It was never about "liberalizing the world". That was just the argument used to persuade those who valued liberalization. Like the British Empire got religious Britains on board by focusing on the sending of missionaries that would Christianize the world. But the expansion of the Empire was not done to send missionaries.
The idea of liberalizing -- e.g. converting to Western values -- was the more modern version of this missionary argument, but it's basically the same argument, and really the same target audience, just shifted in time.
Shockingly, most of the world has kept their previous religion, although there are liberal inroads/enclaves scattered all over, particularly in coastal trading cities.
The idea of liberalizing -- e.g. converting to Western values -- was the more modern version of this missionary argument, but it's basically the same argument, and really the same target audience, just shifted in time.
Shockingly, most of the world has kept their previous religion, although there are liberal inroads/enclaves scattered all over, particularly in coastal trading cities.