There is great power in a complex social system, such as an industrial society: to the outsider it produces wonderous materials like magic. But the nature of this power conceals itself to the outsider, and even to many insiders. The power relations remain camouflaged and hidden from view. That is, a beautiful industrial creation like an automobile or a tool says very little about how it is produced, and who gets to enjoy it, and who gets to produce it, and who gets to suffer for it, for that matter.
Some colonized groups behold the material powers with awe, yet when they seek to integrate themselves into this powerful body, so as to channel this power, they are instead enslaved and even destroyed. Or else a small minority prospers, at the pinpoint where the wealth is being vacuumed up.
This issue manifests in many other ways, such as with the resource curse. The supposed blessing of oil wealth suddenly becomes a curse. To process the oil and welcome in money and investments, the colonized quickly find their society transformed, mirroring capital with all of its social consequences. And of course colonial or imperial capital always wants to take a little more than it gives.
