Economic Imperialism (1920)

Economic Imperialism By Leonard Woolf (1880 – 1969). Also The Author Of Empire And Commerce In Africa Etc.. Published In 1920 In London And New York. (108 Pages). Contents:Chapter I. Introductory — Chapter Ii. Economic Imperialism In Africa — Chapter Iii. Economic Imperialism In Asia — Chapter Iv. Causes And Results. The Publisher Has Copy-Edited This Book To Improve The Formatting Style And Accuracy Of The Text To Make It Readable. This Did Not Involve Changing The Substance Of The Text. Some Books Due To Age And Other Factors May Contain Imperfections. Since There Are Many Books Such As This One That Are Important And Beneficial To Literary Interests We Have Made It Digitally Available And Have Brought It Back Into Print For The Preservation Of Printed Works Of The Past.. Foreword By The Editor...The Object Of This Series Is Twofold; To Disseminate Knowledge Of The Facts Of International Relations And To Inculcate The International Rather Than The Nationalistic Way Of Regarding Them. This Latter Purpose Implies No Distortion Of Facts. It Is Hoped That The Books Will Be Found To Maintain A High Standard Of Accuracy And Fairness....But Their Avowed Object Is Not Merely To Record Facts But To Present Them In A Certain Light And With A Certain Object. That Light Is Internationalism And That Object The Peace Of The World. If The Series Is Successful In Its Purpose It Will Contribute To What Wells Has Called The International Mind....The Object Has Been To Produce The Books At A Price That Shall Not Be Prohibitive To People Of Small Incomes. For The World Cannot Be Saved By Governments And Governing Classes. It Can Be Saved Only By The Creation Among The Peoples Of The World Of Such A Public Opinion As Cannot Be Duped By Misrepresentation Nor Misled By Passion. The Difficulties Of That Achievement Can Hardly Be Exaggerated But Ought Not To Daunt. And The Editor Ventures To Hope For Support For Men Of Good Will In This One Attempt Among The Many Others To Enlighten The Intelligence And Direct The Will.. Introductory (Excerpt)...The Subject Of This Book Is The Relation Of European States To The Undeveloped Countries Of Asia And Africa. Individually We Are Today Spectators Of And Participants In A World Movement Which Is Having The Most Profound Effects Upon Our Lives And Upon The Lives Of The Inhabitants Of Asia And Africa. Great World Movements Like That Of Christianity Feudalism. The War Of 1914 And The Phenomena Which Will Be Examined In These Pages Appear To The Ordinary Man Particularly When He Is A Contemporary To Be Completely Out Of His Control. They Seem To Come Upon Him And Upon The World With The Inevitability Of Some Great Natural Force The Earthquake The Monsoon Or The Change From Winter To Summer And From Summer Back Again To Winter. This Fatalistic View Of History Though It Is Comforting To Many People And To Historians Is A Delusion. Man Has Achieved So Large A Victory Over Natural Forces And His Distant Relations Of The Animal World; That His History Is Now But Little Influenced By Them. The History Of Man Has In The Last 2500 Years Been Mainly Determined By Man By His Beliefs And By His Desires. If Certain Men Had Not Begun To Believe And Desire Certain Things There Would Have Been No Christians And No Christianity And If Certain Other Men Had Not Believed And Desired Certain Other Things There Would Have Been No Persecution Of The Early Christians; And The Failure Of Christianity To Produce A Christian World Has Resulted From A Victory Of The Desires And Beliefs Of The One Over Those Of The Other. It Was Not God Nor Kings Who For Centuries Bound Europe In The Chains Of The Feudal System: Feudalism Was Produced By What Went On In The Minds Of Dozens Of Lords And Thousands Of Serfs The Tremendous Effect Of Which Is Obscured By The Fantastic Romance Which We Call History.