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I would describe it at showing how poor/unproductive the rest of Botswana's economy is.

Or is the theory here that De Beers somehow keeps the part of the Botswanian economy they don't participate in poor/unproductive?

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De Beers was founded by the guy whose colonial governance helped make the region as economically depressed as it was. When Debswana was founded, De Beers was taking something like 85% of the profits from Botswana's natural resources. That's like if I burned your house and farm down, then a few later I discovered oil on your land and offered to help you drill for it in exchange for a little over an eighth of the profit. What choice do you have?

What's the equivalent that they did to Botswana of burning the house and farm down?

How much profit did Botswana generate of its natural resources before Debswana was founded?

There may be a good argument for your assertions, but I don't think you're making it.

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