Naturally, any conqueror is going to play one group against another. For example, I think about 90% of the forces that the British used to control India were Indians. [...] It was true when the American forces conquered the Philippines, killing a couple hundred thousand people. They were being helped by Philippine tribes, exploiting conflicts among local groups. There were plenty who were going to side with the conquerors. But forget the Third World, just take a look at the Nazi conquest of nice, civilized Western Europe, places like Belgium and Holland and France. Who was rounding up the Jews? Local people, often. In France they were rounding them up faster than the Nazis could handle them. The Nazis also used Jews to control Jews. If the United States was conquered by the Russians, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Elliott Abrams and the rest of them would probably be working for the invaders, sending people off to concentration camps. They're the right personality types.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Conquerors rely on locals to help control populations, as seen in India, the Philippines, and Nazi Europe.
- In plain terms
- Invaders use local people to help rule.
- What can you take from it?
- Local collaboration helps conquerors succeed.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do people aid conquerors?
- How is power maintained?
Another view
It downplays coercion and fear in collaboration.
More from Noam Chomsky
Non-violent resistance activities cannot succeed against an enemy that is able freely to use violence. That's pretty obvious. You can't have non-violent resist…
Permalink to quote #68 A good way of finding out who won a war, who lost a war, and what the war was about, is to ask who's cheering and who's depressed after it's over - this can gi…
Permalink to quote #70 Of course, everybody says they're for peace. Hitler was for peace. Everybody is for peace. The question is: what kind of peace?
Permalink to quote #67
Related quotes
The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride th…
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan quote #11 Conquest is the missionary of valor, and the hard impact of military virtues beats meanness out of the world.
Walter BagehotWalter Bagehot quote #35 Freebooter, n. A conqueror in a small way of business, whose annexations lack of the sanctifying merit of magnitude.
Ambrose BierceAmbrose Bierce quote #36