RETHINKING OF IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM OVER THE THIRD WORLD: A MODERNISATION THEORY PERSPECTIVE

By Agus Miswanto

Colonialism and imperialism always connotes negative image. Both are associated with exploitation and plundering wealth of third world as result of occupation of the colonized world by European countries. Moreover the colonizers are dubbed as trouble makers of many problems took place in the third world. Although negative image of colonialism is inevitable, colonialism and imperialism also had positive impact in the progress of development. This essay would like to figure out positive impact of colonialism and imperialism in the development based on modernization theory.

Colonialism and imperialism connected and extended process of development in the society, even European countries as colonizers and the third countries as colonized. In the process of development, society has to step over many stages to achieve progress of development. Based on modernization theory, it presupposes that people have stages in their life and they have to undergo and step in the process in achieving of development progress. August Comte, for example, divides human development based on the knowledge into three elements such as theology stage, metaphysics stage, and positivism stage, in which each stage figures out the condition and situation of human in having knowledge and using it for solving of life problem (L. Archie and J.G. Archie , Pg. 303-309). Moreover, W. W. Rostow also assumes that the economic development of human being needs five process to be more progressed such as traditional society, pre condition for takeoff, take off, maturity, and high mass consumption. In each stage describes certain condition of development and progress. Furthermore, in political aspect, Almond (1960) in his book “the politic of the developing Areas” also believes that every society has to cross stages of political process step by step. According to him that political systems is on the basis of stages of modernisation ether more or less modern or traditional, and he assumes that there is a process of development , for example the condition of social and politics move from one stage to another; from less to more modern.

Based on the perspective of modernization theory, colonialism and imperialism gave contribution in the development processes in the world. Both carried a progress condition in the development, even for European as colonizers or the colonized countries. For European, imperialism and colonialism has contributed to development at least in three fundamental sectors such as Glory, Gold, and Gospel (3G) (Bernstein, 2000). First, the colonialism of European Countries to the rest of the world needed military force and political power to win and rule. Since, they had to face the resistance from the rulers of indigenous people. Therefore, the development and expansion in political power and military force were inevitable condition. Moreover, the bigger the military force of the countries, the bigger and the larger the colonial areas, such as Spain, Britain, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Second, colonialism and imperialism benefited European countries in economy (gold). They accumulated the wealth from the colonized country through the exploiting of mine, plantation, and mercantilism. Third, colonialism also benefited the growth of Christianity in the world. The expansion of European to the rest areas contributed the growing numbers of Christianity followers significantly. Since, the number of the indigenous people was interested and attracted with the way of life of colonizers. Therefore, the Christianity spread and covered almost whole continents and islands of the world in which colonialism took place.

For the colonized countries, imperialism and colonialism also contributed in the development. First, colonialism opened the isolation of the colonized countries, in which people can get contact and relationship from the outsiders. Such openness situation coined positive way in the life of people; they can get many advantages, like sharing knowledge, practical life and culture. Since, the colonizer did not only take the wealth from the colonized country, but they also brought many kind of technology in development of infrastructure into the colonized country such as roads, factories, plantation, and buildings. Moreover, the colonizer also built and opened limited school and education institution to educate people and to fulfill the needs of labour in many factories and plantation. Thus, the new ways of life opened mind of the people toward new world, the development. Second, colonialism also contributed the assertiveness and reinventing culture and civilization of indigenous people. For example, the effort of heritage excavation of past civilization by the colonizer, like old temples, ruin buildings, and manuscripts reminded the society to value and reinvent their own culture and civilization. Furthermore, reinventing of the past culture and civilization built consciousness of nationalism and nation identity among the people. Finding the past heritage inspired people to desire to live under their own government and state based on their own culture and their own identity. For example, the Excavation and discovery of Borobudur Temple in Java by the Dutch Government inspired Indonesian people to define past victory of ancestors to reappear in the present life. Thus, the past history is like a basket of nationalism awareness for the people to struggle against the occupation and rule their own country.

To conclude, the modernization theory gives people a discourse to perceive colonialism and imperialism in positive sphere. Both, according to the theory of modernization, had contribution in the progress of development. It was pointed not only for European countries as colonizers like military victory, accumulation of the wealth and expansion of religious ideology of the west, but also for the colonized country such as openness and consciousness of nationalism. Nonetheless, the theory also has been criticized by other theories like Globalization theory, post development theory, and post colonial theory.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lee Archie and John G. Archie, Reading for Philosophical Inquiry : A Brief Introduction to Philosophical Thinking ver.0.21, An Open Source Reader 2004, (http://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/introbook.pdf)

Rostow, W.W. (1960), The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960.

Henry Bernstein, “Colonialism, Capitalism, Development “, Tim Allen and Alan Thomas, Poverty and Development into Twenty First Century, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000

Gabriel L. Almond and James L. Coleman, The Politics of the Developing Areas, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1960