[pyrale]

> Look at industrial revolution

I really don't see how one can separate the industrial revolution from colonialism, considering we have chiefs of government in colonial countries on the record saying that colonies are a necessary outlet for industrial goods [1].

Once you've established that link, it's hard to explain that "everyone" benefitted from the industrial revolution.

Even disregarding that, the working conditions created by industrialization allowed for situations that can hardly be described as "beneficial" [2][3][4].

> digital revolution.

[5] provided without comment.

---

[1]: for instance, Jules Ferry: https://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/decouvrir-l-assemblee/hi...

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisbee_Deportation

[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre

[4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Wars

[5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM

[sokoloff]

What percent of the population in places which experienced the industrial revolution would be better off if they time-travelled back 200 years? 1%? 0.2%?

[pyrale]

> in places which experienced the industrial revolution

People experienced the industrial revolution everywhere.

I suspect, when you think "places which experienced the industrial revolution", you think about a small subset of areas where some development happened as a result of that, likely the areas where industrialists lived.

But you would also have to consider other places' experience of industrialization. For instance, Congo under EIC colonial rule did experience industrialization - it was the place where industrial amounts of rubber were harvested to allow for plants elsewhere to produce joints, pipes, motor belts, etc. It's not really hard to believe that, had Congo not experienced that, its citizen would almost certainly have been better off now.

[sokoloff]

Does Congo lack electricity, modern medicine, and air conditioning?

If the industrial revolution has made their lives worse, it's a double-whammy because they are forced to suffer almost twice as long, as their life expectancy at birth has approximately doubled since 1870.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1071021/life-expectancy-...

[dzhiurgis]

Places that luckily avoided colonialism haven’t improved a zilch.

[danans]

> Places that luckily avoided colonialism haven’t improved a zilch

Thailand and China would like a word.

[dzhiurgis]

So would Liberia and Ethiopia.

[danans]

So we agree that it is more complex than:

colonized => successful

not_colonized => unsuccessful