Every imperial power since the Enlightenment has invoked the white man’s burden

Evidence

As we have seen, the notion of “Oriental despotism” was developed in the eighteenth century by writers like Montesquieu, who argued that the hot climate of the East made Orientals supine and submissive and thus unable to resist tyranny. The Orientalists gave this theory academic credibility by stating that despotism was one of the core values of “Islamic civilization.” And modernization theory would make it even more scientific by suggesting that “traditional” societies were characterized by hierarchical systems of power. Since, these theorists argued, change would never come from within, it was the burden of the West to civilize, modernize, and democratize the East. This “white man’s burden” argument has been used, in different forms and guises, by every imperial power since. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 200

Categorization

• DEFINE: Traces the lineage of ‘Oriental despotism’ from Montesquieu through modernization theory as a framework.
• XREF: connects to: Nineteenth-century Orientalism traded Enlightenment universalism for a hierarchy of civilizations. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 193; ‘The White Man’s Burden’ was subtitled to recruit America into empire — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 127; Nineteenth-century Europe traded Enlightenment universalism for imperialist superiority — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 119