挑燈看劍: Travel

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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Imperialism

幾年前拜訪一個南非客戶，父子在開普敦經營一間四十多人的工廠，生産卡式收音機（仍然生産卡式收音機是一奇，在南非生産則更奇！），也從中國進口代理其他電子產品。祖籍英國，幾代前移居到來。

Cape Town是一個很美麗的城市，氣候宜人，在海邊的餐廳坐著喝著，感覺像地中海的一個歐洲城市，一點也感覺不到非洲。可是客戶卻告誡晚上切忌亂走，用膳須坐計程車點到點直達海邊，可見治安並不太好。據説約翰内斯堡的治安更糟。“南非的HIV帶菌者，佔總人口的百分之十”，在接機後的途中，他如是說。我想，繼鑽石和黃金，HIV應是南非的第三大象徵。

當時有點困惑，但不便請教他：爲何會有英國人移居南非？今天讀到羅素《Freedom Versus Organization》Imperialism的一節，終於得到部分答案：

"Though it involved some genuine idealism, in daily life imperialism was usually a more mundane affair, with straightforward economic motives. These were somewhat different in those who emigrated and in those who merely invested money. Various reasons caused the upper and professional classes to favour extensions of the Empire. Young men of no great ability, brought up in habits of social superiority, and finding society at home becoming democratic, were glad of the chance of earning a living and exercising command in regions inhabited by 'inferior' races. Overcrowding, industrialism, and legality made England seem dull to adventurous dispositions, and hateful to those who loved solitude and beautiful surroundings. A considerable number of men went to the colonies only to escape from the ugliness and cramped conditions of modern English life, and found themselves unintentional empire-builders..."