Final answer:
The justification for imperialism was complex, rooted in notions of racial superiority, economic gain, and a civilizing mission, with Europeans and Americans believing they had a duty to civilize non-industrial societies, often covering exploitative economic interests.
Step-by-step explanation:
The thinking that justified imperialism was multifaceted and included economic, religious, and cultural dimensions. At the core of imperialist ideology were beliefs in racial superiority, economic necessity, and a civilizing mission. Europeans and Americans felt that it was their duty to bring their supposedly superior way of life to other parts of the world. According to this viewpoint, industrialized nations, by virtue of their advanced technology and production capabilities, had both the right and responsibility to conquer and 'civilize' non-industrial societies.
This is evident in Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden," which suggests that imposing European governance and cultural norms on colonized peoples was a burden carried by the colonizers for the benefit of the colonized. The economic motive is also highlighted by the imperial powers' desire to control resources and markets, seen in the scramble for raw materials and the establishment of new markets in colonized territories.
Moreover, social theories such as Social Darwinism provided a pseudo-scientific rationale for imperial conquest, justifying domination as a natural and beneficial outcome of the struggle for survival among different human societies. Despite the often brutal realities of imperialism, some proponents genuinely believed that they were improving the societies they dominated by spreading Christianity, Western education, and health care. However, this belief frequently served as a cover for more exploitative economic interests.