Rising Lotuses: The Normalisation of Exploitation

The global narrative often paints developing nations as lands of deficiency, labelling them “third world” despite their natural abundance, cultural wealth, and resilient histories. Rising Lotuses: Your Guide to Blooming with Purpose, written by Shivani Baghel and illustrated by Sadhvi Konchada, sheds light on this deeply ingrained misconception and its impact on women of the global majority.

The book boldly confronts the ways some countries are forced to serve as the factories of the so-called “first world.” Through this lens, Rising Lotuses encourages readers to recognize the exploitation systems that persist and reclaim their power—power rooted in their ancestral histories and the collective strength of their communities.

Exploitation has been a consistent thread in the tapestry of human history, woven into the systems of power and economics that govern societies. Today, the effects of centuries of normalised exploitation echo through the environmental crisis and the erosion of indigenous sovereignty. To understand this phenomenon, we must trace its roots back to the systems that enabled and justified it: capitalism, colonial ventures, and the global financial mechanisms that continue to perpetuate these practices.

Capitalism, as an economic system, emerged alongside the rapid expansion of European colonial empires. Rooted in the accumulation of wealth through trade, production, and resource extraction, capitalism incentivised the exploitation of land, labor, and culture. Indigenous lands were targeted for their natural wealth—gold, spices, timber, and other resources that could be commodified and sold for profit.

In its earliest iterations, capitalism justified the dispossession of indigenous peoples by framing them as obstacles to progress. The commodification of land, an alien concept to many indigenous cultures, facilitated its seizure under the guise of productivity. This logic continues today in policies and projects that exploit pristine ecosystems for agriculture, mining, and urban expansion. Nature, much like the colonised peoples of the past, is treated as a resource to be consumed, rather than a partner in sustaining life.

The Origins of Capitalism

The story of capitalism’s origins is intertwined with European colonialism. In the 16th and 17th centuries, fledgling capitalist systems were institutionalised through the creation of joint-stock companies like the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the British East India Company. These entities were among the first multinational corporations, with powers that rivaled or exceeded those of nation-states.

These ventures were not only commercial enterprises but also agents of empire-building. Armed with charters granted by European monarchies, they engaged in resource extraction, the enslavement of peoples, and the establishment of trade monopolies. The brutality of their operations was obscured by their contribution to economic growth, creating a blueprint for the large-scale, profit-driven exploitation that capitalism thrives on.

The stock market played a pivotal role in funding these ventures. By pooling investments from shareholders, joint-stock companies amassed the capital needed to finance voyages, establish colonies, and militarise trade routes. This early financial innovation shifted risk and reward to investors, embedding the ethos of profit maximisation into the DNA of global trade. The exploitation of indigenous lands and labor became a profitable, institutionalised practice.

Systems of Exploitation Today

While colonial ventures have formally ended, their legacy lives on in contemporary systems of exploitation. Multinational corporations continue to wield disproportionate power over local communities and ecosystems, often with the backing of complicit governments. In the pursuit of profit, they replicate the extractive practices of their colonial predecessors—mining rare earth minerals, clearing rainforests for monoculture plantations, and commodifying water, air, and land.

The normalisation of these practices is maintained through modern systems that obscure their exploitative nature. Corporate social responsibility campaigns, for example, often paint a facade of ethical behavior while companies engage in unsustainable practices. Consumer culture, driven by advertising and media, perpetuates the demand for goods produced under exploitative conditions, while financial markets continue to prioritise short-term gains over long-term sustainability.

Moreover, international trade agreements and development policies often prioritise the interests of wealthy nations and corporations, marginalising the voices of indigenous communities and underdeveloped nations. The climate crisis is the most visible symptom of these ongoing systems of exploitation, as nature itself faces what many scientists describe as a "last blow."

To address the normalisation of exploitation, we must confront the systems that sustain it. The path forward demands a fundamental shift in how we perceive our relationship with the Earth and each other. Such are the themes explored in the book Rising Lotuses written by Shivani Baghel and Illustrated by Sadhvi Konchada.

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