I disagree.
Kipling was a jingoist, surely. But read Recessional (written around the same time) - this is not the verse of someone who believes in either the success, or the 'manifest destiny', of imperial power...
He was excellent at phraseology, and wordplay: and to me, repeating his phrases, it comes over as a very dry school-masterish fashion of humour, where the meaning is opposed to the overt words - the tone is oh-so-understanding. IMO it was designed to be read by imperialists as though it were sincere, while actually it implies quite the opposite about the need and mission of empire.
'Oh, the poor heathens, they're so ungrateful that you've relieve them of the burdens of progress and take all the difficult work yourself...' - that absolutely is sarcastic. And at the expense of those who believe it, too.
So he sees that you need and should not expect gratitude or reward for imposing your own laws on another society. He certainly believes that the civilisations and mores behind the West are superior... but not necessarily that they're applicable to others, nor appreciated if imposed... nor, indeed, is it necessarily right to impose them despite the dictates of your own culture. And why should you expect reward or thanks for imposing your own rules upon another, alien society...? |
