PHILIPPINES: Norway Neocolonialist

Replying to the charge made by Bienvenido Macario, Raśl Escalante says: "I lived in Norway for four years and it strikes me that the country as a whole should be labeled neo-colonialist. As far as I can tell, a country can only be colonialist if it has a state policy which promotes colonization. That is a far cry from Bienvenido's description of a single multinational operating in the interest of its stock-holders (and perhaps the local communities as Ronald suggested [although strip-mining tropical rainforests doesn't seem to be conducive to sustainable development]). I can think of few modern nations who are farther away from the colonialist-imperialist stereotype. The Vikings, however... they were great colonialists!"

My comment: I have a great respect for Norway, but the charge of economic neo-colonialiam is often heard in less developed countries. However, on balance I think the record of both kinds of colonialism is good. That does not apply to the nasty Vikings.

Ronald Hilton - 12/17/01