The Historical Facts of U.S. Colonization of the MindHans Morgenthau, an American political scientist, believed that “…the most successful
of imperialistic policies. It aims not at the conquest of territory or at the control of economic life, but at the conquest and control of the minds of men….” By deconstructing the collective cognition in target nations and implanting American values, the United
States hopes to achieve colonization of the mind in “invisible domains”, thereby establishing the underpinning bedrock of its hegemonic system.
1.1 Conceptual Characteristics of U.S. Colonization
of the Mind In the wake of WWII, national liberation movements swept across the globe, numerous independent nation-states sprang up like bamboo shoots after the rain, the global colonial system established by European powers crumbled, and the world entered the
post-colonial era. As the new global hegemon, the United States discovered that, faced with numerous “awakened” nationalist nation-states, relying solely on “hard power” in the forms of political domination, economic control, military deterrence, among others, could not establish or sustain a lasting and extensive colonial rule; instead, employing “soft power” such as culture and values would enable it to reap higher colonial rewards
at lower costs.
Compelling global “voluntary” compliance and subservience under a sentimental veil—this is the “mind colonization” U.S. style. Different from normal human intellectual exchange, it constitutes mental domination predicated on and perpetuating inequality, mainly manifested in the following forms:
and ideology. This coercive mental restructuring often results in a serious identity crisis,
cultural aphasia, and ideological chaos.
