The popular left-wing shibboleth that Western nations grew rich off of the backs of colonial subjects and slaves may not be true. A recent study by Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic Affairs found that colonialism had little overall effect on the British economy and that slavery may have made the nation poorer.
“Profits earned from overseas engagement were large enough to make some individuals very rich, but they were not large enough to seriously affect macroeconomic aggregates like Britain’s investment rate and capital formation,” said Niemietz.
“The transatlantic slave trade was no more important for the British economy than brewing or sheep farming, but we do not usually hear the claim that ‘brewing financed the Industrial Revolution’ or ‘sheep farming financed the Industrial Revolution,’” he continued.
“Colonialism and slavery were not zero-sum games that benefited the colonizers at the expense of the colonized. It was more like a negative-sum game, which hurt the latter without really benefiting the former,” Niemetz explained.
THE REPARATIONS DEBATE.
The findings come as calls by left-wing extremists for slavery “reparations” grow in the UK, U.S., and elsewhere. In the UK, over 100 families whose ancestors allegedly benefited from the slave trade have pledged to pay some form of reparations. In the U.S., multiple states, including New York, have established reparations committees. In March, the Boston Reparations Task Force demanded that “white churches” pay $15 billion in reparations.
Some Democratic politicians have been particularly vocal in support of such measures. Last month, freshman Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said black people should be exempt from paying taxes because of slavery. Earlier this year, Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman called on the government to cough up $14 trillion in reparations for black Americans.
Last year, the Caricom group of Caribbean nations demanded that Europeans pay them $33 trillion as an “apology” for slavery.
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