Underdevelopment essay

AGF defintion

“underdevelopment is in large part the historical product of past and continuing economic and other relations between the satellite underdeveloped and the now developed metropolitan countries”

Who created Modernisation Theory?

Walt Whitman Rostow

Modernisation Theory:

Society economically develops through a series of stages, 1= Traditional society, agrian life w/family based social structure. 5= High Mass Consumption, contemporary comforts, western world

Problems w/ Modernisation Theory

Claims to be “universal model of development” but fails to take impact of colonialism and imperialism into account.

World Systems Theory

“core” countries take natural resources from “periphery” and “semi-periphery” countries ony to sell them back for a higher profit. Countries do not become underdeveloped by themselves, it is a result of exploitation e.g. Zimbabwean Gold Mafia

What is Zimbabwe’s relation to gold

Africas 6th largest gold producer, gold was being smuggled to Dubai, illicit trade costs Zimbabwe 100m every month.

What did Al Jazeera do

Secretly filmed Uebert Angel bragging that he could move 1.2bn easily due to his diplomatic immunity.

Who is Uebert Angel?

Zimbabwean presidential envoy and ambassador at large to Europe and the Americas since March 2021

What effect does this money laundering have on Zimbabwe?

Half of the countries 11m citizens live in extreme poverty due to this endemic corruption

Guest Speaker quote

“corruption and mismanagement are the biggest causes of underdevelopment in Zimbabwe”

Guest speaker examples of poverty

Grocery prices increasing hourly, 3-4km long queues in order to buy petrol in Botswana

How does Zimbabwean investigative journalist Hopewell Chinono comment on this situation?

describes extreme inflation to be a result of the “economic genocide” being facilitated by the Zimbabwean Government

What is the IMF

International Monetary Fund

What are the goals of the IMF and World Bank?

establish stability of international monetary system, offers loans to countries in times of desperation.

Arguments against IMF and World Bank

create position for west to exploit developing countries, eg. caused collapse of the Thai Bhat. Accused of giving loans w/neo liberal strings

Arguments for IMF and World Bank

Are only used as a last resort and are completely optional

Dr. Jason Hickel quote (Academic at University of London)

“It is time to decolonise the IMF and World Bank”

Hickels opinion on development agencies (Quote)

“These institutions were designed with colonial principles in mind and they remain largely colonial in character to this day”

Examples of disparity within IMF

G7 and Eu control well over ½ the vote despite middle and low-income countries constituting 85% of the worlds population.

Disparities in “Per Capita” terms

for every vote the average person in the global North has, the average person in thr global south has 1/8 vote.

What system does Hickel advocate for?

rather than voting power being allocated by financial shares, Hickel wants “double majority” system

What is a double majority system

A system where significant decisions should not only require shareholder majorities but also member-state majorities.

Vandana Shiva quote on Industrialisation

“Industrialisation in less developed countries has driven women, who were the traditional environmental stewards in societies, into a position of powerlessness and poverty and has damaged the environment.

What happened in spring of 2021 in Sri Lanka

President Rajapaksa banned synthetic fertilisers and pesticide imports overnight, was meant to ameliorate the environmental crisis but only exacerbated it.

What were the consequences of the agrochemical ban and the gov making decisions without consulting local (female) farmers.

Rice production dropped 20% in 6 months and SL had to spend 450m on rice imports even though the ban was meant to save 400m.

What is the name of Vandana Shiva’s organisation which sets up seed banks and works with farmers.

Chipko

What is Shiva’s quote on Climate Change

“CC is a man made problem with a feminist solution”