Ways of the World

The Economist - Africa Rising (Source: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2011/12/03/africa-rising) Chapter 22: The End of Empire The Global South on the Global Stage 1914 - Present After decades of imperical rule, the Western European powers losen their grip on the colonies, offering them independence.  But at what cost?  Freedom and the ability to govern yourself in the way your see fit certainly sound great.  But self governance sometimes isn't all it's cracked up to be when the economy is tied directly to your legitimacy as a government.  In those years when the European powers exploited the labor and resources from the colonies, often times reorganizing a country's economy to suit production needs of Europe, to the point of creating a country that is no longer self sufficient without importing basic goods.  I believe Europe granted these countries their independence largely because they had drained them of everything useful, leaving t...

SCPL News & Announcements Glimpses of World History with Robert W. Strayer Glimpses of World History with Robert W. Strayer Series of illustrated talks dealing with various themes, topics and periods of time in world history. These talks will be held the 3rd Saturday of the month 1:00-2:30pm at the La Selva Beach Library (316 Estrella Ave.) Robert W . Strayer (Ph.D., University of W isconsin) brings wide experience in world history to the writing of Ways of the World. His teaching career began in Ethiopia where he taught high school world history for two years as part of the Peace Corps. At the university level, he taught African, Soviet, and world history for many years at the State University of New Y ork- College at Brockport, where he received Chancellor's A wards for Excellence in Teaching and for Excellence in Scholarship. In 1998 he was visiting professor of world and Soviet history at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Since moving ...

Fidel Castro (Source: History.com) Chapter 21: Revolution, Socialism and Global Conflict The Rise and Fall of World Communism 1917-present Although communism may have started as a good idea, an more popular alternative to the inequitable capitalist model of economics, in practice, it still grants power to a few that make decisions for many.  John Dalberg-Acton may have said it best in a letter to the clergy as far back as 1887, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" (https://acton.org/research/lord-acton-quote-archive.)  He was right then, and he is right today. The echoes of the French Revolution still reverberated in Russia and China when revolutionaries ousted those in power in favor of a Marxist ideology.   Russia did it in a single year (1917) and things went rather badly for the Romanov family.  China's revolution was much more gradual, and wasn't fully realized until 1949.  Both were ultimately to end up with...

Naval Enlistment Poster (Source: https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/ohio-in-ww1-home-page.html) Chapter 20: Collapse at the Center 1914 - 1970's Nationalism trumps all in the twentieth century when Europe forgets everything it once stood for after the enlightenment.  The echoes of the Atlantic Revolutions for social justice were long forgotten and replaced with blind nationalistic rhetoric from power hungry dictators.  Had Europe forgotten everything it believed with respect to the rights of man?  Of popular sovereignty and the ability of a nation to be governed by its own people - those that know best?  Hidden economic agendas, scientific rascism, and new imperial thrusts by countries that felt destined to expand all added to the complexity of a century that played host to two world wars, upwards of 70 million lost lives - military and civilians alike, a great depression, and a realignment of political boundaries resulting in new nat...

Russia, Playing a game of Strategy with Turkey (Source: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/rise-of-the-young-turks) Chapter 19: Empires in Collision 1800-1914 Chapter 19 goes into some detail with respect to relations with the West and China, the Ottman Empire and Japan - and their respective efforts to resist influence.  While I can respect the actions of China and the Ottoman empire doing what they can to stave off Western influence, it is Japan that was probably most successful in staying Japanese and at the same time embracing new advancements in technology.  They borrowed what they felt was worthy and kept their identity.  Strayer is quick to point out that if you define success a different way, then maybe there is merit in what the Ottomans and China did.  Trade is a good thing, and no country can remain self sufficient by shutting itself off from the rest of the world for any length of time.  The Early Chinese traded heavily...

Britania, the Warrior Queen, ruling over the world (Source: http://www.melaskole.no/the-story-of-an-empire.html) Chapter 18: Colonial Encounters in Asia, Africa and Oceania This chapter, probably more than any other, ticked me off.  Since I am a business major, I understand the importance of a free market and how trade can make us all better off.  The colonies of the world powers durring this period certainly fueled the economic engines of modern empires, but the externalities generated by the activities led to local market failures that were never addressed.  Most egregious was the fact that the colonizing power replaced the production of goods and services by a country with the production of resources they wished to exploit or sell abroad.  And they did it with coerced local labor from the colony.  Not only does this ignore the free market position of what should be a soveriegn nation, but it destroys their ability to be self sufficient. ...