From: K.Spagnolo@massey.ac.nz (Ken Spagnolo)
Newsgroups: soc.history,soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: World Culture and Western Culture
Summary: ????
Keywords: ????
Date: 30 Sep 92 03:07:20 GMT
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2c


>I did not wish to suggest taht Western powers were very often
>motivated by benevolence, 

Are U kidding? From America (North and South) to Australia they
wiped out races. This was a supreme act of 'benevolence'. They
actually wanted to put a lot of races out of their misery. Most of
the 'non-western' cultures are very greatful.

>Motivations were mixed.  Individual desire to make money,
>ego and some benevolence.  

Just reiterating my thank U for leaving my country in the state of
poverty it is in:)

>Even when there was benevolence,
>part ot its motivation was a sense of superiority.  However,
>the innovations were introduced and were useful, e.g. secular
>universities, railroads and a British style judicial system -
>even cricket.


Now to give U a correct version of history. Not that crap propganda
that your 'superior' culture has taught U.

1) Why did the British map India and build roads and bridges? The
only reason was for profit. The British needed to map the country
and build roads when they first entered India so that they could
win all the battles and have many more colonies which they could
live off. They were not in the least intersted in the natives. In
the 200 odd years that they ruled India there were 8 famines. They
did not help natives with their problems with feeding the people
but were more intersted in making a profit. They built the railways
for one and only one reason - trade and profit. 

Today, only 40 years after gaining freedom, India feeds a
population of 850 million people. We have not had a major famine
since independence. The West go on about how we have a lot of
uneducated and many living below the poverty line - At least it is
a country that seems to care about its people more than America
(the richest country in the world) does.

2) The average life-span of the average Indian was 26 years when
the British ruled India. This went up by 6 years only 5 years after
attaining freedom. India raised the life expectancy of 350 million
people by 6 years in a span of 5 years after we gave the British
the boot. The life expectancy today is 63 years - Not as good as it
should be but way higher than 26.

3) The British were basically a nation of drug dealers - For 200
years they forced Indian farmers to grow opium and they then
forcibly sold this opium to the Chinese.

Britain's economic greatness had less to do with the Industrial
Revolution than with opium. The nation of drug pushers gained 1/7th
of the total revenue for British India from the sale of drugs. The
British made sure that the Chinese bought the drugs -The British
even sent gunboats and their esteemed army to see that the drugs
got across to China without interference from the Chinese
government. 

Western arrogance/ignorance is as prevalent as ever. Most of the
cultures that are living in poverty are a direct effect of Western
influence (American natives-north and south, Africa- ravaged by
'greedy' Europeans, India and China, Australian Aboriginal) From
one end of the globe to the other. Countries that have been able to
get back on their feet (the Tigers of the East) and compete with
the West are making circles around 'Western cultures' and so called
'Western technology'. 

Many 'whites' fail to realise that development was denied - under
the rule of the gun around the world. The Industrial revolution of
the West was not as important as the forced industrial devolution
in the East and Africa. Africa does not deserve its poverty. Its
poverty today is a direct consequence of 'Western influence'. So
save your breath about the greatness of western culture. Its a
parasitic culture which lives off others. The past 400 odd years
have been kind to such behaviour.


>John McCarthy, Computer Science Department, Stanford, CA 94305

>He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.

A very modernistic thought. Its time U moved to the age we live in
- the post modernistic one.

John Ainikkal
'Aotearoa' - Land of the long white cloud
-- 
Ken Spagnolo - Ph: +64-6-350-5160
Systems Programmer, Network Support, Usenet Admin, etc.
Newsgroups: soc.history