The corrupt military regime of Suharto plundered Indonesia for nearly thirty years with the active support of Britain and US and the grateful general showed his gratitude by creating favourable business climate for western companies to take their share of the loot. Suharto was ousted in 1998 but the damage was done to the concept of an equitable society by the concentration of economic and political power vesting in the hands of the few.
The sun did set on the British Empire. The Imperial edifice collapsed owing to the weight of anti-imperialist movements, imperial over stretch and the fatal erosion of its economic base after the Second World War. Even though Britain won the war against Germany, the British had overstrained themselves, " running down their gold and dollar reserves, wearing out their domestic machinery" and becoming increasingly dependent on American support to stay in fighting the war. [xvi] The Empire steadily declined after 1945. By the late 1960's most of British territories became independent countries.
The Empire collapsed and Britain's status in the world was greatly reduced to that of a second rate power. The political elite including the top echelons of the Foreign Office formulated the strategy of playing the second fiddle to US global interests.
The essence of Special Relationship is for Britain to align itself politically as a junior partner in an orbit of power predominantly under American aegis as a way of preserving some great power status. [xvii]
Britain plays a secondary role in supporting brutal family regimes in the Gulf States which maintain the oil order to favour Western (US and British interests). In the United Nations, Britain serves US interests by voting for US in the Security Council resolutions. In Economic forums, Britain aggressively pursues economic liberalization to aid US and British businesses. Along with US, Britain took part in wars in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria.
The British ruling elites including the New Labor seem to be basking in the romantic self delusion that the British Empire was a force of benevolence. They fail to see the heart of darkness of their imperialism: namely, racial hatred, obsession with color and their racial superiority.
For the many victims of British imperialism the sheer scale of violence inflicted on them was indeed puzzling. How could one human being be so brutal to another human being?
The imperial answer was brutally simple: empathy and civilized restraint only existed between human beings. People with dark skins are not humans-Period.
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