
history in a European image, praising the West as the true force of
civilization. The exploitation, genocide and slavery promoted by
colonialism were largely ignored. The exception to this was Leftist
intellectuals who criticized colonialism but not in favor of
traditional cultures but in favor of Marxism, which masked only
another form of colonialism as we have already observed.
Today the same academic establishment
not only claims to have given up the colonial mindset, but also
pretends to offer the alternative to it. Western academia now tries
to represent a new global view that honors all people, which it
projects through its new practice of multiculturalism. It speaks of
a universal culture of human rights, promoting a new world order of
democracy, economic opportunity, and class equality that helps
everyone and all nations. It wants to make available the advances of
science and technology for the benefit of all nations, giving each
individual the pleasures and conveniences of modern civilization.
While these ideas at first glance
appear broad minded and compassionate and may have some benefits, if
we look deeply we see that they still hide the same old patronizing
way of thought that promotes Western civilization over all others.
The dominant image is not traditional people happily following or
advancing their own older cultures, but solving their problems by
imitating Western economic, political and intellectual practices. |