Justified initially as a civilizing mission and subsequently dubbed modernization, in practice it was wholesale Westernization with very little room for any viable middle ground. For instance, in the 19th century, Abeokuta (a town in West Africa), inspired by its Western educated former slaves, responded to the challenges of these pervasive foreign influences with a unique form of defensive modernization and reform which eventually crumbled under the weight of the overwhelming imperial British power. Accordingly, until the late twentieth century, it was assumed that development for the colonized peoples must involve a denial of their history, a rejection of their cultural heritage and the adoption of Western cultural practices.
Language points:
1. justify v. to show that sb/sth is right or reasonable
e.g. How can they justify paying such huge salaries?
e.g. Her success justified the faith her teachers had put in her.
There is not enough evidence to justify such accusations.
e.g. She felt fully justified in asking for her money back.
2. dub v.
a) to give sb/sth a name that describes them in some way
e.g. Johnson was dubbed “Magic” while playing high school basketball.
The body, thousands of years old, was found in the Alps and dubbed “The Iceman”.
b) to replace the original speech in a film/movie or television programme with words in another language
e.g. an American movie dubbed into Italian (subtitle)
To conceal his identity, the man’s voice has been dubbed over (= an actor speaks his words).
3. wholesale a. [often disapproving] (especially of sth bad or too extreme) complete, or affecting a lot of things, people, places, etc.
e.g. This company will not be successful until there are wholesale changes. wholesale destruction
4. middle ground: a set of opinions, decisions, etc. that two or more groups who oppose each other can agree on; a position that is not extreme
e.g. Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground.
5. overwhelming a.
a) very great or very strong; so powerful that you cannot resist it or decide how to react
e.g. She had an overwhelming urge to call Mel again in New York.
an overwhelming experience
b) very large or greater, more important etc. than any other
e.g. There is overwhelming evidence that smoking damages your health.
The proposal has been given overwhelming support.
The overwhelming majority of those present were in favour of the plan.
6. overwhelm v.
a) to have such a strong emotional effect on sb that it is difficult for them to resist or know how to react
e.g. She was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt.
b) to defeat sb completely
e.g. The army was overwhelmed by the rebels.
c) to be so bad or so great that a person cannot deal with it; to give too much of a thing to a person
e.g. We were overwhelmed by requests for information.
d) [literary] (of water) to cover sb/sth completely
e.g. The wave broke through the wall and overwhelmed the town.
