"the class which is the ruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling intellectual force." (C, 39)
This reading about Marx and ideology got me thinking about the British. What about the British, you may ask? Well, the British were a conquering society that traveled to various lands and established a rule over them. While they had their own bourgeoisie and aristocracy within English society, they were the dominating force when they made the journey to other lands they were conquering. They were the material and intellectual ruling force of those societies.
For example, the British established governmental rule over Trinidad & Tobago in 1802 after fighting for possession of the island nation from the Spanish. From that time, English setters flocked to the land, the monarchy governed the island, the school system was British, the religion of the nation was imposed on the islanders, and Trinidad became a mini sector of Britain in the Caribbean as many other islands of the time were.
What I'm looking to address here is not really the domination of Britain on Trinidad at the time but its longevity and the established ideology that the British left behind on the island. For example, despite achieving independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, Trinidad still uses the British educational system. In past, Britain embodied Marx's discussion about the material rulers being the intellectual rulers at the same time. In modern day, Trinidad is essentially still ruled by British ideology. 90% of their material products come from the UK to this day and the school system is regarded as stellar.
I have brought this idea up, especially about the school system, because I can see how ideology is established and lasts beyond its initial establishment. People in Trinidad and even those who were educated there through grade school before attending college in the States or the UK, such as my parents, definitely view the British school system with the highest regard.
Thus, through this reading I was thinking of the lasting ideology that Britain has imparted on all the nations it has governed and is still governing. It has established a solid hold on the culture of other nations because it has been such a dominant factor of history.
This reading about Marx and ideology got me thinking about the British. What about the British, you may ask? Well, the British were a conquering society that traveled to various lands and established a rule over them. While they had their own bourgeoisie and aristocracy within English society, they were the dominating force when they made the journey to other lands they were conquering. They were the material and intellectual ruling force of those societies.
For example, the British established governmental rule over Trinidad & Tobago in 1802 after fighting for possession of the island nation from the Spanish. From that time, English setters flocked to the land, the monarchy governed the island, the school system was British, the religion of the nation was imposed on the islanders, and Trinidad became a mini sector of Britain in the Caribbean as many other islands of the time were.
What I'm looking to address here is not really the domination of Britain on Trinidad at the time but its longevity and the established ideology that the British left behind on the island. For example, despite achieving independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, Trinidad still uses the British educational system. In past, Britain embodied Marx's discussion about the material rulers being the intellectual rulers at the same time. In modern day, Trinidad is essentially still ruled by British ideology. 90% of their material products come from the UK to this day and the school system is regarded as stellar.
I have brought this idea up, especially about the school system, because I can see how ideology is established and lasts beyond its initial establishment. People in Trinidad and even those who were educated there through grade school before attending college in the States or the UK, such as my parents, definitely view the British school system with the highest regard.
Consider: the ongoing realities of colonial power are an extension of the domination which you describe!
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