Imperialistic Attitude Conveyed in Jonathan Swift’s...

One must sometimes wonder what an ideal utopian world would be like. The first things to come to mind would probably rather trivial, such as golden roads, chocolate fountains, etc. However, the underlying core of what a utopian society would be like is one that would have an abundance of two seemingly unknown words, morality and humanity. Morality and humanity would be the greatest grace for any society to have, for any government to be driven by. Sadly, this is usually not, nor has it really ever been, the case. Instead, government is run by a largely imperialistic attitude. That is, whatever can satisfy the greed and hunger of a nation is what matters, not the inhumane suffering that follows afterwards. This imperialistic and dehumanized†¦show more content†¦After all, a country’s economic status is much more important than the well-being of other countries. It really is nothing more than dangerous nationalism. The sea captain Martin, in Candide, says it best, in sp eaking of imperialistic government best, with, â€Å"He’s mixed up in the affairs of this world to such an extent that he may well be in me, just as he’s in everything else†¦I’ve scarcely seen one town that did not wish the ruination of his neighbor, or one family that did not want to see the end of another. Everywhere you look, the weak execrate the strong while they grovel at their feet, and the strong treat them like so many sheep, providing wool and meat to be sold. One million regimented assassins, rushing from one end of Europe to the other, commit murder and brigandage by the rule book in order to earn their daily bread, because there is no more respectable profession; and in cities, where people appear to live in peace and the arts flourish, men are devoured by more envy, worry, and dissatisfaction than all the scourges of a city under siege. Secret sorrows are more cruel even than public tribulations† (Voltaire 501). War is, in itself, probably the most sickening aspect of this idea of globalization. There is nothing but pain, anguish, and agony that come out of war- nothing good at all. Possibly even more sickening than the horrors of war, however, is the pride that people have in it.