For Indian nationalists the issue of economic exploitation under colonial rule was a central issue. Images of pre-colonial fabled riches of India contrasted with the poverty of British India. Modern ideas made people realise that poverty was preventable. Indian nationalists saw rapid industrialisation of the economy as the path towards both growth and social equity. Development of heavy and machine-making industries, expansion of the public sector and holding of a large cooperative sector were considered very important.

A sociologist argues that conventional accounts of Western industrialisation often overlook an important historical process that contributed to its growth. Which of the following best supports this argument?

Colonialism enabled the exploitation of labour and resources from colonised societies, contributing to the growth of Western industrial capitalism.

The correct answer is Option 2: Colonialism enabled the exploitation of labour and resources from colonised societies, contributing to the growth of Western industrial capitalism.

Option 1: Capitalism developed independently of colonial expansion and overseas exploitation. Incorrect. The emergence of Western capitalism was closely connected with European exploration, colonial expansion, and the plunder of wealth and resources. Therefore, it did not develop independently of colonialism.

Option 2: Colonialism enabled the exploitation of labour and resources from colonised societies, contributing to the growth of Western industrial capitalism. Correct. Colonialism supplied wealth, raw materials and labour that significantly contributed to the rise and expansion of Western industrial capitalism. This historical process is often overlooked when industrialisation is explained only through scientific and technological progress.

Option 3: Scientific progress was sufficient for the emergence of industrial capitalism. Incorrect. Scientific and technological progress was an important factor, but it worked alongside European exploration, colonial expansion, and the exploitation of wealth and resources. By itself, it cannot explain the emergence of Western industrial capitalism.

Option 4: Industrialisation in Western countries had no connection with developments outside Europe. Incorrect. Western industrial capitalism had a global character from its beginning. Its growth depended on interactions with colonised societies through trade, resource extraction and colonial expansion.