RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
Crocker III, H. W. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire. Regnery, 2011.
There are few books that are simply fun to read. This is almost a novel (incidentally, numerous old-timey movies have been made about many of the historical players). More often than not, the British Empire expanded just because Englishmen wanted to explore because...well, why not?
As Crocker tells the tale, it’s not so much that the British Empire decided to take over and enslave native peoples. More often, the military arm of the empire moved in to protect trade routes. That is, of course, if they weren’t already invited in by warring kingdoms and tribes.
This book made me realize that there are alternatives to either globalism or nationalism. Nationalism--linguistic cultural institutions within a geographic locale--is the normal mode of being for a people. (I understand that statement would get me brought up on charges by the Gospel Coalition). Globalism is evil, but nationalism might not always be viable. Something like a Dominion Commonwealth or Empire can transcend this dialectic.
It is standard among PC advocates today that the British Empire merely exploited people and made their long-term situation worse. This is easily rebutted. America, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong (until the media and Democrats betrayed them to China) are all first-world countries. India, while perhaps not a success today, is a modern country. The British Empire brought India from dozens of warring kingdoms to a cultural, unified powerhouse.
Heroes
Lawrence of Arabia. He modeled himself as a classical warrior.
Ian Smith: if you don’t violently hate political liberalism and globalism after you read this chapter, then you are probably on some think tank's payroll. Smith had an amazing career and saw himself and his country betrayed for being more British than the British.
Charles Gordon of Khartoum: Probably had the most heroic and manly death in all of Western civilization. He held off a horde of fanatics for almost a year. When they finally breached the city he faced them with a revolver and sword.
Lessons Learned
* Whenever white liberals and Labour get involved in international race questions, they almost always make life worse for Africans.
* A Federal, constitutional monarchy, such as the one envisioned for the Transjordan, could avoid the inevitable problem facing conservatives in republics: as the population generally moves towards the cities, it is also accompanied by a liberalism in morals and politics. This is why conservatives generally lose in the long run. Democracy and elections are necessarily stacked against them. Crocker hints at, but does not develop, a possibility that a federal monarchy could channel power back to the countryside.
* On a similar note, Rhodesian president Ian Smith’s “One Man, One Vote, One Time” illustrates the failure of democracy. One man each will have one vote, but this will only last one time. Then you get dictatorship, which is exactly what happened. You cannot force feed democratic institutions on people who are neither ready for them nor really want them. What happened is that the majority elected a strongman, Robert Mugabe, into office only to do away with the liberal structures that made his rise possible. Does anyone really want to defend Zimbabwe today?
* The South Africa question is trickier. Apartheid wasn’t a British deal, yet Britain couldn’t realistically keep South Africa as a colony in the long run. The Afrikaaners were wrong for what they did. On the other hand, from a liberal point of view, it’s hard to explain why Africans nonetheless migrated to South Africa rather than any other sub-Saharan country.
* He points out how Ghandi supported the British Empire. (Crocker could have scored more points against PCs by documenting Ghandi’s racism towards Africans.)
There are few books that are simply fun to read. This is almost a novel (incidentally, numerous old-timey movies have been made about many of the historical players). More often than not, the British Empire expanded just because Englishmen wanted to explore because...well, why not?
As Crocker tells the tale, it’s not so much that the British Empire decided to take over and enslave native peoples. More often, the military arm of the empire moved in to protect trade routes. That is, of course, if they weren’t already invited in by warring kingdoms and tribes.
This book made me realize that there are alternatives to either globalism or nationalism. Nationalism--linguistic cultural institutions within a geographic locale--is the normal mode of being for a people. (I understand that statement would get me brought up on charges by the Gospel Coalition). Globalism is evil, but nationalism might not always be viable. Something like a Dominion Commonwealth or Empire can transcend this dialectic.
It is standard among PC advocates today that the British Empire merely exploited people and made their long-term situation worse. This is easily rebutted. America, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong (until the media and Democrats betrayed them to China) are all first-world countries. India, while perhaps not a success today, is a modern country. The British Empire brought India from dozens of warring kingdoms to a cultural, unified powerhouse.
Heroes
Lawrence of Arabia. He modeled himself as a classical warrior.
Ian Smith: if you don’t violently hate political liberalism and globalism after you read this chapter, then you are probably on some think tank's payroll. Smith had an amazing career and saw himself and his country betrayed for being more British than the British.
Charles Gordon of Khartoum: Probably had the most heroic and manly death in all of Western civilization. He held off a horde of fanatics for almost a year. When they finally breached the city he faced them with a revolver and sword.
Lessons Learned
* Whenever white liberals and Labour get involved in international race questions, they almost always make life worse for Africans.
* A Federal, constitutional monarchy, such as the one envisioned for the Transjordan, could avoid the inevitable problem facing conservatives in republics: as the population generally moves towards the cities, it is also accompanied by a liberalism in morals and politics. This is why conservatives generally lose in the long run. Democracy and elections are necessarily stacked against them. Crocker hints at, but does not develop, a possibility that a federal monarchy could channel power back to the countryside.
* On a similar note, Rhodesian president Ian Smith’s “One Man, One Vote, One Time” illustrates the failure of democracy. One man each will have one vote, but this will only last one time. Then you get dictatorship, which is exactly what happened. You cannot force feed democratic institutions on people who are neither ready for them nor really want them. What happened is that the majority elected a strongman, Robert Mugabe, into office only to do away with the liberal structures that made his rise possible. Does anyone really want to defend Zimbabwe today?
* The South Africa question is trickier. Apartheid wasn’t a British deal, yet Britain couldn’t realistically keep South Africa as a colony in the long run. The Afrikaaners were wrong for what they did. On the other hand, from a liberal point of view, it’s hard to explain why Africans nonetheless migrated to South Africa rather than any other sub-Saharan country.
* He points out how Ghandi supported the British Empire. (Crocker could have scored more points against PCs by documenting Ghandi’s racism towards Africans.)