Re: Richard: On Latvia ( or: Why I hate Gorby) [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]

[cube321]

Heather:




I wasn't very clear. But � yes -- if a country imposes western values for the sake of imposing western values (as opposed to righting some injustice), this is imperialism, and is no better than imposing capitalism on the rest of the world. If, on the other hand, a country is intervening to overturn an �oppressive system� -- not always easy to determine by outsiders -- than this, to me, is a just act.

In the case of Afghanistan, because a group of people -- in this case, women -- were living under extremely oppressive conditions, the intervention could be said to have been just. If, however, the Russians had intervened just for the sake of imposing socialist values on the rest of the population, than this would, indeed, be no different than European colonialists carrying out the "white man's burden".

Both material equality or individual rights are not universal concepts. In many cultures, a translation for "equality", let alone �individual rights�, does not exist. Yet, to some matriarchal African cultures, the most seemingly egalitarian western households would be considered oppressive. Should then these African cultures intervene to overturn our backwards ways?

I�m not extreme cultural relativist, but, I realize that it is difficult, in many cases, to determine whether a form of oppression is actually taking place, as any good anthropologist would tell you (and I�m not an anthropologist either). The perception �of righting a wrong� is very much determined by the eye of the beholder as opposed some objective criterion, and may in fact have the opposite effect.

Just like today with imperialist �interventions�, colonists viewed colonialism as an altruistic endeavour. Indigenous cultures were assumed to be backward, barbarian, primitive, and so forth, and transformed to suit the needs of the colonialist, with devastating consequences for the people effected. Yet, imposing socialism instead of capitalism on these cultures would have had similar consequences. What caused the destruction of indigenous cultures was less to do with imposition of capitalist values and more to do with the disruption these changes caused. Therefore, westerners concerned about maintaining the continuity of indigenous ways of life should be worry of the effect so- called �modern values� (including modern medicine, western schooling and the like) have on others.

David O Q



12 Jan 02, at 11:48, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

> HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
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> The Marxist were imposing western values on the people of Afghanistan?
> Medical care, food distribution, education and female equality are western
> values?
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> I'm not a cultural relativist, either.
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> Silly me. I think addressing the economic and social problems which plagued
> one of the most impoverished nations on earth was a good idea. Go figure.
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