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What positive and negative arguments does Kipling offer in his defence of Western imperialism in "The White Man's Burden?"

In "The White Man's Burden," Kipling puts forward a number of positive arguments to encourage empire-building. In the fourth line, for example, Kipling suggests that the colonised people are in genuine need of rescuing ("to serve your captives' need"). So, by going abroad, the imperialists are, in fact, doing the native people a great service.


In addition, in lines 15 and 16, Kipling emphasises the financial benefits of imperialism:



To seek another's profit/And work another's gain.



By this, he means that imperialists should exploit the natural resources and labour potential of lands abroad. This will bring them great financial rewards as well as creating a strong work ethic among the native people.


Imperialism does, however, come at a cost and Kipling outlines a number of negative arguments.  In lines 2 and 3, for instance, Kipling admits that the imperialists must prepare to separate from their families when they colonise a country abroad ("Go send your sons to exile"). Furthermore, the people they encounter will have strange customs and beliefs and may be difficult to control, as we see in the following line:



Your new-caught sullen peoples/ Half-devil and half-child.



Finally, Kipling also refers to the negative impact that imperialism can have on a person's reputation. He does this in the final two lines of the poem when he talks about the "judgement" of peers. Kipling was, therefore, very aware that many people were opposed to imperialism but he believed that the positives of this practice far outweighed the negatives.

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