Colonisation did not end with the fall of empires – it is very much alive, and more pervasive, destructive and exploitative than ever before.
The colonisation of land and communities across the globe may no longer be directly carried out by the political or ruling classes of foreign states, but instead by proxy through foreign-owned companies that line the pockets of those same classes, and satisfy the material whims of the masses.
The corporations, transcending all borders, extract and exploit the resources of countries – largely in the Global South, at incredible cost to indigenous communities, land and animals, especially where the rule of law is weak and unequal in the protection it offers.
All of us who consume thoughtlessly – without considering the impact of our consumption on the world around us, both in terms of how something was produced, and the waste we are producing, are complicit in making this happen, and maintaining it.
We have polluted and degraded our lands, and the lands of others. We have corrupted and undermined our political systems, and those of countries upon which we depend for resources. We have developed and nurtured atomised, individualistic cultures over communities and collectivism.
All this has lead us to where we find ourselves now – in the midst of a climate crisis, and a sixth mass extinction, and yet we carry on with business as usual.
Shame on us all.