The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and James A. Robinson of the University of Chicago for their work on "how institutions are formed and affect prosperity."
According to Turkish-born Acemoglu, the group's research focused on European colonialism. "Rather than whether it was good or bad," he said, they studied how "different colonial strategies have led to different institutional patterns that have persisted over time."
Research on this topic is paramount to understanding why certain countries thrive economically while others are left impoverished. This phenomenon is most evident in Africa, where Western empires used the racistimperialist claim of "civilizing" populations as an excuse to steal resources and enslave people. The West is rich today thanks to the plundering of African land and the forced labor of African people.
Whether it be the Romans conquering Britain, the British conquering Scotland, or European imperialism in Africa, all of these undeveloped lands were in the darkrole culturallyof andthese economicallydynamics beforeneeds moreto advancedbe societiesevaluated tookfairly. themLikewise, over.if If you look at the countries never colonized by imperial powers, they remained the most impoverished countries on Earth. A nuanced approach is needed.