Edmund Morel’s realization was powerful precisely because he looked beyond what was being said and focused on what was actually happening in the flow of goods and capital. That skill is critical today as well because propaganda and selective narratives continue to obscure exploitation. Watching where the value moves and who controls it often tells a far more accurate story than official accounts ever will.
It was not simply a rubber boom. It was the building of a system that extracted wealth and prevented resistance by denying people economic agency. That is a pattern we would do well to recognize whenever and wherever it appears.
Edmund Morel’s realization was powerful precisely because he looked beyond what was being said and focused on what was actually happening in the flow of goods and capital. That skill is critical today as well because propaganda and selective narratives continue to obscure exploitation. Watching where the value moves and who controls it often tells a far more accurate story than official accounts ever will.
It was not simply a rubber boom. It was the building of a system that extracted wealth and prevented resistance by denying people economic agency. That is a pattern we would do well to recognize whenever and wherever it appears.