>>They may still be ruled by thugs, but those would be locally owned and operated, not in pay of foreign powers.
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>Well, if we're going to start saying everyone should have stayed where they were and not messed with anyone else or 'become an empire' or messed with other countries or lands, we'll have to include the Spanish, the Romans, the Vikings, the Greeks, the Russians, the Americans, the Mongols, and others like the Qing, Japanese, Arab (a couple), British, the Portuguese, the Ottoman, Nazi Germany, Assryian, Macedonian, Babylonian, and the list goes on an one...

I'd draw a fine line between those who claimed to do that in the name of the greatness of their country/king/emperor/nation, where they were at least honestly saying that they are on a conquest. On the other side of the line I'd put those who tried to justify the conquest with flimsy excuses like spreading some idea (The Word, civilization, liberty, democracy, free market, bla bla). The latter knew what they were doing was bad even in their own books, so they felt the need to cover it up with some excuse.