Post Colonial Theory

 An Introduction to Post-Colonial Theory Peter Childs and R.J. Patrick Williams

    The world still lives largely in the wake of the colonial period that existed over all continents for 100s of years. "Beginning in earnest in the 1950s and reaching it's highest point in the 1960s". (1) Signs of the colonial era ending emerge in the 1950s, governments begin to move out of holding proxy states and imperialist theory begins to exit the first world. It is difficult to say that we are out of the post-colonial era even today and we see the after-effects of it in many nations today. The term post-colonial by itself takes an extended amount of explaining because large implications arise from it. You could even lobby that we have yet to exit the colonial era, as nations like China continue to annex land and entire countries.

    "A much more plausible explanation is the search for low-cost labor forces"(5) This line underlines an ever-present problem that may not have an answer. Colonization and the subsequent slave trade was rooted in cheap and low-cost labor to fuel world markets. Remove colonization and the slave trade from the picture, what is left to fuel world markets? Eventually indentured servants would take the place of slaves before being phased out for low-cost labor from third world nations. Sweatshop workers in Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh aren't labeled as slaves or indentured servants, but that is what they effectively are, the only thing that has changed is the name. The world hasn't learned to live without low cost labor, it has learned how to make everyone feel better about it. However, at this point in time plausible alternatives remain to be seen and likely will not be seen in the near future.

    "Who is the Post-Colonial then becomes at least temporarily or partially unanswerable"(14), This builds on the basis that people living in a post-colonial culture are forced to rebuild their identities and often form new ones. Despite current labor practices effectively requiring a permanent underclass, the post-colonial world doesn't displace people and cultures to the same extent that colonialism does. It is a small step but these low-income workers in pre-industrialized nations are at least able to stay in their country and keep their identity without being displaced. This brings up the issue of migrant workers, who are still displaced, but still to a lesser extent to the colonial era. I would lobby the biggest difference between the colonial and post-colonial eras is that we no longer displace people groups on a mass scale. This could allow for natural cultural and economic growth in much of the 3rd world, such that they could build an unrecognizable positive future in the near term. Colonialism now no longer hinders the growth of developing nations and allows for natural and positive growth amongst the 3rd world.