white man's burden

white man's burden

n.

The supposed or presumed responsibility of white people to govern and impart their culture to nonwhite people, often advanced as a justification for European colonialism.

---

[From "The White Man's Burden", a poem by Rudyard Kipling.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

white man's burden - the supposed responsibility of the white race to provide care for their non-white subjects duty, obligation, responsibility - the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force; "we must instill a sense of duty in our children"; "every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty"- John D.Rockefeller Jr