It's another big subject Nob but really, better for who?  Do you honestly think that the aboriginals of North America and Australasia (for instance) have a better life now than they did before they were 'converted'?  What do they have to be grateful for?  I accept that it is the survival of the fittest (most ruthless, wealthiest, strongest), it appears to be part of human nature, but please don't try to make out that colonosing lands where others are already living is somehow noble.