In the poem by Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden," why does he feel Europeans should colonize?

As the title of the poem suggests, Kipling believed it was the "burden," or duty, of white men, who he saw as culturally, technologically, and racially superior, to bring the "blessings" of civilization to non-whites around the world. He is specifically referring to the debate in the United States over whether that nation should annex the Philippines, recently taken from Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Kipling urges the United States to take...

As the title of the poem suggests, Kipling believed it was the "burden," or duty, of white men, who he saw as culturally, technologically, and racially superior, to bring the "blessings" of civilization to non-whites around the world. He is specifically referring to the debate in the United States over whether that nation should annex the Philippines, recently taken from Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Kipling urges the United States to take up its place among the great nations of the world by sending its young people, the "best ye breed," to the Philippines to "fill full the mouth of Famine/and bid the sickness cease" and build "ports ye shall not enter/and roads ye shall not tread."

Kipling believed that the Filipino people themselves, who he described in racialized terms as "half devil and half child," were incapable of understanding how these things would benefit them. The bringers of civilization would earn the "blame of those ye better/the hate of those ye guard." But it was worth it, he thought, because it would also earn the United States the respect of its peers--taking up the "white man's burden" was a way to, as mentioned above, to take its place among the powerful nations of the world.