Reference no: EM133426839

Case Study: MOTIVES FOR THE 19TH CENTURY EXPANSIONISM The imperialism of the late 19th century was exploitative; its impact and unintended was shattering. What was it that motivated Europeans to strike out across and force themselves and their technology upon the people of Asia and Africa? The economic motive, arising from the growth of industrial capitalism, was certainly powerful. Surplus profits found their way "backward" countries. The urge to secure raw materials, markets, and investments gave a mighty push to overseas penetration. J.A. Hobson, an English socialist wrote an influential analysis of the economic causes of expansionism. His book Imperialism (19020) attacked the system of overseas exploitation as "a depraved choice of national life, imposed by self-seeking interests." Hobson suggested that the system had grown out of the maldistribution of profits from industries. Since wage earners lacked the purchasing power to buy all they produced, manufacturers had to go abroad to sell part of their output and invest their profits. He claimed that colonial administration and defense were costly and dangerous and that economic problems could be better solved by providing higher wages and better social services at home. By these means the home market would be expanded, and capitalists would have better opportunities to invest their funds there. In effect, Hobson was urging a change in policy and that would bring British capitalism closer to humanistic aims (Thomas, H.G1987).

QUESTIONS

1. Select a phrase or a sentence that you would quote in research paper and explain why you would quote these words.

2. Pick an idea from the passage that you would consider general knowledge.

3. Summarize the main reasons for European expansionism as brought out in the passage.