Imperial Renaissance
by Scoop Shachtman, 19 March 2008
Simon Jenkins, one of those right wing “anti-war” types, writes:
Our soldiers now hunkered down in Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq went with the noble aim of righting a wrong. But they have induced in London a renaissance of the imperial urge, the desire to impose one’s own values on foreign peoples through the barrel of a gun.
The funny thing is, that the majority of the populations in all four of those states are in favour of the universal values (such as elected rulers and freedom) that the UK are attempting to allow them to develop. Jenkins paints a picture of savages who cannot aspire to such values. This is presumably the most imperialist document of all.
Wednesday 19 March 2008 at 10:01
‘Simon Jenkins, one of those right wing “anti-war” types’
Beg your pardon, I thought he is just an idiot.
But interesting that the sentiment about the savages was expressed on the other side of the spectrum, by Galloway.
Wednesday 19 March 2008 at 10:04
[spelling corrected above]
Wednesday 19 March 2008 at 11:35
Simon Jenkins is no idiot. He is an expert in writing opinions to order. Whether he believes them or not is immaterial.
Wednesday 19 March 2008 at 20:22
Still, JW, take a look at this sample:
“One country in the region that has retained some political pluralism is Iran. It has shown bursts of democratic activity and, importantly, has experienced internal regime change. If ever there was a nation not to drive to the extreme it is Iran.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1752134,00.html
I mean, who will order that opinion?
Thursday 20 March 2008 at 1:50
Who will order that opinion? It strikes me as being a common view among liberal-left types who like to think of themselves as politically sophisticated. It has a smidgeon of truth within it. Certainly enough to run with, which is what Jenkins does here.
So, Snoopy, the answer to your question is: the Guardian editorial conference.