Every ex-colony is different, and those that have turned into impoverished dictatorships all have their own reasons for having done so. Inherent in this process, however, is the very nature of colonies. They were created and run to enrich the colonial power. No matter how honest the officials sent out to administer them, their job remained to extract value from the colony and to send it home. State export agencies, for example, set prices for agricultural products in colonies all across Africa. They were originally created—or were said to have been originally created anyway—to help farmers,
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