Didn't the British model of empire-building tend to institutionalize ethnic hatreds? The Brits tended to pit local groups against each other so that they could exercise control by being arbiters. This doesn't seem to have been a big success in promoting harmony in the long run.
I think Niall Ferguson should be under sedation in a locked ward.
Carl
^^^^^
CB: Yea, reportedly it was "divide and rule" not "unite and rule".
That's why Marxists have emphasized proletarian internationalism and have the slogan "Workers of the world , unite ! " - to overcome the divisions ( such as racism) that the imperialists and national capitalists introduced in order to rule.
On this, I think we ought to think like Marx again, "rethink" in that sense.