"If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants." - Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton was talking about fellow thinkers before him. But while Isaac Newton was sitting below his apple tree, a few hundred million people in the British colony was also working their ass off for Great Britain! Would be hard to belief someone so farsighted as him could not see that too. So, if he have been somewhat more honest he would have said that he and those giants were also standing on the shoulders of millions other Asians and Africans who were working their ass off to feed him and those giants while they pondered in comfort.
The same went for 'giants' like Charles Darwin who never had to work a single day in his life. He spent his life travelling throughout the colonies (by hitching rides in merchant and navy ships) exploring & looking at the diverse life forms around the globe.
Is it a coincidence that western 'scientific supremacy' followed after the start of massive colonialisation in the 15th century?
Tuesday, July 18, 2000
Monday, July 17, 2000
Why LKY's English Gentlemen are No More
Some months back, Lee Kuan Yew (ex-prime minister) of Singapore said that when he was studying in London in the 1950s he was very impressed by the 'gentlemanly' conduct of the Englishmen. He commented about how things can change very fast. And in just one generation the English are now better known for their soccer hooligans - citing soccer fans that get into fights wherever they go.
Those comments got me thinking. And it was very interesting to note that LKY seemed to not recognize how that has to do very much with the history of the country. When that is understood, it would be very easy to see why the Englishmen LKY met just a generation ago were or could afford to be 'more gentlemanly individuals' than their descendents. And more importantly it will also be apparent how the conduct of the country as a whole (if one is to look beyond their individuals' behavior in London) was anything but gentlemanly. And if LKY felt that he was treated in a gentlemanly fashion, it was because he was much more fortunate than millions others and the English found it convenient to do so (but that is a real long story to be told somewhere else).
For a few hundred years up till the middle of this century, the British (or the English gentlemen that LKY was reminising about) had a huge colonial empire. The reason why it was that way was because they found that there were huge profits to be made from it. But the vast lands, people and business exploits involved had to be 'maintained' and there just weren't enough Englishmen to go round - not if you have to fight against the other colonialists, subjugate local opposition, administer the system and operate the 'trading companies'.
The last category includes individuals and groups like the East India Company, Jardine, Matheson etc. that were not performing any official fighting or administrative roles. In fact, trade companies like the East India Company actually extensions of the English government. The East India Company had their own army (undoubtedly comprising many undesirable elements that LKY would have found ungentlemanly) which was used to defeat Indian opposition to British interests and install 'more friendly' (puppet) local governments.
Once the empire is 'secured', the cheap labor of their colonial subjects and raw materials of their colonies were used to produce profits and wealth for them - the real reason why the empire was so great! They did not wage wars to form an empire just so that to the English can do some great good to humankind! In Malaysia, Indian laborers worked on rubber plantations, and Chinese migrant miners dug for tin. The raw materials produced were then sold to the English traders or middlemen. Where they could not colonise and occupy outright, they arm-twisted - like forcing the rights to sell opium to the Chinese. I am sure there were many other examples of how wealth was made for the Englishmen in other parts of the world less familiar to me (diamond and other mining in Africa?).
This is of course equally true for all the other colonial powers of the last few centuries. In fact I contend that all the major wars and revolutions of this century have their origin in the fierce competition for this right to create wealth through colonisation or enslavement.
As a result, every Englishmen before the second half of this century could see the wealth, unceasing demand for human resources and limitless rewards of this global operation. The nice thing about it was everyone could join in! There was enough to go round (if you do not include their 'colonial subjects'). Even the thieves, trigger happy murderers and rascals among them find ample opportunities to put their 'talents' to good use in the trading companies and the British army. But those activities were then more nobly known as 'service to King/Queen and their great empire'. But all the 'dirty' work took place outside of England. That was also where the ones best suited to such work went.
It was therefore not difficult to see that the typical Englishman that LKY met in England in the 50s were relatively more gentlemanly or could 'afford' to be a gentleman. For one, everyone was more than adequately fed and clothed by the system they propagated. Even a returning murderer from the British army (like General Dyer notorious for his merciless slaughter of Indians in Amritsar) could act and be treated like a gentleman in London. People like him not only got away with murder but were amply rewarded for their service to their country.
But now that the great empire is no more and the typical Englishmen has to compete among themselves and with their ex-colonies for their 3 meals a day, the picture of the Englishman is a very different one. On top of that, the ruffians among them now cannot find release without getting into trouble with their local laws and there is no alternative outlet in the 'noble service' their forefathers went for. As soccer is their favorite sport, it is then not difficult see why they choose to find release in the soccer stadiums where they can start a fight and hope to sneak away among the big crowd.
Note : In a report in Straits Times on July 18 2000, British Home Secretary Jack Straw was quoted as blaming football hooliganism on racism and colonialism. Headline was "British Minister says……
HOOLIGANISM : Blame it on racism
RACISM : Blame it on colonialism"
Those comments got me thinking. And it was very interesting to note that LKY seemed to not recognize how that has to do very much with the history of the country. When that is understood, it would be very easy to see why the Englishmen LKY met just a generation ago were or could afford to be 'more gentlemanly individuals' than their descendents. And more importantly it will also be apparent how the conduct of the country as a whole (if one is to look beyond their individuals' behavior in London) was anything but gentlemanly. And if LKY felt that he was treated in a gentlemanly fashion, it was because he was much more fortunate than millions others and the English found it convenient to do so (but that is a real long story to be told somewhere else).
For a few hundred years up till the middle of this century, the British (or the English gentlemen that LKY was reminising about) had a huge colonial empire. The reason why it was that way was because they found that there were huge profits to be made from it. But the vast lands, people and business exploits involved had to be 'maintained' and there just weren't enough Englishmen to go round - not if you have to fight against the other colonialists, subjugate local opposition, administer the system and operate the 'trading companies'.
The last category includes individuals and groups like the East India Company, Jardine, Matheson etc. that were not performing any official fighting or administrative roles. In fact, trade companies like the East India Company actually extensions of the English government. The East India Company had their own army (undoubtedly comprising many undesirable elements that LKY would have found ungentlemanly) which was used to defeat Indian opposition to British interests and install 'more friendly' (puppet) local governments.
Once the empire is 'secured', the cheap labor of their colonial subjects and raw materials of their colonies were used to produce profits and wealth for them - the real reason why the empire was so great! They did not wage wars to form an empire just so that to the English can do some great good to humankind! In Malaysia, Indian laborers worked on rubber plantations, and Chinese migrant miners dug for tin. The raw materials produced were then sold to the English traders or middlemen. Where they could not colonise and occupy outright, they arm-twisted - like forcing the rights to sell opium to the Chinese. I am sure there were many other examples of how wealth was made for the Englishmen in other parts of the world less familiar to me (diamond and other mining in Africa?).
This is of course equally true for all the other colonial powers of the last few centuries. In fact I contend that all the major wars and revolutions of this century have their origin in the fierce competition for this right to create wealth through colonisation or enslavement.
As a result, every Englishmen before the second half of this century could see the wealth, unceasing demand for human resources and limitless rewards of this global operation. The nice thing about it was everyone could join in! There was enough to go round (if you do not include their 'colonial subjects'). Even the thieves, trigger happy murderers and rascals among them find ample opportunities to put their 'talents' to good use in the trading companies and the British army. But those activities were then more nobly known as 'service to King/Queen and their great empire'. But all the 'dirty' work took place outside of England. That was also where the ones best suited to such work went.
It was therefore not difficult to see that the typical Englishman that LKY met in England in the 50s were relatively more gentlemanly or could 'afford' to be a gentleman. For one, everyone was more than adequately fed and clothed by the system they propagated. Even a returning murderer from the British army (like General Dyer notorious for his merciless slaughter of Indians in Amritsar) could act and be treated like a gentleman in London. People like him not only got away with murder but were amply rewarded for their service to their country.
But now that the great empire is no more and the typical Englishmen has to compete among themselves and with their ex-colonies for their 3 meals a day, the picture of the Englishman is a very different one. On top of that, the ruffians among them now cannot find release without getting into trouble with their local laws and there is no alternative outlet in the 'noble service' their forefathers went for. As soccer is their favorite sport, it is then not difficult see why they choose to find release in the soccer stadiums where they can start a fight and hope to sneak away among the big crowd.
Note : In a report in Straits Times on July 18 2000, British Home Secretary Jack Straw was quoted as blaming football hooliganism on racism and colonialism. Headline was "British Minister says……
HOOLIGANISM : Blame it on racism
RACISM : Blame it on colonialism"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)