Chinese imperialism in the background of UK and US imperialism

Abstract

The world has time and again seen the rise and fall of great empires. These imperialist powers have had their roots in a variety of factors such as economic, ideological or plain old matters of the ego. Their domination of other nations or regions was supported by military strength, economic dominance, technological dominance, etc. Each of these episodes have left an indelible mark on the pages of history and the civilizations which existed in those eras. With each of these periods of imperialism, the fates of many countries have changed either for the better or for the worse depending on their alignment with or against the imperialist powers. Down the ages, the nature of imperialism has changed significantly. The initial imperialists held their sway through military might. The ancient Macedonians serve as an example for this kind. With passing time, the forms of imperialism started to become less about brute force and more about soft dominance. The United Kingdom had a long period of imperialism where it controlled such great swathes of land that it was claimed that the sun never sets on Brittania. The British occupied territories and some of them truly believed that they were emancipators of the native residents of these colonies. The imperialist actions of the British were thus, muted in nature and, in their opinion, they were more frequently governors rather than occupiers. The British Empire had truly gained stronghold after it had established itself as the undisputed naval power. What had started as forays by merchant vessels across the oceans became the bedrock of one of the most enduring empires in recorded history. After the Great Wars, the British power waned, and the world saw the emergence of a new power – the United States of America. While America had a significant military might, their imperialism focused a lot on the softer aspects of imperialism. They provided aid and technology to domains and gained their support on the multi-lateral platforms that were formed in the aftermath of the World Wars. The roots of the US imperialism were spread wider than the imperialism of yore. It consisted of economic dominance that the US had achieved in the post-war period. The US also, had ideological motivation and considered itself to be the defender of the democratic and capitalist ways of life. This became increasingly relevant during the Cold War era where the USA and USSR strove hard to gain the greater influence over world affairs. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the USA became the leader of a unipolar world and it invested heavily in maintaining the technological superiority which had given it an edge in the Cold War stand-offs and assisted it in its assumed role of the international peacekeeper. Thus, we see that with the passage of time, the nature of imperialism keeps changing and greater number of factors and complexities keep getting added to older definitions. In the latest instance of ‘imperialist’ actions, China has taken the world by surprise. While the Western super-powers were busy living their life of indulgence, China quietly laboured away. In a short while it became the manufacturing hub of the world. Through some excellent strategic decisions, the Chinese became the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. The subdued nature of the Chinese consumption and the debt fuelled extravagance of the US kept on pumping dollars into the Chinese economy at the same time. With great acumen, the Chinese government invested heavily in the education and development of its population. They also invested heavily in their capital stock as well as towards increasing their total factor productivity. With these efforts, China has become an economic powerhouse of the world. They are placed on the cutting edge of a number of technologies such as Machine Learning and they keep trying to push the limits continuously.