Colonization

In class we discussed the different ways in which strong powers go into a country to colonize it for their benefit: you can simply integrate your people into their society & attempt to set an example to act more like you, convert your people into your culture, militarily overpower the locals and set up trade groups, contact the local leadership and attempt to set up trade groups (minus the use of guns), or basically militarily go in and begin mutilating the locals. It's understandable why states would do this; more land means more power and more resources mean more wealth. I'm not sure any large power can attest that they have never colonized a weaker state throughout history, and this is still going on today. Even if it is not a direct takeover, the influence a power can place on a state says a ton. Part of the reason the United States is so powerful (and so hated) is because our sphere of influence knows no bounds. People across the globe mimic the way Americans dress, eat, act, etc. or are dependent on our economic systems or businesses. This can be considered neocolonialism; the creation of colonial dependency using the free market capitalistic system to dominate a country economically and (as a natural progression) eventually culturally. An example used in class was the American company Nike and its massive presence in Vietnam. Nike uses Vietnam as a base for its production because of the large amount and exploitation of cheap labor, but it does help out the country too. The company boosts the economy in a way that the state government would simply not be able to do on its own; and Nike plans on being there for the long-haul, they're not going to pull out when they find a location with cheaper labor. In this way it can be seen that colonialism (of any kind) is not necessarily a bad thing. Though there are certainly more examples of the terrible ways poor countries have been treated or neglected by their colonial overlords. Thankfully today this is not the case as commonly but it's not to say it doesn't happen. It's difficult to have a 100% positive or negative reaction to colonialism, it really depends on the case and the entities involved and how they interact. I would have to say in most cases it's a negative thing, at least in the past.