Final answer:
Kipling's 'The White Man's Burden' espouses imperialist ideology by suggesting it is the white conquerors' duty to civilize non-white peoples as a moral obligation, despite the ingratitude and resistance from those being colonized.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding 'The White Man's Burden'::
The speaker in Rudyard Kipling's poem, 'The White Man's Burden,' believes that to take up the white man's burden is a responsibility to civilize non-white peoples. The poem implies that white conquerors are justified in their imperialism because they are supposedly bringing civilization, Christianity, and order to 'savage' lands.
This concept, steeped in racism and colonial attitudes, was used to rationalize the domination and exploitation of countries in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific by Western powers. Kipling's work encourages the United States to follow in the footsteps of European imperial powers, mask the harsh realities of imperialism with a veneer of benevolence, and accept the ingratitude (the 'blame' and 'hate') of the colonized peoples as a part of this burden.
Not only is the poem an endorsement of imperialism, but it also portrays the occupied peoples as half 'devil' and half 'child,' suggesting they are both morally inferior and immature, necessitating guidance from Western powers. The poem contributed to the narrative that colonization was a moral obligation rather than a pursuit of economic enrichment and strategic power.