GLOBAL DIVIDES: The NORTH and the SOUTH

Lesson Objectives:
a. Define Global Divides.
b. Differentiate Global North and Global South.
c. Develop an understanding of the rationale behind such division.
d. Determine the impact of globalization the existence of the Global North-South
Divide.
e. Formulate a personal stand on the over-all impact of Global Divides on the
Philippines, the
Filipino society and the Filipino self.

ABSTRACTION

Global North and Global South

The North-South divide is broadly considered a socio economic and
political divide. The Terms Global North and Global South; divide the world in
half both geographically. The Global North contains all countries north of
the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere and the Global South holds all of the
countries south of the Equator in the Southern Hemisphere. This classification
groups the Global North into the rich northern countries, and the Global South
into the poor southern countries. This differentiation is based on the fact that
most of developed countries are in the north and most of the developing or
underdeveloped countries are in the south.The issue with this classification is
that not all countries in the Global North can be called developed while some of
the countries in the Global South can be called developed.

The Global North

Global North represents the economically developed societies of Europe,
North America,Australia, Israel, USA, Canada and New Zealand. Global North
countries are wealthy,technologically advanced, politically stable and aging as
their societies tend towards zero population growth. It is a disparities of wealth,
housing, education, digital media access and numerous other factors underscore
the power and privilege enjoyed by the Global North. Global north is first world.
The North is home to all G8 members, and four of the five UN Security Council
permanent members. Global north refers to developed societies of Europe and
North America, which are characterized by established democracy, wealth,
technological advancement, political stability, aging population, zero population
growth and dominance of world trade andpolitics.

The Global South

Global South represents the economically backward countries of Africa,
India, China Brazil, Mexico amongst others. Global South countries are agrarian
based, dependent economically and politically on the Global North. The phrase
“Global South” refers broadly to the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and
Oceania. It is one of a family of terms, including “Third World” and “Periphery,”
that denote regions outside Europe and North America, mostly(though not all)
low-income and often politically or culturally marginalized. The use of the
phrase Global South marks a shift from a central focus on development or
cultural difference toward an emphasis on geopolitical relations of power.
 The Global South as a critical concept has three primary definitions. First,
it has traditionally been used within intergovernmental development
organizations –– primarily those that originated in the Non-Aligned Movement
–– to refer to economically disadvantaged nation-states and as a post-cold war
alternative to “Third World.” However, in recent years and within a variety of
fields, the Global South is employed in a post-national sense to address spaces
and peoples negatively impacted by contemporary capitalist globalization.
In this second definition, the Global South captures a deterritorialized
geography of capitalism’s externalities and means to account for subjugated
peoples within the borders of wealthier countries, such that there are economic
Souths in the geographic North and Norths in the geographic South. While this
usage relies on a longer tradition of analysis of the North’s geographic Souths ––
wherein the South represents an internal periphery and subaltern relational
position –– the epithet “global” is used to unhinge the South from a one-to-one
relation to geography.
It is through this deterritorial conceptualization that a third meaning is
attributed to the Global South in which it refers to the resistant imaginary of a
transnational political subject that results from a shared experience of
subjugation under contemporary global capitalism. This subject is forged when
the world’s South recognize one another and view their conditions as
shared(Ló pez 2007; Prashad 2012). The use of the Global South to refer to a
political subjectivity draws from the rhetoric of the so-called Third World
Project, or the non-aligned and radical internationalist discourses of the cold
war. In this sense, the Global South may productively be considered a direct
response to
the category of post coloniality in that it captures both a political collectivity and
ideological formulation that arises from lateral solidarities among the world’s
multiple Souths and moves beyond the analysis of the operation of power
through colonial difference towards networked theories of power within
contemporary global capitalism.Critical scholarship that falls under the rubric of
Global South Studies is invested in the analysis of the formation of a Global South
subjectivity, the study of power and racialization within global capitalism in
ways that transcend the nation-state as the unit of comparative analysis, and in
tracing both contemporary South-South relations –– or relations among
subaltern groups across national, linguistic, racial, and ethnic lines –– as well as
the histories of those relations in prior forms of South-South exchange.
The world is divided into those countries that are industrialized, have political
and economic stability, and have high levels of human health, and those
countries that do not. The way we identify these countries has changed and
evolved over the years as we have moved through the Cold War-era and into the
modern age; however, it remains that there is no consensus as to how we should
classify countries by their development status.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth World Countries

The designation of Third World countries was created by Alfred Sauvy, a
French demographer, in an article that he wrote for the French magazine,
Observateur in 1952,after World War II and during the Cold War-era.The terms
First World,Second World, and Third World countries were used to differentiate
between democratic countries, communist countries, and those countries that
did not align with democratic or communist countries. The terms have since
evolved to refer to levels of development, but they have become outdated and
are no longer used to distinguish between countries that are considered
developed versus those that are considered developing.First World described
the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries and their allies, which
were democratic, capitalist, and industrialized. The First World included most of
North America and Western Europe, Japan, and Australia.Second
World described the communist-socialist states. These countries were, like First
World countries, industrialized. The Second world included the Soviet Union,
Eastern Europe,and China.Third World described those countries that did not
align with either the First World or Second World countries after World War II
and are generally described as less-developed countries. The Third World
included the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Fourth World was coined in the 1970s, referring to the nations of indigenous
people that live within a country. These groups often face discrimination and
forced assimilation. They are among the poorest in the world.

KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GLOBAL DIVIDES:

The following are the major differences between the Global North and the Global
South:
1. The countries which are independent and prosperous are known as Global
North (Developed Countries). The countries which are facing the beginning of
industrialization are called (Developing Countries).
2. The Global North have a high per capita income and GDP as compared to the
countries in the Global South.
3. Countries in the North have literacy rate that is high. Conversely, illiteracy rate
is high in the South.
4. The Global North have good infrastructure and a better environment in terms
of health and safety, which are absent in the Global South.
5. The first world countries generate revenue from the industrial sector while
the third world countries generate revenue from the service sector.
6. In developed countries, the standard of living of people is high, which is
moderate in developing countries.
7. Resources are effectively and efficiently utilized in the North. On the other
hand, proper utilization of resources is not done in the South.
8. In the North, the birth rate and death rate are low, whereas in developing
countries both the rates are high.