Max Tallberg
As we strive for a world where all humanity is guaranteed a dignified life, along with the necessary conditions and opportunities, it is impossible not to focus particularly on today’s Global South, a term which itself raises a lot of discussion. A significant portion of the world’s population, about 700 million people, still lives in absolute poverty, concentrated in these countries. With the future development of climate change and its impacts, it is increasingly vital that these people are helped onto a path of sustainable development and well-being. The current situation is that these individuals will suffer the most from climate change despite not being primarily responsible for it. We should adopt a bold, global perspective on the state of the world and work together to build a world where everyone has the conditions for a valuable and good life. One of our association’s central goals is to serve as a platform for the discussion on how best to achieve such a world.
In the upcoming blog posts, I will approach the Global South and the position of its people from many different perspectives. I believe that this holistic approach is justified, not least because it is reasonable to argue that adequate help for the people of the Global South requires a deeper, more diverse understanding, as well as various forms of aid and their combinations. However, I will also argue that these methods and their combinations are largely known, and that decisively helping the people of the Global South is not an impossible effort for the global community. I would even be prepared to claim that assisting the people and societies of the Global South onto a sustainable path is a question of fate for all humanity. If they are left alone with these problems, it will in the future affect the state of the entire world — in forms such as wars, mass migration, and other instabilities — including the lives of the developed countries and their citizens.
I am convinced that providing sufficient help to developing countries would ultimately benefit developed countries as well. It could be argued that in such a world, the well-being of everyone, including today’s elite, would be maximized. The alternative, where this aid does not reach its destination, is threatening and unclear in many ways, and such an outcome should be avoided at all costs. It would also be just and obvious that all people worldwide should have access to fundamental needs such as healthcare, education, sanitation, and clean drinking water, and our association aims to move towards such a world. This alone makes promoting positive changes a duty for all those in a privileged position globally. In such a world, the potential of all the world’s people would be more fully utilized, which would also positively affect the entire human condition and lead to many new opportunities.
I also think that to understand the present, we must first look to the past. To understand the opportunities and possible developments of the future, we must examine both the past and the present. For this reason, I will start this series of blog posts by first examining the general background information we should have about the Global South. Then, I will turn my gaze to the past, to the eras of imperialism and colonialism. I will argue that the impact of this past on the current situation in the Global South is enormous and, alone, obligates the entire global community to support the Global South adequately both now and in the future.
When examining the Global South, it is also crucial to recognize one’s own position in this discussion. I am a privileged white man living in a Nordic welfare state. I cannot, of course, propose solutions to the complex issues related to the Global South, but through my reflections, I hope to spark a discussion that could lead to such solutions. I want to be part of building a more just world and feel that everyone, regardless of their background, has a moral responsibility to participate in this effort. We should raise many perspectives on this subject. However, the most important perspective is that of those living in the so-called Global South. We must find better ways to listen and seek to support them so that the mistakes of history are not repeated.
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