Editing Dinesh D'Souza (section)

====''What's So Great About America''====
In the second chapter of his 2002 book, ''What's So Great About America'', D'Souza argues that while [[colonialism]] was terrible, it had the unintended consequence of lifting third world countries up to Western civilization. D'Souza writes, "I realize that in saying these things I am opening the door for my critics, and the incorrigible enemies of the West, to say that I am justifying colonialism ... This is the purest nonsense. What I am doing is pointing out a historical fact: despite the corrupt and self-serving motives of [its] practitioners ... colonialism ... proved to be the mechanism that brought millions of nonwhite people into the orbit of Western freedom." He holds up the European colonization of India as an example, arguing that in the long run colonization was beneficial for India, because it introduced Western law, universities, infrastructure, and the like, while effectively ending [[human sacrifice]], the practice of [[Sati (practice)|''Sati'']], and other "charming indigenous customs".<ref>{{cite book|title=What's So Great About America|author=Dinesh D'Souza|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whatssogreatabou00dsou_0/page/56 56–59, 174]|date=2002|publisher=the Penguin Group|isbn=978-0-14-200301-5|url=https://archive.org/details/whatssogreatabou00dsou_0/page/56}}</ref>

In a review of the book, economist [[Thomas Sowell]] wrote that D'Souza's book exposed the fallacies and hypocrisies of various criticisms of the United States by the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]], "domestic [[multiculturalism|multiculturalist]] cults," those who seek [[reparations for slavery]], and the worldwide intelligentsia. According to Sowell: "Perhaps it takes somebody from outside to truly appreciate all the blessings that too many native-born Americans take for granted. D'Souza understands how rare—sometimes unique—these blessings are."<ref name="sowell">{{cite web|first=Thomas|last=Sowell|url=http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1639|title=What's So Great About America?|publisher=Capitalism Magazine|date=June 7, 2002|access-date=October 1, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030613005322/http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1639|archive-date=June 13, 2003}}</ref> Sowell also wrote that D'Souza challenges the notion that all world cultures are equal: "D'Souza challenges one of the central premises of today's intelligentsia: The equality of all cultures. 'If one begins with the multicultural premise that all cultures are equal, then the world as it is makes very little sense,' he says. Some cultures have completely outperformed others in providing the things that all people seek—health, food, housing, security, and the amenities of life."<ref name=sowell/>