From Colonial Extraction to Digital Capitalism: The Evolution of the World Economic Order and the Future of Developing Nations.

Abstract:

This research explores the evolution of the global economic order from the era of colonization through resource extraction to digital capitalism and its impacts on developing countries. It is posited that even though the means by which global economic dominance has been exercised have changed from territorial occupation and resource extraction to financial dependence, data commodification, and artificial intelligence (AI) based governance, the structural inequalities underlying the global economic system have remained largely the same. A qualitative research methodology is used where the design of the study is historical and interpretive political economy. Data used in this research is purely secondary and comes from academic sources, historical documents, and reports from international organizations on the changes in global capitalism throughout various historical eras. The results show that modern-day digital capitalism has replicated many characteristics of past colonial and neo-colonial systems by virtue of digital infrastructure being concentrated in a few technologically advanced countries. Therefore, many developing countries are still prone to technological dependency in spite of their political independence.