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Article: The new imperialism.(FEATURES)(PLANET)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- April 28, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: David R. Francis
When the United States took over the Philippines after the Spanish-American War in 1899, British poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem in praise of imperialism. Each stanza began: "Take up the White Man's burden."
After World War II, colonialism became a nasty word. The Philippines - and just about every other colony - won political independence.
But today Kipling's call to spread, as he saw it, civilization to remote parts of the world could be rephrased "Take up the Western Man's burden." The industrial nations are once again asking how much they should help poor countries establish good government and greater ...