jmg@houxk.UUCP (11/01/83)
In his article "Imperialism in India and China", allegra!don was
quite right in pointing out the importance to the Empire of making a PAYING
CONSUMER out of each and every person in the colonial state. A good example
of this is the British government making the Indian people pay a tax on all the
salt that was produced in their own country by their own people and not even
allowing people to make or gather salt for their own personal needs. Another
example is the dismantling of the Irish merchant fleet by the British or
requiring every product from one colony to pass through the London docks before
being shipped out to another colony. Any other procedure was considered
smuggling and was treated as a crime.
The book which is considered the definative work in this area is
Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations". It was first published in 1776 by the English
author and it should be read by every generation to get a clear idea of how a
colonial and his money are soon parted.
In the military sphere you should read "Low Intensity Operations" by
Brigadier (General) Kitson. Although this book is extremely boring and its
author is barely literate it provides some insight into the current British
Army doctrine on the use of the military and the USE OF THE MEDIA BY AND FOR
THE MILITARY. If you think all military writers are boring and illiterate read
General George S. Patton's war memoirs ("My Life at War"?) for a refreshing
contrast.
A few years ago a young woman at Temple University named Rona Fields
wrote a thesis on Northern Ireland called "Society Under Siege". The thesis
was later published as a book and when it appeared in book stores in England
all 50,000 copies were confiscated by the British government and shredded.
(Come on guys! Touchy! Touchy!) Anybody care to make a comment about freedom
of the press here?
Allegra!don asks "What would have happened in India and China without
European conquest?". My own opinion is that if China had been liberated from
its monarchy without being driven to the point of insanity by drug addiction
and other forms of torture or simply left alone, we would not have a Communist
China in the world today, only free China.
To Phil Ngai I say - if you don't believe the facts I presented in my
last article get a copy of the crime statistics for Los Angeles and Dublin,
Ireland for 1978 and 1983 and read the facts for yourself. About ten years ago
when I was on vacation with my wife in Ireland we saw people hitchhiking in
large numbers without fear. We picked up a number of hitchhikers ourselves
without the least bit of concern. One was a young college student from Holland
who said that she would never hitchhike alone in Holland, but had no concern
about it in Ireland. On another occasion we picked up two young girls about
twelve or thirteen with enormous suitcases who were going to visit their aunt
about ten miles away. We saw an outpouring of national concern on TV and in
the press when one child was reported missing. In America today 50,000 children
disappear every year. That averages out to 1,000 a year for each state or three
children missing each day for each state. I heard that when the parents of a
child who had been kidnapped and killed in Florida asked for missing children
to be put on the FBI's computers, an official of the FBI stated "That couple
in Florida can go pound sand!". I think this demonstrates a clear difference
in attitude and outlook. If you cannot understand this then you are a victim
of "culture shock", a malady which commonly afflicts international travelers.
So, like you really barf me out Phil. You, like gag me with your
jaded cynicism. So, like what more can I say?