North South Relations

The Human Face of PovertyBorn on the same day:

Nthabiseng – Poor, black, African girl

– Rural area, 700 miles from Cape Town, South Africa

– To an illiterate mother

Pieter– African, while, well-off family

– Born in Cape Town

– To a college-educated mother

Sven – Born to an average Swedish family

Prospects in life

Nthabiseng Pieter Sven

Chace of dying during first year 12.20% 3% 0.30%Expects to live 50 68 80Years in school 1 12 11.4Access to loans no yes yesMath score NA 263 500

Poverty

Over 1bn. People live on less than a dollar/day

Poor access to water, sanitation, food, health care

Situation has improve in some areas, but not in others

Growing Income Disparities

Marxism

Structure of capitalism:– Means of production

– Relations of production:

» capital owns means of production

» Exploitation of labor ->class struggle

Superstructure of capitalism– Ideology, legal, political system

Lenin on Imperialism

Capitalism leads to imperialism – Drive for capital accumulation and access to natural resources

– States serve the interests of capital

Imperialist powers divide the world Use colonies for resource extraction Perpetuate class inequality across the globe

Dependency Theory

Capitalism perpetuates dependency relations between– The Core/North and

– The Periphery/South

Result: underdevelopment

Poverty Mapping: Distribution of Income Groups

Poverty MappingDoctors per population

Infant Mortality

Women, Education, and Infrant Mortality

Sources of Poverty

Historical core-periphery relations?

Contemporary core-periphery relations?

Weak domestic institutions and policies?

Climate?

Disease?

All of the above->vicious circle?

Structural Solutions?

Import substitution: Brazil 1970s, 1980s

State-facilitated industrialization and trade: – The Asian Tigers

Liberalization: “the Golden Straightjacket”?