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There is a 2017 paper by Utsa Patnaik[1] where she comes up with a figure of GBP 9.2 trillion, which is about $45 trillion[2] based on historical exchange rates

by sinyug 5y ago

There is a 2017 paper by Utsa Patnaik[1] where she comes up with a figure of GBP 9.2 trillion, which is about $45 trillion[2] based on historical exchange rates. Shashi Tharoor has written a book on what the British did to India.[3] This is based on his speech on the reparations question at a 2015 debate at the Oxford Union Society.[4] 1. Revisiting the 'Drain', or Transfers from India to Britain in the Context of Global Diffusion of Capitalism (Agrarian and Other Histories, 2017, Tulika Books) https://cup.columbia.edu/book/agrarian-and-other-histories/9789382381952 https://cup.columbia.edu/book/agrarian-and-other-histories/9... 2. British Raj siphoned out $45 trillion from India: Utsa Patnaik Interview. https://www.livemint.com/Companies/HNZA71LNVNNVXQ1eaIKu6M/British-Raj-siphoned-out-45-trillion-from-India-Utsa-Patna.html https://www.livemint.com/Companies/HNZA71LNVNNVXQ1eaIKu6M/Br... 3. An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India. 2017. Aleph. https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/07/era-darkness-british-empire-india.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/07/er... 4. Britain Does Owe Reparations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCgBQFhQGf0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCgBQFhQGf0

rramadass 5y ago
I was about to post the same response but you beat me to it. As a follow up to (4) above, watch Shashi Tharoor's longer speech on the devastation and mess that the British left in India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5ykS-_-CI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5ykS-_-CI Also read the old book Empire in Asia, How We Came by It: A Book Of Confessions by William McCullagh Torrens.
- sinyug 5y ago
  Will do. History is something that I started looking into somewhat recently. Ian Morris's Why the West Rules-For Now is what I am reading currently.
imtringued 5y ago
>Economist Utsa Patnaik says West should set aside a portion of its gross domestic product for unqualified annual transfers to developing countries Foreign aid hasn't worked and it's the usual political "pork" problem. The best you can do is just introduce a UBI whose only goal is to redistribute wealth. When you think about it is quite logical. US Citizens vote -> US government (with voting error) -> decides on foreign aid size and recipients -> inefficient allocation & room for corruption -> Indian citizens vote (voting error again) -> fiscal stimulus -> infrastructure and jobs programs -> inefficient allocation & room for corruption -> indirect benefit to indian citizens By voting error I mean the difference between what people want and what the election results end up as. USA citizens may want more than 2 parties, but the voting system only allows 2 parties, leading to a huge voting error. Non voters could not find a desirable party, which is also a form of voting error. When you consider the purpose of the democratic system the entire idea is that people get equal representation, a UBI gives everyone perfectly equal economic representation with no room for inefficient allocation or corruption (unavoidable in practice) nor the necessity of a perfect voting system that elects a government that perfectly represents your interest (impossible in practice). The problem I haven't addressed is the funding side. The USA may only be willing to provide a form of funding that ultimately benefits the USA more than the recipient, which kind of defeats the entire reason we have foreign aid, at least that is the public stance. The private stance is that it's just a military jobs program. Egypt doesn't need more tanks, yet they put a tank factory there because jobs. Germany has a similar problem, it greatly benefits from the Euro and isn't willing to help out neighbors to compensate for the negative effects of the Euro. I am still sceptical of that number because it would require more than 1000% of India's GDP, you'd have to spread this over several decades. You can't extract that much value without killing the golden goose in the process, which would make it impossible to get to $45 trillion in the first place.
- rramadass 5y ago
  You seem to have taken the 1st line in the linked article and then run with it on a tangent. Please read the full article and the linked videos. >I am still sceptical of that number because it would require more than 1000% of India's GDP, you'd have to spread this over several decades. The draining of Indian wealth was done over 200 years of British colonialism. >You can't extract that much value without killing the golden goose in the process, Duh! This is why India was pushed into poverty and this economic malaise has shaped the country's progress to this day.
mrlonglong 5y ago
That's the one : https://anti-empire.com/how-britain-plundered-45-trillion-from-india/ https://anti-empire.com/how-britain-plundered-45-trillion-fr...

by sinyug 5y ago

rramadass 5y ago

I was about to post the same response but you beat me to it. As a follow up to (4) above, watch Shashi Tharoor's longer speech on the devastation and mess that the British left in India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5ykS-_-CI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5ykS-_-CI Also read the old book Empire in Asia, How We Came by It: A Book Of Confessions by William McCullagh Torrens.

sinyug 5y ago
Will do. History is something that I started looking into somewhat recently. Ian Morris's Why the West Rules-For Now is what I am reading currently.

imtringued 5y ago

>Economist Utsa Patnaik says West should set aside a portion of its gross domestic product for unqualified annual transfers to developing countries Foreign aid hasn't worked and it's the usual political "pork" problem. The best you can do is just introduce a UBI whose only goal is to redistribute wealth. When you think about it is quite logical. US Citizens vote -> US government (with voting error) -> decides on foreign aid size and recipients -> inefficient allocation & room for corruption -> Indian citizens vote (voting error again) -> fiscal stimulus -> infrastructure and jobs programs -> inefficient allocation & room for corruption -> indirect benefit to indian citizens By voting error I mean the difference between what people want and what the election results end up as. USA citizens may want more than 2 parties, but the voting system only allows 2 parties, leading to a huge voting error. Non voters could not find a desirable party, which is also a form of voting error. When you consider the purpose of the democratic system the entire idea is that people get equal representation, a UBI gives everyone perfectly equal economic representation with no room for inefficient allocation or corruption (unavoidable in practice) nor the necessity of a perfect voting system that elects a government that perfectly represents your interest (impossible in practice). The problem I haven't addressed is the funding side. The USA may only be willing to provide a form of funding that ultimately benefits the USA more than the recipient, which kind of defeats the entire reason we have foreign aid, at least that is the public stance. The private stance is that it's just a military jobs program. Egypt doesn't need more tanks, yet they put a tank factory there because jobs. Germany has a similar problem, it greatly benefits from the Euro and isn't willing to help out neighbors to compensate for the negative effects of the Euro. I am still sceptical of that number because it would require more than 1000% of India's GDP, you'd have to spread this over several decades. You can't extract that much value without killing the golden goose in the process, which would make it impossible to get to $45 trillion in the first place.

rramadass 5y ago
You seem to have taken the 1st line in the linked article and then run with it on a tangent. Please read the full article and the linked videos. >I am still sceptical of that number because it would require more than 1000% of India's GDP, you'd have to spread this over several decades. The draining of Indian wealth was done over 200 years of British colonialism. >You can't extract that much value without killing the golden goose in the process, Duh! This is why India was pushed into poverty and this economic malaise has shaped the country's progress to this day.

mrlonglong 5y ago

That's the one : https://anti-empire.com/how-britain-plundered-45-trillion-from-india/ https://anti-empire.com/how-britain-plundered-45-trillion-fr...