A Man of his Time: the Scientific and Political Grounds for Kipling’s Imperialism

Abstract

Rudyard Kipling was, as George Orwell noted, “the prophet of British Imperialism in its expansionist phase”. In fact, and as can be anticipated from the title, rather than analysing Kipling’s theories and proposals, it is my intention in this article to address some of the most relevant discussions in the field of science and politics at the time, namely as far as imperialism and the biological theory of society are concerned. These often intersected and offer us an enlightening backdrop for understanding Kipling’s own visions of Empire and imperialism.