4 ms·

> External Imperialism does wonders for the prosperity of the home country. Does it last though? The UK doesn't seem to be bursting at the seams with prosperit

> External Imperialism does wonders for the prosperity of the home country. Does it last though? The UK doesn't seem to be bursting at the seams with prosperity these days. Switzerland does much better yet never had any colonies. Portugal had lots, just as Spain, and look at them. Germany had few because they started late and they're doing much better. The Ottoman empire was huge but Turkey isn't doing too good, despite its strategic geopolitical location that pays lots of dividend. Correlation doesn't imply causation, but does lack of correlation? And yes, of course there were African empires, but they didn't nicely map to countries (but then again, did European empires? The Habsburgers would say otherwise) and didn't leave a lasting imprint of prosperity.

sangnoir 4y ago
> The UK doesn't seem to be bursting at the seams with prosperity these days. Switzerland does much better yet never had any colonies. I dunno - Northern Ireland seems to be doing alright, current woes affecting the rest of the Kingdom (Britain) appear to be self-inflicted. More seriously: I never claimed imperialism led to eternal prosperity. Pax Britania led to a very prosperous Britain - it is undeniable that imperialism is beneficial while it's happening: captive markets abroad support broader industrialization than just a single home market[1], and externalization of costs makes it cheaper/more "efficient". 1. Which Britain is relearning - as you noted, they are not exactly bursting at the seams with prosperity, post-Brexit