How is imperialism a "safety valve" for class conflict?

Question

I am working on some questions on WW1 from the American perspective and this question is related to US interest in Africa during the 1st WW.

Answer 1

it is not.

Answer 2

There are so many ways to answer this, and they're all right. One reason is that if the poor and lower class are sent off to fight a war they get their aggression out that way rather than fighting off their frustration (and getting drunk and disorderly) at home in the cities. That's probably the most thorough single answer. Then, too, as slavery in the US, many lower class people support anything that puts someone in a lower "class" than they are, by anyone's perception. In other words, if the government colonizes in Africa, or Latin America, or the Phillippines, then the lower class people who are so often being put down (at this time, the majority white) can put someone else down, and be seen as higher on some imaginary scale of humanity (more psychological than anything, but actually used ON PURPOSE as a morale builder at that time). There are a few ideas.

Answer 3

Did you see what happened in Rwanda? The minute the mother country leaves, there is no longer a standing security for minorities in a former colony, and all hell breaks loose. Imperialism is a safety valve becuase it restrains heavy class conflict, (i.e genocide) in order to preserve the best interests of the empire.

Answer 4

Algeria was a good example of this. In the days of Louis Bonaparte in France in the 1860's, dissidents were rounded up ands sent off to Algeria. In later years, landless farmers and others were given land in Algeria. Eventually other Europeans were also offered free land to settle in Algeria.

England had similar plans in Kenya and N and S Rhodesia, now called Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Germany settled colonists in SW Africa (Namibia), mostly miners.

Answer 5

Severely underpaid third world labor is also a cheap source of goods for the working classes of the developed countries. Especially in the US (via Wal-Mart), it's become a way of offsetting stagnant/declining wages and benefits.

Answer 6

Very good question. Yes, Imperialism and class-conflict are closely related. I agree with Soothing and Tham.