Colonialism vs. Independence Although Some

Colonialism vs. Independence

Although some countries have been successful as independent states, others have failed disastrously and would definitely benefit under some form of colonialism.

For example, when Moslem Pakistan split again into Pakistan proper and Bangladesh, both countries remain extremely poor and politically fragile (Johnson pp). Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, appears to have insuperable racial problems, and Burma has reverted to its pre-colonial past as a military despotism (Johnson pp). Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, once the former French colony of Indochina, is slowly emerging from a devastating war with increasing success, due primarily to the colonial infrastructure (Johnson pp). However, Asians tend to flourish better as immigrants than natives, such as the success of the Chinese in Canada, and the Vietnamese and South Koreans in the United States (Johnson pp).

Until about 1960, progress was rapid in some countries, such as Algeria, which was incorporated into metropolitan France and was near European levels in many respects, and Nigeria, which was destined to be a model black state, underwritten by large oil reserves (Johnson pp). And the Sudan, an Anglo-Egyptian condominium, had the most enlightened and dedicated colonial civil service of all, and its emergence from poverty seemed assured (Johnson pp). However, under independence, each of these countries crashed into hopeless ruin due to civil and religious war, corruption, and/or Moslem fundamentalism (Johnson pp).

Of the more than fifty independent states that emerged in Africa from the colonial era, the majority are now tyrannies of one kind or another and nearly all have had their per capita income slashed (Johnson pp). Moreover, some, like the former Italian Somaliland, are written off as failed states where terrorism flourishes (Johnson pp). Uganda and Kenya, that were once considered paradises are now increasingly poor and dangerous (Johnson pp). Black majority rule has failed virtually everywhere, and rapid population growth, indebtedness, and diseases such as AIDS, have brought additional misery, however, the main failure has been political (Johnson pp).