Downfall
The Colonial powers were probably mortally wounded in the aftermath of World War Two, yet they stubbornly clung to 'Empire.'
1945 marked the defeat of institutionalized racism, and with India's independence in 1947, the nationalist genie was out of the bottle. The Dutch sought to contain revolts in Java, the French tried to put down the Algerian and Indochinese rebellions, while the Brits fought the Malay. But the final death blow came in 1956, with the Suez crisis- Egyptian president Nasser announced plans to nationalize the Suez Canal. Britain, France, and Israel tried to stage a convoluted intervention, designed to seize the canal and neutralize Nasser. But President Eisenhower intervened, partly out a fear of provoking a wider war, and forced the Brits and French and Israelis out of Egypt- Ike had threatened to sell off the U.S. reserves of British Pounds,which would have destroyed the British economy. The 'Colonialists' retreated. England instantly realized the severity of the decision to capitulate, and never again acted contrary to US policy. France reacted by isolating itself from, and would forever afterwards oppose, America. Inspired by Nasser's 'victory,' third word peoples everywhere stampeded towards independence- most were free by 1961. The rest of the century belonged to the US and the Soviet Union. (Eisenhower later said this was his greatest mistake- he severely weakened two major friendly countries during height of the Cold War). But Colonialism was replaced by Neo-Colonialism- the World Bank and International Monetary Fund has waged a reign of terror over the peoples of the world, imposing strict 'conditionalities' upon its loans to governments, forcing them to cut basic social services, eroding overall quality of life indexes, and locking these nations into massive debt. These loans enrich a select few.
China currently 'owns' about 37% of America's debt. If ever they seriously disagreed with one of our foreign adventures, they could easily dismantle our economy by threatening to sell off the dollars and bonds they hold, collapsing our currency, the same way Ike bullied Britain in the Suez crisis of '56.
Incidentally, it was Ghandhi's nationalistic pacifism that mainly inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, and blacks in the US were spurred by the Colonial retreat out of Africa- notice how race riots and demands for political equality accelerated soon after the Suez Crisis and the independence of almost two dozen African states in 1960-1961.
'Liberals' in the US originally, and generally, did not support the incipient civil rights movements until their national convention in 1948, during Trumans term, and AFTER Roosevelt. This triggered the breakaway faction led by Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrats.
These many and varied events can to a certain degree be laid down to the immediate aftermath of the defeat of the Nazi regime in April 1945.
The arch-conservative Churchill was ousted a few months after victory over the Germans- Atlee's socialist government took over, and began implementing a broad based program that nationalized key sectors of the English economy, instituting 'craddle to grave' welfare legislation. Socialized medicine in England even endured Thatcher's reactionary junta, because it was just too popular and efficient a service. But due to the costs, it has eroded somewhat.
1945 marked the defeat of institutionalized racism, and with India's independence in 1947, the nationalist genie was out of the bottle. The Dutch sought to contain revolts in Java, the French tried to put down the Algerian and Indochinese rebellions, while the Brits fought the Malay. But the final death blow came in 1956, with the Suez crisis- Egyptian president Nasser announced plans to nationalize the Suez Canal. Britain, France, and Israel tried to stage a convoluted intervention, designed to seize the canal and neutralize Nasser. But President Eisenhower intervened, partly out a fear of provoking a wider war, and forced the Brits and French and Israelis out of Egypt- Ike had threatened to sell off the U.S. reserves of British Pounds,which would have destroyed the British economy. The 'Colonialists' retreated. England instantly realized the severity of the decision to capitulate, and never again acted contrary to US policy. France reacted by isolating itself from, and would forever afterwards oppose, America. Inspired by Nasser's 'victory,' third word peoples everywhere stampeded towards independence- most were free by 1961. The rest of the century belonged to the US and the Soviet Union. (Eisenhower later said this was his greatest mistake- he severely weakened two major friendly countries during height of the Cold War). But Colonialism was replaced by Neo-Colonialism- the World Bank and International Monetary Fund has waged a reign of terror over the peoples of the world, imposing strict 'conditionalities' upon its loans to governments, forcing them to cut basic social services, eroding overall quality of life indexes, and locking these nations into massive debt. These loans enrich a select few.
China currently 'owns' about 37% of America's debt. If ever they seriously disagreed with one of our foreign adventures, they could easily dismantle our economy by threatening to sell off the dollars and bonds they hold, collapsing our currency, the same way Ike bullied Britain in the Suez crisis of '56.
Incidentally, it was Ghandhi's nationalistic pacifism that mainly inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, and blacks in the US were spurred by the Colonial retreat out of Africa- notice how race riots and demands for political equality accelerated soon after the Suez Crisis and the independence of almost two dozen African states in 1960-1961.
'Liberals' in the US originally, and generally, did not support the incipient civil rights movements until their national convention in 1948, during Trumans term, and AFTER Roosevelt. This triggered the breakaway faction led by Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrats.
These many and varied events can to a certain degree be laid down to the immediate aftermath of the defeat of the Nazi regime in April 1945.
The arch-conservative Churchill was ousted a few months after victory over the Germans- Atlee's socialist government took over, and began implementing a broad based program that nationalized key sectors of the English economy, instituting 'craddle to grave' welfare legislation. Socialized medicine in England even endured Thatcher's reactionary junta, because it was just too popular and efficient a service. But due to the costs, it has eroded somewhat.
posted by Zero at 11:00 AM
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