Britain’s economic success over the past several hundred years has nothing to do with its exploitation and enslavement of others – it was simply a product of British genius. At least, that’s the argument made in a new book published by a Tory think tank-cum-mouthpiece.
Written by Kristian Niemietz and published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), where Niemietz is head of political economy, Imperial Measurement: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Western Colonialism looks to answer why the West became rich.
But the book is a political tract, not a scholarly work. It is an attempt at shoring up right-wing narratives rather than seriously studying the effects and legacies of slavery and colonialism. Despite its size – at 88 pages, it is essentially a pamphlet – it is intended to add some intellectual heft to Tory claims.
