Colonies were a net economic loss for all European states after WW2, including India for the UK.
I would draw a parallel to how after the resounding victory in the cold war, the West went on to squander it all in just a decade.
Bombing bedouins in the desert at a huge net economic loss held France back for a decade, and its misadventure in Indochina held it for another one.
Bombing bedouins was seen as a possibly winnable, and profitable politically (but not economically) war, in comparison to fighting communists, who already had a formidable army, and were a real existential threat.
Therefore the folly was the choice of a small, "winnable" war against an unreal enemy, rather than against a real existential threat.
Similarly, the fight for Belgian, Dutch, and Spanish colonies was a choice of "useless, but winnable" wars abroad, which would pump up ratings, over the survival necessity, which was the preparation for war on home soil.
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