The currently poor countries are rich. That is why colonialists still try to control them.

Michael Parenti dismissed the “civilizing mission” narrative. He characterized colonialism as:

Systematic theft: A mechanism to seize land, labour, and resources for imperial profit, resulting in deliberate underdevelopment.

Cultural extermination: Annihilating indigenous cultures to cultivate submission.

Domination through violence: Brutality was not coincidental but a crucial means of control.

Fragment and govern: Inciting ethnic conflict to thwart collective resistance.

Neo-colonialism: Following formal independence, economic and military dominance perpetuates exploitation.

For Parenti, colonialism represented aggressive capitalist growth, establishing enduring global disparities.

“The wealth of imperial nations belongs to us, the poverty of the Global South reflects our poverty.”

Adonis Diaries