Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy. By James Midgley and David Piachaud Eds.

Midgley, James, and David Piachaud, eds.. Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011. xii + 211 pages. Cloth, $110.00.

Despite changes in the international system, the fundamental historical pattern has stayed consistent during the colonial and post-colonial world. Colonization is defined differently to reflect the type of foreign power that was imposed on weaker societies. However, colonialism is said to be a policy or power, which the powerful exert on weak or indigenous societies. Colonizers tended to shape the way of life of the oppressed, including their institutions, language, and religion. Their power and policies were discriminatory, abusive, and challenging for the colonized societies. The rules of the colonizers designed in their "home country" were imposed upon and adopted by the indigenous societies, which were forced to accept those rules and administrative structures as if they were ordained and mandated.