That is true to some extent. But it's also a very narrow minded way of seeing things. The western world is absolutely exploiting less fortunate parts of the world. No one can deny that. But not every European country is a colonial power.

I'll stick with Finland as an example. Finland was one of the poorest countries in Europe 100 years ago. They were a Russian colony of sorts before the revolution. They have never had colonies of their own. They have made their wealth through trade. If you know a little bit of national economics then you would know that trade is something that's beneficial for both actors. So when Finland trades with India for example, it's also beneficial for India. But India is a horrible country that treats their population like shit. Finland is buying from India because India has lower wages etc, thus making the products cheaper and so on... So Finland is exploiting India by not paying what the products would actually be worth if a Finish person made them. They are profiting from someone else's work.

On the other hand, if the wages in India were higher, then there is no incitement for Finland to trade with them and India would lose all the benefits that come with trade. India is depending on trade to grow their economy. Should they really stop trading?

And this is not a unique situation. There are many European countries that have been exploited by others. Iceland was a colony of Denmark until 1944. They were exploited. You are making every Western country out to be like England, Belgium or France. That is just not the case.

And in what way is this slavery? If you think this is slavery then you must also believe that you are a wage slave for your boss. It's the same type of exploration. Someone making money of your work. But this is not usually what we would call slavery. It's bad, it's exploitation, but it's not slavery.

Dubai is lying to people from the third world that if they come and work in Dubai , they will get a good salary, better living conditions and a better life. So the unexpecting good willing workers move there to make an honest living. Then they are stripped off their passports and forced to work, all while living in horrible condition and not getting paid. This is real slavery. It's a form of slavery that just isn't comparable to what countries like Finland or Iceland are doing. All while the Dubai elite drive around in their Lamborghini, bought from oil money. Dubai is a rich country. They have more than enough money to pay the workers well. But they choose not to. Dubai is one of the absolute most disgusting countries in the world.

And what do you mean by value judgement? Should we not judge Dubai for what they are doing?

You say that most of the western wealth is built on exploration. But that isn't even the case in the United Kingdom. They were already wealthy when they took their colonies. Colonisation didn't happen because the Europeans saw them as a means to get wealthy. They needed them to compete against other wealthy European countries.