202410041451 Status: #idea Tags: #history #politics #institutions #british_empire #globalization # The British Empire liberalized many cultures Many of the cultures that the British Empire engaged with during colonialism had cultural practices that many would describe as harmful today. For instance, in some areas of India, widows were expected to burn themselves on their husbands’ funeral pyres. British-imposed cultural change in areas such as this substantially improved quality of life for large sections of the population. This may have had unintended negative consequence in the case of mass democracy, as the empire liberalized even further following WWI. Male universal suffrage and female partial suffrage was passed in 1918. Universal suffrage for men & women was passed in 1928: [[Mass democracy is incompatible with meritocracy]] [[The two main lines of criticism for the British Empire]] --- # References [[Empire_ the rise and demise of the British world order and the lessons for global power]] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_Kingdom#:~:text=In%201928%20the%20Conservative%20government,over%20the%20age%20of%2021. https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/universal-manhood-suffrage/