IMPERIALISM

Imperialism has a long history pretty much everywhere, especially during the late 19th century, which became known as the Age of Imperialism. The United States is no exception, as we have a history of encroaching on and then subjugating groups such as the Native Americans, Hawaiians, and Mexicans. Though our territorial holdings have declined in recent years, we still maintain a large political and economic influence in certain areas around the world. Modern imperialism refers to aggressive foreign policy in the name of "spreading democracy." America's past and present are steeped in examples of imperialism, as is the case in most developed nations, so it's no surprise that Yevgeny Zamyatin's depiction of the future includes imperialism.

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One State's mission to colonize space may seem like a stretch to us today, but I suspect that that is just because we have yet to find concrete evidence of life elsewhere in the universe. If we ever do, you can bet that we will be building our own Integral spaceship. The spacecraft's engineer, D-503, puts it best in his own words:

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With no more foreign cultures left to influence and bully, we must look to the stars. The rebel group MEPHI could thus be seen as an anti-imperialist group. They try to hijack the Integral in order to stop One State from achieving their imperialist goals because they believe that the society is not worthy of being shared with (or forced upon) any other lifeforms. 

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While we don't yet have the technology to interact with aliens, Zamyatin's idea that once we do have that ability, we will try to control and "enlighten" them, is very in line with most developed nations' current foreign policy.

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