Global Inequality and the North-South Economic Divide
The North-South Divide
There is a significant difference between the North and the South. The poverty line divides the rich North and the poor South. Within countries, there are wide disparities. While the current world contains rich areas, it is not able to share in equity, and the distance between the North and South grows daily.
The Market Imposes Its Law
Globalization is a process of global integration of various economic markets through liberalization and regional trade, favored by improvements in communications and transport. The market is now global, and multinational companies manufacture and sell production where it best serves their interests.
Global Market and Unequal Trade
Globalization benefits the rich North because it is imposed by market laws. In countries of the South, they are forced into a system of monoculture. This regime depends excessively on price changes, as market prices are often the result of not paying off fair costs. The decrease in prices is harmful to producers in the South, forcing them to leave their fields and encouraging immigration to cities.
Who Rules the World?
The power of government is conditioned by the interests of multinational corporations and financial groups. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank influence world politics. Furthermore, 70% of global information is controlled by three news agencies, which now dominate information production.
Human Rights at Auction
International trade rules generate inequality and poverty in the Third World. The elimination of economic causes leads to relocation, which means that large companies eliminate jobs where workers have more rights in the labor market.
Do Businesses Respect Human Rights?
Businesses want to increase profits; limiting the working day, paying minimum wages, or providing security for workers reduces those profits. It would be better to reverse this trend to favor workers. Currently, Human Rights are not treated as rights.
Next Stop: The North
Through the press, TV, and the Internet, the inhabitants of the South receive regular updates about the rich world. Millions of people embark on the path to a better world; the migration phenomenon further accentuates North-South imbalances. Migration involves the loss of human resources in the South, while growing immigration in the North contributes to economic shifts and generates social cohesion problems.
War and Poverty: An Inseparable Binomial
The current situation shows that 95% of today's wars occur in Southern countries; half are in Africa, the poorest continent but the richest in natural resources.
The Economic Backdrop of War
The majority of current conflicts are due to a specific motive: the control of energy sources, raw materials, or water. Wars increase inequality because the North earns revenue by selling weapons, while the South suffers through the loss of lives and material destruction. Poverty significantly increases the risk of armed conflict.