Summary (tldr)

In this post I am going to attempt to convince you that today we have have the best standard of living and welbeing in the history of humanity because of Colonialism and Imperialism. I’m going to attempt to prove it with 17 examples

Wait is this just the west?

 

Definition

Before I start my sermon let’s agree what the meanings of these words are:

Imperialism: a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means.

Colonialism: the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

 

Colonialism – Wikipedia
What Is Colonialism? Definition and Examples (thoughtco.com)
What Is Colonialism and How Did It Arise? | World101 (cfr.org)

 

Acknowledgment of past injustice

•  Colonialism and Imperialism were wicked, immoral, cruel, and unethical. You can probably very easily explain 20 different reasons why without pausing for a sip of your Colonialist Latte for sins past, present, and even future. My response to your 20 points is that you can multiply that by any order of magnitude using just the number of exploited people. There are known horrors, and probably 100 times more undocumented horrors perpetrated on groups, and individuals, by an oppressive in power.
• However there is already a ton of articles that will clearly articulate this. I believe it is well known and understood through the mainstream narrative, but barely anything that acknowledges the present day benefits that many people enjoy.

While colonization is typically viewed negatively due to its often-disastrous history and similarity to imperialism, some countries have benefited from having been colonized. For example, leaders of modern Singapore—a British colony from 1826 to 1965—credit the “valuable aspects of colonial heritage” with the independent city-state’s impressive economic development. In many cases, being colonized gave underdeveloped or emerging countries immediate access to the burdening European trade market. As the major European nations’ need for natural resources grew ever greater during the industrial revolution, their colonized countries were able to sell them those materials for substantial profits.

 

I’m Grateful for Each of these Things

Ok Lets get started with the following table which summaries the benefits

Common Law

Private Property Rights

Banking and Economics

Trade and Commerce

Longevity

• Yay I get to live to 82yo if I belong to the OECD
• If it was 200 years ago I would have died at age 35

Healthcare: Injuries, sickness, mental health

Lifestyle

Infant Mortality

Job and Career Choices

Money and Banking

Education

Libraries

Life

• your life!
• this deserves it’s own heading and explanation
• muthawhaka one of your parent is from an imperialist power but you remain oblivious to it

Technology

• My Favourite thing …the toilet