Final answer:
The White Man's Burden overlooked the existing autonomy, cultures, and civilizations of colonized peoples, framing imperialism as a benevolent and civilizing mission. It ignored the negative consequences of colonization, such as cultural erasure and economic exploitation, and promoted a false sense of paternalism and moral superiority of the West.
Step-by-step explanation:
The ideology of The White Man's Burden did not take into account the autonomy, cultures, and civilizations of the peoples it deemed in need of saving. This concept, encapsulated in Rudyard Kipling's pro-imperialist poem, justified colonialism by suggesting a moral and civilizational superiority of Europeans and Americans over colonized peoples. This attitude overlooked the complexities of local governance, social structures, spiritual beliefs, and cultural practices that existed long before imperial interventions.
Moreover, it ignored the prevailing notion of Eurocentric superiority and the economic motivations behind imperialism. The poem and its ideology presented colonization as a benevolent act rather than recognizing it as a form of cultural erasure and economic exploitation. European and American imperialists viewed themselves as engaged in a civilizing mission, but they failed to recognize the inherent dignity and worth of the peoples they were subjugating.
Viewpoints like Kipling's obscured the reality of colonial rule, which was marked by coercion and violence. The ideas of the White Man's Burden and the Civilizing Mission conveniently rationalized the expansionist policies that led to the annexation of territories like the Philippines following the Spanish-American War, often in stark contrast to the resistance and struggles of the indigenous populations.