Re:Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is...
by croon on Thursday October 08, 2026 @08:16AM
(#50004896)
> Your argument ironically refutes the original point.
Only if assuming that colonialism is distinct from capitalism. And if not, your original comparison is not applicable.
You edited your comment, but reversed your argument from citing a poor Bengal village as an example of a society that "doesn't incentivize growth" to an argument that the colonization tragedy was that they prevented growth instead.
> So England went from being twice as rich per capita as Bengal, before colonization, to being more than 10 times as rich at the time of independence.
Are you arguing that the British were successful due to capitalism or colonialism, or are they linked?
> Direct revenue extraction was relatively low
First off, "relatively low" is doing some heavy lifting here. Further, "Direct" ignores the direct extraction from the land taxes being used (indirect) to buy commodities in turn exported to Europe, meaning Bengal paid for the privilege of giving away local resources.
> and the famines were structural in the region for thousands of years.
EIC maintained tax collection and grain hoarding during the 1770 Bengal famine, leading to tax revenues in 1771 that were actually higher than in 1768 despite millions dying.
Only if assuming that colonialism is distinct from capitalism. And if not, your original comparison is not applicable.
You edited your comment, but reversed your argument from citing a poor Bengal village as an example of a society that "doesn't incentivize growth" to an argument that the colonization tragedy was that they prevented growth instead.
> So England went from being twice as rich per capita as Bengal, before colonization, to being more than 10 times as rich at the time of independence.
Are you arguing that the British were successful due to capitalism or colonialism, or are they linked?
> Direct revenue extraction was relatively low
First off, "relatively low" is doing some heavy lifting here. Further, "Direct" ignores the direct extraction from the land taxes being used (indirect) to buy commodities in turn exported to Europe, meaning Bengal paid for the privilege of giving away local resources.
> and the famines were structural in the region for thousands of years.
EIC maintained tax collection and grain hoarding during the 1770 Bengal famine, leading to tax revenues in 1771 that were actually higher than in 1768 despite millions dying.