‘What’s Yours is Mine, and what’s Mine isn’t Yours’

Colonisation, throughout history, has often been justified through the lens of power dynamics, economic gain, and cultural superiority. At its core lies a belief encapsulated in the phrase, “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine isn’t yours.” Colonisers have used this argument to assert their dominance over indigenous peoples and lands, leading to exploitation, displacement, and the imposition of foreign ideologies. Here, we briefly explore this argument’s historical and contemporary implications in the context of colonisation, shedding light on its ethical and moral complexities.

Historical Context:

The history of colonisation is replete with instances where ownership was used to justify the subjugation of native populations. Several European powers, driven by a desire for wealth and territorial expansion, employed the ‘terra nullius’ doctrine, which asserted that unoccupied lands belonged to the colonisers by default. This legal fiction enabled the systematic dispossession of indigenous peoples from their ancestral territories, as their land was deemed ’empty’ by colonial authorities. The belief that “What’s yours is mine” became the guiding principle behind land grabs, resource extraction, and the establishment of settler colonies across the globe.

Economic Exploitation:

Central to the argument for colonisation is exploiting natural resources and labour. Colonisers viewed indigenous lands as reservoirs of wealth to be extracted for their benefit. Whether it was the plundering of precious minerals, the cultivation of cash crops, or the establishment of plantations using coerced labour, the economic imperative drove colonisers to assert ownership over what they deemed valuable. The logic of “What’s yours is mine” justified the unequal distribution of wealth, with profits flowing back to the colonising nations while indigenous peoples languished in poverty.

Cultural Hegemony:

Besides economic motives, colonisation was also driven by a desire to impose cultural hegemony. Colonizers often viewed indigenous cultures as inferior or backward, believing that their way of life was superior and thus should be imposed upon native populations. This mentality is encapsulated in the idea that “What’s mine isn’t yours,” as colonisers sought to replace indigenous languages, religions, and customs with their own. The erasure of indigenous identities served to reinforce the dominance of the colonisers and perpetuate a sense of cultural superiority.

Social Control and Power Dynamics:

Colonisation was not merely an economic or cultural endeavour but also a project of social control and power consolidation. By asserting ownership over land, resources, and people, colonisers sought to establish hierarchical structures favouring their interests. This often involved the marginalisation and subjugation of indigenous peoples, who were relegated to the status of second-class citizens in their homelands. The maxim “What’s yours is mine” justified the exercise of coercive authority, whether through military conquest, legal manipulation, or the imposition of arbitrary laws.

Contemporary Implications:

While formal colonial empires have primarily dissolved, the legacy of colonisation continues to shape global power dynamics and socio-economic inequalities. The argument of “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine isn’t yours” persists in various forms, from neocolonial resource extraction to the persistence of racial hierarchies. In many post-colonial societies, indigenous communities still struggle to reclaim their land rights and cultural autonomy in the face of ongoing marginalisation and discrimination.

The historical argument for colonisation, encapsulated in the notion of “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine isn’t yours,” reflects a mindset of entitlement and domination that has inflicted immense harm on indigenous peoples and their lands. While colonialism may have been argued in the past through appeals to ‘economic progress’ or ‘civilising missions’, its legacy of exploitation and oppression cannot be ignored, and neither should it be airbrushed out of history nor euphemistically described as ‘Pooling & Sharing’.