Modern History Essay: Imperialism, War, and Totalitarianism Analysis

This Modern History essay explores the implications of imperialism, the causes and justifications of World War I, and the rise of totalitarianism. The essay begins by analyzing Edward Said's views on the impact of culture on imperialism and the division between the West and the non-West, referencing the poem 'The White Man's Burden' and Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'. It then examines the War Guilt Clause of the Treaty of Versailles, attributing blame to Germany for initiating World War I. The essay also discusses the concept of totalitarianism, focusing on Mussolini's definition and examples from Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union. Finally, the essay analyzes H.G. Wells' science fiction as a critique of Western imperialism, drawing parallels between the Martian invasion in 'The War of the Worlds' and the actions of imperialist powers. The essay covers the themes of fear, violence, cultural conflict, and power dynamics within the context of imperialism, concluding with a discussion of the lasting impact of imperialism beyond a 50-year timeline.

Running Header: MODERN HISTORY
Modern History
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Notes

1MODERN HISTORY
Section A
Answer 1:
Edward Said went forward to discuss the implication of culture on the nature of
imperialism. He went forward to discuss how the imperialism of the west created a division
between the ‘West’ and the ‘non-west’ that is the occident. The prime ambition of the orient
was to adorn the occident with their superior learning. West took it upon them, the duty of
civilizing the non-western subjects. The poem, ‘The White Man’s Burden’ is explicit in its
dealing with the subject where it criticizes the stance of superiority that is nurtured by the
‘white’ people (Kipling and Wise 1899). The beginning of the poem urges the white people
to invade the land of non-whites so that they can ‘enrich’ the non-white subjects with their
knowledge and cultural superiority. The rise of imperialism is rooted in the cultural
differences, which is prevalent between the west and non-western subjects. “Heart of
Darkness’ works with these differences in its dealings as the characters of the poem are
trapped within the differences of their identity (Conrad 1996).
Answer 2:
War Guilt Clause, which comes under the article numbered 231 holds Germany
responsible for initiating World War 1. It blames the German ‘aggression’ for imposing
damages and ravages on allies who were forced to participate in the World War. This
proposition as it has been made in the Treaties of Versailles can be justified considering the
trajectory of actions undertaken by Germany during the period of 1914. 1st August of 1914
marks the official entry of Germany into the World War 1 scenario as it declared the war
against France and then followed its war strategies to wage a war against France. It moved its
army through Belgium to attack Paris. These war strategies adopted by Germany, compelled

2MODERN HISTORY
Britain to wage a war against Germany. German’s invasion and its declaration of war can be
attributed to its urge to gather a control over political and economic domain.
Answer 3:
Mussolini had coined the term ‘Totalitarianism’, which theoretically advocates for a
state with ‘fascist’ regime, a place where the individual aspects are curbed down. It is not
only the regime of Mussolini, which comes under the totalitarian aspect, but Nazi Germany,
Stalin’s Soviet Union come under the term. All these regimes have succeeded in removing
every kind of opposition from conflicting powers. It diminishes or removes pluralism from its
domain. State ideology plays the ultimate determining factors. As it has been witnessed in the
case of Nazi Germany, the anti-Jewish rhetoric, which had nurtured the states’ ideology, led
to the state unleashing violence upon the Jewish people. In Soviet Union, Stalin had furnished
a constitution but at the same time prevented it from becoming a legal framework for the
state.
Section B
Answer1.
The science fiction of HG Wells through its usage of fictional narrative tried to
critique the imperialism of the west. The fear experienced by the unnamed protagonist of
‘The War of the World’ is symbolic of the invasions that had been carried out by the
imperialist. The Martians philosophy behind invading the Europe was similar to the ideals of
the westerners as they tried to spread their control over Europe. The conflict between
extraterrestrial and the humankind resonates the conflicts between western and non-western
subjects (Wells 2003). The fear experienced by the protagonist was similar to the fear
experienced by the occident under the trend of imperialism.

3MODERN HISTORY
Fear of imperialism includes the fear of violence, which are capable of extending its
effect to turn into a war. Imperialism also comes with the fear of cultural conflict.
Imperialism is a game of power assertion and power play, which is done by subordinating
and suppressing conflicting opinions and voices. The imperialists are moved with their
ideologies and endorse violence as a method of spreading their ideologies. The fears are
based upon these broad outcomes; however, they were capable of spreading its domain
beyond it. Violence and conflicts can have multifarious outcomes, which are capable of
devastating one’s sense of identity and belongingness. In theory, imperialism comes with
hopes of constructive exchanges among different nations, however a close excavation of the
world history has made it elucidate that such ‘hopes’ are confined within the realm of theory.
In contrast to the theory and ideologies, which voice for hope, devastating outcomes
of imperialism took away all stains of hopes from the occident nations. The impacts of
imperialism are widespread which trans graced the boundaries of space and time. Imperialism
is not confined within a particular age rather it can be noted for its wider reach. It is an
attitude of dominating the subordinate. The subordination of the week has continued since
time immemorial and is continuing in the contemporary time. A timeline of 50 years are not
sufficient to restrict its impact. The impact is of imperialism henceforth has exceeded the
timeline of 50years and marked its presence in the contemporary era as well.

4MODERN HISTORY
References
Conrad, J., 1996. Heart of darkness. In Heart of Darkness (pp. 17-95). Palgrave Macmillan,
New York.
Kipling, R. and Wise, T.J., 1899. The white man's burden.
Wells, H.G., 2003. The war of the worlds. Broadview Press.