Kojo Koram sheds light on the impacts of Britain's colonial past on our current economic model. He explains how the legacies of the British empire are not just symbolic or cultural, but are deeply connected to our economy, legal system, and political structure. Kojo looks beyond the mainstream culture wars debate around Empire and emphasises the material motivations behind imperialism - the extraction of resources from across the world to benefit the home territory of the empire. He challenges assumptions about former colonies' inequality and insecurity, exposing the material motivations behind imperialism and the ongoing effects on contemporary capitalism. Through thought-provoking insights and examples, Kojo highlights how the British Empire, in particular, has laid the groundwork for contemporary capitalism, with its influence still visible in the English common law system and the financial centre of London.

Kojo Koram is a lecturer at the School of Law at Birkbeck, University of London, who also writes extensively on issues of law, race, and empire. His latest book, "Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire" is a groundbreaking work that sheds light on how the forgotten stories of empire and decolonisation continue to shape our daily lives worldwide.

Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at SystemShift@greenpeace.org

This episode of SystemShift comes from Greenpeace Nordic and is hosted by Greenpeace campaigner and former Swedish politician and Green MEP, Carl Schlyter, and produced by Alexia Fridén, with additional support from Ariadna Rodrigo, Juliana Costa, Christian Aslund and Attila Kulcsár at Greenpeace.

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