Introduction
Throughout the history of humankind, expansion has been one of the most important directions in the development of society. The relations of expansion, being a form of power relations, act as a fundamental element in the interaction between the subjects of international life: states. Functionally, all countries can be divided into actors of expansion and its objects. The expansion is carried out not only at the international level but also at the domestic level when the physical and geographical environment plays the role of the object. Both levels of expansion, international and domestic, are closely related. Territories that are sparsely populated and underdeveloped in economic terms can become the object of a claim of neighboring countries.
The imperial expansion of the 19th century has caused significant changes in the life of the whole world. Even though it served the development of many branches of production and science, it also harmed many people and their activities. On the one hand, expansion had a significant impact on people’s lives as early as the 19th century. Many nations were injured, and people in the occupied territories suffered damage. On the other hand, we see the negative consequences of expansion in the modern world. Now the inhabitants of many countries are still subordinate to the rulers from the outside, although initially, they flourished within the framework of their state and had a rich culture. The purpose of this paper is to describe the points of view of scientists on this issue and to find traces of its influence in the present.
Racism
One striking example of such an influence is racism, which remains visible to this day. Racism is one of the most significant social problems of our time. Even though there have been many changes since its inception, it can still be noted in everyday communication and more global issues. One of the sources of racism is expansion: at the end of the 19th century, representatives of one race considered it possible to subjugate another. This has led to a division of society and a deterioration in the quality of life of “inferior” races. Besides, with such a separation of the “superior” and “inferior” races, the former does not always behave responsibly enough during expansion. One of their duties is to make subordinate people better and more civilized, but they do not always pay attention to this.
In addition to making society less cohesive, it also affects the economy. Thus, since the North American market is considered the most prestigious, products from South America are sold less successfully (Ferry 200). This long-term trend continues to this day and affects the economic condition of South America. Although there are a significant number of high-quality and cheap goods in South America, they are not in high demand compared to North American products. Thus, South American manufacturers suffer losses because production costs are often higher than income. If the outside world did not have a negative opinion about the inhabitants of South America, the economic situation in this region would be much better.
Biology does not allow establishing a hierarchy between individuals and populations. Moreover, no group of people has a permanent genetic fund. It cannot be argued that racism is a collective behavior that appears in the case of the dominance of certain types of social relations between different ethnic groups. On the contrary, the diversity and coexistence of cultures and races in numerous societies is the most successful form of mutual enrichment of peoples. Racism, which manifests itself in many ways, is a complex phenomenon. It includes many factors: economic, political, historical, cultural, social, and psychological. Only by acting on them it will be possible to combat racism effectively.
Impact on Culture
Another example of expansion is the conquest of Egypt by the British Empire. On the one hand, this is partly a positive change for Egypt. Researchers state that British rulers could have had a better influence on the country than Turkish or French (The Earl of Cromer 326). However, the main problem in this situation is that under the control of another country’s government, people can lose their own cultural identity. Egypt is a country with an incredibly rich culture, so they need to maintain a connection between the present and the past. During the expansion, it is necessary to understand this and not to ignore these features.
At the moment, we can only make assumptions about what Egypt would have been without expansion. Likely, a specific part of the cultural heritage would not have been preserved due to the insufficiently attentive attitude of the authorities. However, the whole nation would be much more aware of its cultural identity. People would have more opportunities to understand themselves and to follow the development vector set millennia ago. Unfortunately, the conquerors’ desire for unification does not give the Egyptians such an opportunity.
Conclusion
Great Britain (the British Empire), the USA and Russia (the Russian Empire and the USSR) demonstrated the most impressive examples of a long-term and planned expansion strategy. The experience of each country is unique, but their specific historical study and subsequent comparative analysis (identifying both common and specific features) can become the basis for systematizing this experience. It will allow researchers to draw conclusions and lessons for the future. At the moment, the most successful of these three examples is the American project: since the end of the Cold War, the United States has remained the only superpower in the world.
On the one hand, during the expansion, individual tribes and entire states were subordinated to more powerful countries. Resistance led to punitive expeditions, and the socio-economic development of the nations was oriented in a direction pleasing to the metropolis. However, on the other hand, it was thanks to colonialism that the periphery was drawn into the world economic and political system. The whole regions were modernized: electricity was supplied, railways and hospitals were built, administrative and linguistic unification took place. Therefore, it cannot be said that colonialism was an exclusively negative or positive process. For human history, this was a natural process, having both negative and positive sides.
Works Cited
Ferry, Jules F. C. “Speech before the French Chamber of Deputies.” Discours et Opinions de Jules Ferry, vol. 1, no. 10, 1897, pp. 199-201, 210-211, 215-218.
The Earl of Cromer, Modern Egypt, Vol. I. Macmillan, 1908.