Ethnocentrism in European Cultures

Ethnocentrism in European Cultures

One of the most monumental ethnocentric focused movements of all time was spawned in the center of Europe with the rise of Nazi Germany. There are many examples of ethnocentrism that can be found in european history and present day Europe wether it be the conquest of Latin America, the imperialistic ethnocentric chess match that was known as the Scramble for Africa, or the present day rise of far right conservative nationalist parties with ethnocentric values in response to large immigrant populations within multiple european countries.

Firstly when examining ethnocentrism in Europe you must first understand some of the origins of european ethnocentrism. While all cultures are in some regard inherently ethnocentric we see leaps and bounds in that ethnocentrism when looking at european history through imperialism, slavery, and the concept of modernity. The european myth of needing to modernize the rest of the world beginning with the Spanish conquest of Mexico lead to a way of thinking that modernity ultimately gives an excuse for irrational violence (Dussel). The idea of conquest and bringing modernity to civilizations that european conquerers viewed as lesser is the very definition of ethnocentrism. What you see in colonized populations that fell to the military strength of European powers is not a situation in which the colonized population is allowed to hold onto their beliefs and cultural identity. Ultimately if colonized populations did not cooperate with the westernization process and the idea of western modernity they were met with violence and referred to as barbarians and uncivilized. This policy of ethnocentrism laid the foundation for a world in which we see the wealthiest 20 percent of the globe primarily Western Europe and the U.S. which was created by descendants of European settlers control 82 percent of the worlds resources all while the poorest 60 percent of the world control a meager 5.8 percent of the...