Thursday, October 28, 2004
CALLING FOR A HUMANITARIAN RAJ
A superb post by Diplomad.
A tragic historical reality is that for some regions of the Gap the era of European Colonialism - and let's not kid ourselves regarding the brutality involved in maintaining European control over African and Asian populations- represent the high water mark for governance. Not just in terms of efficiency and material progress but as a moral pinnacle in terms of reduced levels and kinds of violence by ruling elites. This not a comparison to contend that colonialism was a positive good so much as a statement that the alternatives have proven to be that much greater of a primeval horror show.
It takes the cannibal regions of the 19th century Congo basin and the genocidal Hutu militias of the 20th to make the lavish cruelty of Belgian rule that came in between look moderate in comparison .
This is not a call for colonialism but a reality check regarding the nature of the problem in some parts of the Gap where anarchic violence runs riot and always has. Fostering connectivity in these regions will be among the most dangerous and difficult tasks but the moral claim of nightmarish scenarios in places like Dar Fur will urge us there first.
¶ 5:07 PM
A superb post by Diplomad.
A tragic historical reality is that for some regions of the Gap the era of European Colonialism - and let's not kid ourselves regarding the brutality involved in maintaining European control over African and Asian populations- represent the high water mark for governance. Not just in terms of efficiency and material progress but as a moral pinnacle in terms of reduced levels and kinds of violence by ruling elites. This not a comparison to contend that colonialism was a positive good so much as a statement that the alternatives have proven to be that much greater of a primeval horror show.
It takes the cannibal regions of the 19th century Congo basin and the genocidal Hutu militias of the 20th to make the lavish cruelty of Belgian rule that came in between look moderate in comparison .
This is not a call for colonialism but a reality check regarding the nature of the problem in some parts of the Gap where anarchic violence runs riot and always has. Fostering connectivity in these regions will be among the most dangerous and difficult tasks but the moral claim of nightmarish scenarios in places like Dar Fur will urge us there first.
¶ 5:07 PM
