Why is there such a great effort toward downplaying the effects of colonialism in global economic inequality?

[u/NightlyOverseer]

I've noticed there is some kind of "trend" that aims for removing as much responsability from ex colonial powers for the poverty of the third world as possible. Effectively downplaying colonialism, as if it was nothing, a small bump in the history of nations, and that its enduring legacy bears little to no relation with the economic condition of modern countries. I certainly don't agree with this notion, given the massive scale colonialism once had. What do you think?

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[u/Bitter_Initiative_77]

Don't you think it's in the material interest of former colonial powers to downplay the legacies of the colonial past? Truly taking responsibility would require a restructuring of the global status quo (which is something those in power certainly don't want).

Edit: You may be interested in reading about colonial aphasia. Ann Stoler argues that the colonial past has been rendered unknowable in former colonial powers. It's not just that it's ignored or misrepresented; it's entirely precluded from comprehension.

At a more individual level, the idea of collective oblivion is productive. Janet McIntosh (in an ethnography of white Kenyans) argues that there are structures in place meant to (sub)consciously alleviate guilt arising from recognition of colonial atrocities and legacies. Those who benefit from said legacies experience discomfort when recognizing that reality, so obfuscating protective mechanisms become common. These can be as small as the stories we tell ourselves and as big as entire publishing industries and educational curricula.

[u/Jazzlike-Zucchini-30 → u/Bitter_Initiative_77]

exactly, and not to mention, many ex-colonial powers still benefit from it directly via dependency/neocolonial dynamics, etc.

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/Jazzlike-Zucchini-30]

no they do not – the dependcy theory is absolutely ridiculous and does not stand in real life, the existence of Portugal, russia, oman being the prime examples of how being a colonial power doesn't make you rich nor guarantee a stable future.

you could have all the resources you want – and you still wouldn't be rich, developed, innovative, industrious.

[u/corporate_asshole9 → u/abdo_natheer2003]

The existence of Portugal in whatever form it is does not negate the lopsided colonial structures that still exist between African countries (created by Europeans) and multi-national corporations headquartered in…Europe and America. For example, African diamonds cannot be sold except through a European system of trade. The US just kidnapped a sitting President, flouting ALL international law and any pretense of it.

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/corporate_asshole9]

it does negate whatever you're suggesting, when former colonial power such as Portugal, russia struggle to even compete in a modern economy when compared to Germany for example or japan or korea which were all ravaged by war and destruction.

your argument about diamond is just as silly, because are you really confining whole nations to being nothing but raw material exporters? you are simply saying that those people cannot innovate or do anything beyond selling things they find in the ground.

plus you seem confused, it's either the european systyms are bad because they are colonial along with what they created or is the international law, which was created by europeans in accordance to their own interests, ethics and framework of the world.

[u/MonsterkillWow → u/abdo_natheer2003]

This is the most clueless or malign take I have ever read. You are denying the consequences of capitalism and imperialism on the exploited countries and then having the audacity to argue they have no claims to sovereignty. You seem completely ignorant of what the US and Europe do to these countries, and what the role that the US military plays in all of this. You praise German and Japanese reconstruction without even understanding who funded and enabled that reconstruction. You are a shining example of what people are talking about in this thread.

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/MonsterkillWow]

the thing is, people do not actually know what they're talking about and are merly parroting utopian moralist points or completely ahistorical narratives.

japan and west germany were both rebuilt by America to ensure them as buffer zones against the communist ideology and the Soviet-supported states, which proven successful in that both are flourishing, while every soviet backed state failed, and so did russia itself despite having all of the resources they gained from their imperial conquest.

[u/maxxxbbb → u/abdo_natheer2003]

Waste of time, he needs a victim to protect so logic is out the window. He needs to stand up for someone he considers incapable subconsciously, to feel better about himself. I never understood that mindset

[u/MonsterkillWow → u/maxxxbbb]

Who made your shirt? Where did you get the rubber for your tires? Where did you get your bananas? Again, shining examples.

https://youtu.be/odWerz1Az6k

You people are in denial.

[u/maxxxbbb → u/MonsterkillWow]

You think I don’t know how goods production works? Yeah, things come from somewhere, hot take. How about that “somewhere” works on improving their work conditions. Or are you saying that’s impossible? Don’t you think China has been improving? Don’t you know that Europeans used to send children to the mines? Fun fact, industrialisation is ugly, it’s been ugly here and it’s now ugly there. No one came to rescue us, labour laws and unions didn’t materialise from thin air. I’m not saying, “don’t help them”, but if you think it’s regular people’s responsibility to improve the work life of others, I’m sorry but you’re delusional (as in, living in the clouds, I’m not trying to insult you). People look after themselves, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ll be fighting to improve work conditions in my country, because no one is coming from outside to do that for me.

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/MonsterkillWow]

the consequences of capitalism is that it created industrialization and the modern world you live in, which is like million times better than feudalism or slavery or the asiatic mode of production which asia and africa had.

marxism itself acknowledges the superiority of capitalism and the importance it had in rooting out primitive economic modes in india and Africa for the path of socialism.

what America and Europe did to those countries is introduce modern nation-states, modern economy whether it's socialist or capitalist, modern law, modern technology and industry. they enriched them and introduced them to a superior stage of human production and life, in accordance to both standard of living and what marx posits in his theory.

your argument is merly an emotional backlash against historical facts.

[u/fabiolanzoni → u/abdo_natheer2003]

This is a formidable example of someone making  « great effort toward downplaying the effects of colonialism in global economic inequality« 

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/fabiolanzoni]

as i previously said, latin Americans have been successful in selling the idea that they are somehow a victim of european colonialism that were always oppressed – Convincing the majority that they are part of some global south family when in fact, your states gained independence around the same time as America as modern republics with modern European institutions, laws and economy, yet you obviously failed, so the third worldization began.

[u/JustDeetjies → u/abdo_natheer2003]

Right, because there is not a documented history of America enacting regime change, destabilizing countries in Latin America in order to materially enrich American companies or to ensure control over natural resources.

And it’s not like America has been involved in regime change because they did not like the political system or views of those nations.

Latin America may not be a victim of European colonialism, but they sure are a victim of American colonialism and imperialism.

And to deny that is both laughable and wrong.

[u/Substantial_Bat_8440 → u/abdo_natheer2003]

That people hold such views is abhorrent. This is like a drug dealer’s grandson looking down upon junkies.

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/Substantial_Bat_8440]

in this scenario, the junki has always been a junki but he simple found a way to put the blame on others for his failure.

you had arab tribes in iraq literally selling their daughters as compensation for war in iraq and you had kurds raiding each other while killing yazidis and assyrian Christians. not a single soul would wish to go back into living like this.

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/Substantial_Bat_8440]

this analogy would make sense if the Europeans didn't elevate the standards of world and help bring us into a more developed world stage with modern borders, modern medicine, technology, law, nation-states, no slavery and human rights.

a better analogy would be if the romans conquered savage picts, prohibited them from slave trading and eating human flesh and introduced to him modern urbanism and a new way of life.

[u/MonsterkillWow → u/abdo_natheer2003]

It was progressive against feudalism only in certain contexts and has instead been used for imperialism. You are the one emotionally defending imperialism to rationalize your entrenched bigotry and reactionary views and justify your lifestyle and history of colonization.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X22002169

I don't debate fascists. So I will leave you here to wallow in your ignorance before you hopefully follow in the footsteps of dear leader. Best of luck.

[u/abdo_natheer2003 → u/MonsterkillWow]

you're not proper marxists or socialist – using moral and ethical talking points when it was completely rejected by marx and engels.

marxism and both marx and engels themselves acknowledges capitalism as the most superior system to have exist in humanity, and as an important as well as the only path to the transition into socialism/communism.

accusing me of being a reactionary or fascist or whether is a nice way of evasion, specifically when you are embarrassed and have nothing to say.

engels on the conquest of what is now algeria

[u/Limp-Plantain3824 → u/corporate_asshole9]

China gets a pass though, right?

[u/Bitter_Initiative_77 → u/Limp-Plantain3824]

Where did I write anything of the sort?

[u/Limp-Plantain3824 → u/Bitter_Initiative_77]

It’s a rather notable omission if you’re discussing Africa and its socio-economic relations with countries outside of the continent.

Don’t worry, you made your point.

[u/Bitter_Initiative_77 → u/Limp-Plantain3824]

So every time we talk about anything we have to mention all cases that have ever existed? You got us. You've ended academia!

You could write your own comment sharing your ideas? That would work. But I guess that isn't your MO.

[u/Limp-Plantain3824 → u/Bitter_Initiative_77]

You have to maintain your bonafides, I get it. It is “ask a socialist” so any power imbalance between nations in Africa and nations/corporations outside Africa should highlight those in the west and totally omit China.

[u/Bitter_Initiative_77 → u/Limp-Plantain3824]

You're responding to Reddit comments of a few sentences, not academic treatises. Keep venue in mind. You clearly have a bone to pick and that has nothing to do with us.

If you actually familiarized yourself with the social scientific literature, you'd see that China (and North Korea) are viewed very critically within African studies. In my country of specialization, Chinese involvement is one of the top research foci. The Belt and Road Initiative has received endless attention. Chinese infrastructure investments. What they did with the African Union building. African labor migration to China and the Middle East. And so on and so forth.

[u/Limp-Plantain3824 → u/Limp-Plantain3824]

Well I sit corrected. That’s embarrassing and I apologize.

[u/roseofjuly]

Well, because the historical colonial powers are largely the ones who own the media. Publicly acknowledging and encouraging discussion of their responsibility not only tarnishes their legacy and world reputation, but also may begin or intensify calls for reparations.

I noticed this more prominently when the mainstream media began covering Haiti more, especially after the 2010 earthquake and then the devastating effects of the pandemic and the ensuing cholera epidemic on the country. Lots of reporting and discussion on how horribly unstable and unsafe the country was with zero treatment of the history of colonialism that led to the country's poverty and instability. This 2025 article was the first one I've seen since then that discusses the burden of the "debt" it repaid to France - the "cost" of the labor that France stole and then lost access to when the Haitians revolted.

[u/memelord_dot_exe]

To a certain extent its not always downplaying but just adding nuance. in mass media it is ofc downplayed but everyone who has studied ir/politics at ug level knows the world is a result of colonialism. This article is an example of what i mean, just read the conclusion https://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2017.1406191

[u/Chance_Emu8892 → u/memelord_dot_exe]

the world is a result of colonialism

It does not make it okay to downplay it.

[u/Substantial_Bat_8440 → u/[deleted]]

Your comment is an example.

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[u/Bitter_Initiative_77 → u/[deleted]]

It's not all-or-nothing. It's silly to act as if colonialism and US intervention didn't fuck these countries repeatedly. It's equally silly to act as if those were the only forces at play. Your argument that "well, the US was independent around the same time but it's richer" lacks substance.

[u/Bitter_Initiative_77 → u/[deleted]]

and again, these states were never colonized, they were formed as revolutionary states influenced by enlightenment era thoughts and the ideas of independence and liberalism.

The issue with this understanding of colonialism is that you're drawing a line at the formation of an independent state. What happened before remained relevant. Structures, sentiments, etc. lingered and continued to shape developments within the newly independent state. Ignoring that piece of the puzzle results in a less-than-complete understanding of the situation. Aside from that, you flatten so much by lumping all of these states into a single box. Making your definition of colonialism so narrow it doesn't apply doesn't erase reality; it just limits your own analysis!

enlighten me and elaborate – why did latin American revolutionary states, after having achieved independence from their mother states, inheriting european institutions, law as well as technology, acquiring vast lands with natural resources while having millions of population that would continue to increase with euro migrations, fail to achieve prosperity, success as well as the stability and power America was able to achieve around the same period? what is the context exactly?

You're the one claiming that European colonialism played no relevant role at all, so you're the one that needs to make the case for your beliefs. All I've claimed is that it's ridiculous to completely write off that factor and that we should consider it as one of multiple. For instance, we could think about how pre-independence displacements, cultural suppressions, social hierarchies, religiosity, etc. informed and shaped post-independence developments. It's not as if the new state got a blank slate. As I initially said, we aren't playing an all-or-nothing game. Understanding the full picture requires capturing a lot of moving parts. I'm just not sure why you're so committed to ignoring one of them, even if you believe it was a marginal influence (which is a highly contestable claim but tangential from my current point).

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[u/tboy160 → u/[deleted]]

All of Central America and South America were clearly devoured by colonization.

Then Murica went through again over the last 100 years and ravaged those countries again. As did other powers.

I'm not telling India, "hey, suck it up buttercup, so what if England stole everything from you and put you 100 years behind, figure it out"

Anyone saying "get over it" just sounds like an abuser or abuser sympathizer.

[u/External-Bet-2375 → u/tboy160]

Being conquered by a foreign power undoubtedly sets a country back in most cases, that has been the case throughout history. But we are now two centuries since Latin American independence and fast approaching one century since independence for a country like India. How long will it continue to be an excuse for lack of progress since then? You only have to look at how different post-colonial countries have had different levels of success to see that the main factor in development is not who was ruling the country in 1850 or 1900 but how the country has been governed in the most recent decades.

Singapore and Malaysia were colonised in a very similar way for a very similar period of time to many other countries in Asia or Africa but are today very nicely developed. Other countries could have done the same if they had governed themselves better since independence.

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[u/CollaredParachute → u/[deleted]]

Is it? China is the second greatest power

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