That's our place in their world.

The US turned colonial countries into neo-colonial countries.

Under nominal native management, with the aesthetics of sovereignty.

But still a source of cheap raw materials and a market for expensive finished goods.

Never the other way around.
"The essence of neo-colonialism is that the State which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty.

In reality, its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside."

- Kwame Nkrumah
"Neo-colonialism is also the worst form of imperialism.

For those who practise it, it means power without responsibility and for those who suffer from it, it means exploitation without redress.

[It] is an attempt to export the social conflicts of the capitalist countries."
"Neo-colonialism is based upon the principle of breaking up former large united colonial territories into a number of small non-viable States which are incapable of independent development and must rely upon the former imperial power for defence and even internal security."
"In neo-colonialist territories, since the former colonial power has in theory relinquished political control, if the social conditions occasioned by neo-colonialism cause a revolt, the government can be sacrificed and another equally subservient one substituted in its place."
"Once a neo-colonialist territory is brought to such a state of economic chaos and misery that revolt actually breaks out - then, and only then, is there no limit to the generosity of the overlord, provided, that the funds supplied are utilised exclusively for military purposes."
"The methods of neo-colonialists are subtle and varied. They operate not only in the economic field,but also in the political, religious, ideological & cultural spheres."

"All the methods point in one direction of all minority ruling classes throughout history: divide and rule." ImageImageImageImage
Note the choice of words here - "to our friends and partners in India".

A normal country would simply say the the Indian people or government.

What they mean here is "sub-national diplomacy" with their cultivated state governments and "nonstate actors".

Image
"All the profits of neo-colonialism can be secured if, in any given area, a reasonable proportion of the States have a neo-colonialist system. It is not necessary that they all should have one."
"Unless small States can combine they must be compelled to sell their primary products at prices dictated by the developed nations and buy their manufactured goods at the prices fixed by them."
"So long as neo-colonialism can prevent political and economic conditions for optimum development, the developing countries, whether they are under neo-colonialist control or not, will be unable to create a large enough market to support industrialisation."

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Ruchir Sharma

Ruchir Sharma Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ruchirsharma_1

23 Apr
White House: "The US is in talks with Indian officials to find ways to help ."

Translation:

"We are blackmailing India by withholding raw materials during a crisis, until they give up and buy the finished product at the full price instead. Better margins for our pharma donors."
Always remember,

1. The US is not a normal state, it is a commercial entity which acquired an army and navy, thanks to its system of legalised corruption, "lobbying".

2. US "allies" and "partners" are expected to become captive markets, in exchange for the illusion of security.
3. "The strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must." - Thucydides

4. True soft power is when a state can make the institutions of other countries act as extensions of its own national interests, enthusiastically and out of their own "free will".
Read 6 tweets
13 Apr
Absolutely, स्वतंत्रता is meaningless without स्वराज्य. स्वराज्य is meaningless without स्वाभिमान.

Without these, we stayed a semi-colony, prioritising foreign approval and acceptance over the economic, social, spiritual, moral, political revival of a traumatised civilisation.
The post-colonial elite were rewarded by the British for their role as a "managed opposition", inheriting the sadistic tools of the Raj.

Creating a patronage-based state - renting feudal satraps, journalists, academics, to protect their power from the aspirations of the people.
Without massive constitutional, administrative, judicial, police, and educational reforms, we will remain a semi-feudal society and semi-colonial polity.

Sleepwalking into another partition, civil war, and Balkanisation that others have planned, regardless of who wins elections.
Read 4 tweets
12 Apr
"NATO was still not intended, or configured, to engage in real war.

The role of the NATO alliance in Afghanistan was summed up beautifully for me by an American military acquaintance there: “We pretend to listen to them, and they pretend to fight”."
"The disastrous role of NATO in international affairs began at the end of the Cold War ... compounded by European anxiety over the perceived loss of U.S. protection, America’s perceived loss of regional hegemony, and the worry NATO officers and bureaucrats would lose their jobs."
"Under the grotesquely self-serving slogan of “Out of Area or Out of Mission,” NATO turned itself into a vehicle for the expansion of liberal democracy and American power in the world.

The negative results were threefold ..."
Read 4 tweets
8 Apr
"The ENA and other elite schools spawned ... a “state nobility” that replaced the old aristocracies.

“What was meant to be a bastion of Republican meritocracy rapidly became its opposite: a cradle for the reproduction of social elites,” says Allouch."

france24.com/en/france/2021…
ENA will be replaced by a new establishment called the Institute for Public Service (ISP).

Another change will mean that the top-ranking graduates will no longer have automatic access to the best administrative jobs "until they have shown their worth in other official roles".
“When you’re talking about ENA you’re talking about access to the upper echelons of the French state,” Allouch explains.

“That’s why ENA and Sciences-Po are constantly in the news: if you control those schools, you control access to the state.”
Read 4 tweets
5 Apr
"Christian fundamentalism is one of the lesser-known methods through which America protects itself and spreads its power and influence ... both an offensive and defensive strategy ... in national politics through Church-based political lobbying [and] exporting its evangelists..."
"The origins of the National Prayer Breakfast can be traced to 1953.

An inveterate Christian fundamentalist, Abram had a grand vision for America where “every Christian [is] a leader, every leader a Christian.”"
"A veteran US investigative journalist chillingly describes this vision:

“[T]his ruling class of Christ-committed men [would be] bound in a fellowship of the anointed, the chosen, key men in a voluntary dictatorship of the divine.”

Abram wildly succeeded."
Read 5 tweets
25 Mar
"25 March [is] the 200th anniversary of The Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman empire. The war, waged by Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1830, is a struggle of the highest historical, national and social significance in Greece’s history"

brusselstimes.com/opinion/161729…
"The Greek Revolution showed the strength of an organised and determined people fighting for freedom and independence."

"It inspired the astonishing mass popular heroism that marked the struggle, but also entire Greek history."

parikiaki.com/2021/03/200-ye…
"It confronted the Ottoman Empire, on whose side stood a section of local feudalism, the church hierarchy [and] the notorious Holy Alliance."

"It bequeathed to the popular consciousness legendary figures who are still symbols of genuine patriotism, self-sacrifice, and struggle."
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!