Really now? The global north should bear all the blame for the vast range of equally self-interested countries and people who actively scramble to hop aboard the technological/industrial/economic flywheel of development just like anyone else does? Billions of people south of the Tropic of Cancer are just as hungry for consumer products, economic success and convenience as any anglo North American or European, and many of them perhaps more so. But they should entirely be treated as the witless victims of others?
This attitude, aside from being blatantly wrong on the realities of the world is also grossly patronizing towards the very people it claims to support, by painting them as nearly helpless pawns with no agency or deeper capabilities of their own.
I live down in a certain sliver of Mexico and see no shortage of desire for all the energy-guzzling goodies that any American has ever had or wanted. Many millions actively strive to acquire these things and with as little second thought for externalities as anyone in the global north ever has..
Both of these above responses are absurd, simplistic nonsense that does exactly what I mentioned: implicitly position those of the "global South" as nearly brainless, helpless victims of their superiors.
Nobody manufactured the desire in the developing world for more or for participating in the economic dynamo. Like humans anywhere, they desire it themselves and are absolutely participants in getting it just like those of the developed countries, only slightly more behind.
The ideology isn't even imposed and the burden has plenty of valid sharing behind it.
What a poisonous, progress stunting way of looking at the world in such an absurdly polar way. Even the term "global south" essentially denies the number of countries in that south that are effectively improving, and the countries further north that are not. It does this because to ignore such complexities spoils its rigid ideological dishonesty.
> What a poisonous, progress stunting way of looking at the world
How could my position be progress stunting... "We need to do something" is progress _advocacy_. To argue that nothing needs to change is progress _denial_.
>Nobody manufactured the desire in the developing world...
From here you reach "So nothing needs to be done, everything functioning as expected".
The problem is:
> It's so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees.
Something must be done! And as a card-carrying member of the Global North, I will do my part to advocate for change.
> [you] implicitly position those of the "global South" as nearly brainless, helpless victims of their superiors.
I would never do such a thing. I merely accept that the Global North has hegemony on defining our culture. Those in the Global South are not brainless and helpless, but I can't help them, I am up here! I can only advocate for change within my culture which for some reason has an undue impact on other cultures.
> The ideology isn't even imposed
You may think you operate in a hyper-rationalistic post-ideological manner, but you are just as much of an ideologue as the rest of us.
Of course you can 'choose your ideology'... Hey, for example I change my ideology to socialist! Yay, now I live in socialism! Oh wait, I still have to consume in a system that requires child labor and wage-slavery. The ideology of liberal capitalism is _forced_ on us, or we can go to the woods and die alone.
This attitude, aside from being blatantly wrong on the realities of the world is also grossly patronizing towards the very people it claims to support, by painting them as nearly helpless pawns with no agency or deeper capabilities of their own.
I live down in a certain sliver of Mexico and see no shortage of desire for all the energy-guzzling goodies that any American has ever had or wanted. Many millions actively strive to acquire these things and with as little second thought for externalities as anyone in the global north ever has..