Why Do Poor Countries Stay Poor? (Unequal Exchange and Imperialism)

[@YaBoiHakim]

Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ComradeHakim Podcast: open.spotify.com/show/7tk1sTZDeE8p9lnxYLy4Ky Twitter: @YaBoiHakim Capitalism is the reason, simple as. *Sources:* www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095937802200005X#b9005 Naoroji, 1902, Pomeranz, 2000, Beckert, 2015, Moore, 2015, Bhambra, 2017, Patnaik, 2018, Davis, 2002 Sachs, 2005, Collier, 2007, Rostow, 1990, Moyo, 2010, Calderisi, 2007, Acemoglu and Robinson, 2012 J. Smith Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century Suwandi, 2019, Clelland, 2014 Dorninger et al. (2021), Lenzen et al., 2013, Lenzen et al., 2012, Wiedmann et al., 2015 Dorninger et al. (2021), Wiedmann et al., 2015, Bruckner et al., 2015, Chen et al., 2018, Alsamawi et al., 2014 Kikstra et al., 2021a Poore and Nemecek, 2018, Hornborg, 1998, Hornborg, 2012 Wiedmann and Lenzen, 2018, Costanza and Daly, 1992, World Bank, 2018, Hartwick, 1977, Martinez-Alier, 2021 Steinmann et al., 2017, International Resource Panel, 2019, Van der Voet et al. (2004) Hickel, 2020 Kikstra et al., 2021b, Srinivasan et al., 2008 DARA, 2012 Bringezu, 2015 Pomeranz, 2000, Patnaik, 2018 Fischer, 2011, Fix, 2018, Hunter et al., 1990 Suwandi et al., 2019 Goldman, 2012 Chang, 2008:141 Dorninger et al. (2021) Smith, 2016, Shiva, 2001, Shiva, 2016 Khor, 1995, Petras and Veltmeyer, 2002 Hickel, 2017 Moore, 2015, Patel and Moore, 2017 Harvey, 2005, Wishart, 2014

[@wing19816]

will you ever make a video on the soviet intervention in afghanistan

[@macbethhm]

Why is this comment 4 hours old when the video released 2 minutes ago ⁉

[@redfront6707]

@@macbethhm because he made the video so he has access to it early

[@Pridetoons]

Thank You but can you please put these sources in the description of your video.

[@guyfromtheplaceshown3690]

Why did you not include settler nations like Mexico, Argentina and Brasil when talking about colonialism, and exploitation? If you insist on Australia or Canada, or even America but exclude Mexico and Latin America there is a massive double standard. Latin America had the fucked up encomienda systems, as well as they exploited people and land the same as any Anglo-colonies.

[@georgekostaras]

Remember that developing countries with a strong development oriented state are at risk of being couped or invaded

[@aruspice]

anyone who has ever tried to decouple from the US dollar in any way has historically been couped and or invaded

[@goutamboppana961]

for ex india?

[@goutamboppana961]

for ex india?

[@jaihalai7674]

@@goutamboppana961 For India it was split and left in a state of turmoil due to Lord Mountbatten - last Viceroy of India and the person who drew the lines of partition

[@missk1697]

@@goutamboppana961 split into 3 parts and locked into permanent cold war with Pakistan

[@YaBoiHakim]

Note on maps. This analysis really relies on the IMF list as stated in the video for economy classification. My editor took creative liberty and sometimes showed certain countries (i.e. Bulgaria) in imperial core or global north classification. Take that with a grain of salt, this is just footage to maintain your attention lol

[@ravenouself4181]

Tbh, the whole of the Balkans should be excluded from the Imperial Core.

[@Sasha-trans-fenix]

@@ravenouself4181as a Balkaner, agreed.

[@generalKnack]

Russia is out of context (0:17 - 0:19)

[@truedarklander]

​@@ravenouself4181 I'd argue it's peripheral within the imperial core

[@missk1697]

and poland should be classified as lapdog of imperial core lmao

[@harunsuaidi7349]

My country, Indonesia, put a ban on raw nickel export because we want to grow downstream industries that would increase the value of nickel. There are also other war material export ban, but nickel is particularly strategic since it's an essential material in the booming EV industry, especially the batteries. EU filed a complaint and Indonesia's raw nickel export ban was ruled as violation of WTO rulings. Regardless of what you think about whether Indonesia has renege from its obligations or not, it's clear that the global north will not let the global south have full sovereignty over their own countries' economy.

[@Bell_plejdo568p]

exactly

[@yohanesherbudisatriyanto3394]

Jokowi said that this is the new VOC. We should not give up. EU countries have pillaged, extorted and r@ped many global south countries. We should use our natural resources as leverages.

[@petrikor4411]

mantab ada org indo To add salt to the wound our biggest partners in the ev industry seem to be Chinese companies CATL group and foxconn (if I remember correctly), despite tesla being the most highly publicised.

[@macaque791]

The eu official economic policy is ordo liberalism, so of course they are opposed to protectionist policies. They banned similar laws in western countries. And btw when you join a trade organisation you have to respect its rules

[@Bell_plejdo568p]

@@macaque791 they only imposed those laws when it benfiets them and they ignore it when it doesn’t so stfu, the Eu policy of pillaging the planet since the last 500 years, is the exact same

[@aliyyu_]

Aid is when a poor people of a rich country gives money to the rich people of a poor country

[@johnnyflores5954]

That’s basically what happens in Latin America.

[@t00bgazer]

"How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" by Walter Rodney is a good book on this topic.

[@kambuyiblack7462]

Really? I had a chance to read but I looked away. After read Nkaume Book on neo-colonization it is like I understand the rise of communism and Maxist Lennin. I will definitely read your book within this year

[@Soemrjruur]

@@kambuyiblack7462 nkrumah? you should read Babu. Here is a good quote from Babu’s “African Socialism or Socialism Africa?” on Nkrumah: “Inexperienced, and lacking in analytical thoroughness, Nkrumah for his part did not interpret the African situation in the full context of world-wide developments. He failed to see Africa as part of the global struggle between the rising sun of socialism and the setting sun of capitalism and imperialism. His socialism was a socialism of reforms, not of revolution. His anti-colonialism was partial, not universal . He saw only physical colonialism, which is but one aspect of imperialism, and he was ready to hobnob with the agents of the latter, the multinational corporations, in the hope of removing territorial colonialism..” This is unfortunately true. And in the beginning he even aligned with America. Anyways, Nkrumah is a legend. He was instrumental to African liberation. But his program was never really Marxist-Leninist. In Russia he would have been a Menshevik/Rightist at best. Though people who don’t want to do the work of analyzing revisionism’s historical roots thoroughly like to hide behind this idea that Nkrumah or Sankara or Cabral were the African Mao. It’s just lazy. Also, hardcore ML parties in Africa were suppressed by foreign agents as well. In general they were suppressed.

[@guyfromtheplaceshown3690]

How Europe underdeveloped Africa? I am asking about what do they or you mean?

[@AB-wl8kr]

It's a very good introduction to the topic. Another one is ''open veins of Latin America''

[@BarackLesnar]

​@@guyfromtheplaceshown3690 as Europe claimed ownership of resources and directed development, they only developed things that give them profit i.e. whatever they're extracting. They don't put any more than they have to into local infrastructure. So all the money ends up in Europe's GDP instead of Africa.

[@mamboking0134]

Why do poor countries stay poor? The West: "Any reason except us."

[@aoeu256]

Tropical climates are bad for farming(it rains overflooding or its completely dry), working (overheat unless you have expensive air conditioning), and tropical diseases are dangerous. The tropical people should be allowed to immigrate to cool areas, although maybe in the future things like cheap air conditioning with self-replicating solar panels, cultured food, and night vision (sleeping during the day*) will fix these problems.

[@Mag_ladroth]

@@aoeu256 is this satire?

[@8is]

@@aoeu256 That's been a very big problem for Sub-Saharan Africa, but modern technology has the potential to fix that. Take something as simple as the fact that no horses could survive the tropical diseases of Sub Saharan Africa which permanently neutered the economical development of that area for millenia. But in just the last 200 years, trains were invented which can circumvent this issue, which means that Sub-Saharan Africa has just recently been able to finally begin to progress into a more developed economy.

[@8is]

@@Mag_ladroth No, no it's not.

[@kallerokanen8979]

The entire premise is wrong. Poor countries don't stay poor. Every poor country is richer now than they have ever been in human history.

[@adamspencer3702]

The worst part of all this is we in the north don't need any of this. We can easily produce what we need domestically and import fairly what we can't. All this is to drive consumption, not to allow us to live good lives. We can live much better lives without consuming this much and bleeding ourselves and the world dry on the alter of capital.

[@zachb1706]

What a dumb statement. Sure, we could produce it ourselves. How would that help developing nations? They rely on manufacturing jobs to stay afloat.

[@BalkanSpectre]

​@@zachb1706 under the current imperial regime

[@guywiththepanzerhausf6478]

we are starting to do that actually, i see more and more made in EU stuff

[@kenos911]

@@BalkanSpectre they need more funding though, not less?

[@adamspencer3702]

@@guywiththepanzerhausf6478 I do like a lot of what the EU does, though there is still a lot of work to be done. Lead forth and give us an example to follow across the Atlantic eh!

[@OneEyedMonkey9000]

I remember geography lessons at school about the merits of providing aid to “third world countries”, stories about how poor people in India “bettered themselves “ and even a play from a local theatre group. Not once was the idea of colonisation as a cause mentioned.

[@sanepillow59]

I hear "corruption" mentioned as the cause for underdevelopment all the time but the second I point out that corruption is LEGALIZED in the US I hear cricket sounds

[@hihowareyouhihowareyou3688]

@@sanepillow59Corruption doesn’t affect the everyday person in the US, like it does in third world countries. Also the corruption index is proof that rich countries tend to have less corruption, especially at lower levels of society.

[@sanepillow59]

@@hihowareyouhihowareyou3688 Corruption affects every single person in the US. Corruption determines what you eat, what you pay for it, how much you get paid, whether you have healthcare or it's tied to your employer (like if you were a medieval peasant), whether you are able to find housing or new developments are blocked.... I put more faith in the reality that is plain to see than in a probably motivated index that only claims to measure a PERCEPTION of corruption (people in the US are sheepish and actually trust the smoke and mirrors they get) rather than the reality. Also I'm not gonna overlook that the organization that publishes said index has major ties to worldwide neoliberal banking

[@sanepillow59]

@@hihowareyouhihowareyou3688 Corruption affects everybody in the US. Corruption determines what you eat, what you pay for it, what you get paid, whether you have healthcare or if it's tied to your employer (like a medieval serf), whether companies pay for the environmental mess they make...and a million of other examples. As for the index you talk about, it only claims to measure PERCEPTION of corruption and not actually depict the reality. More importantly, the organization publishing it has ties to the World Bank so you be the judge of whether they have an agenda they're trying to push.

[@zacharygirgenti3790]

There's a great documentary called "Poverty Inc." and it really opened my eyes to how certain nations can have so much potential on paper, yet continue to languish.

[@onlyabdelix]

When a Hakim video starts with a Yellow parenti clip just know it's a banger 💪🏿😤

[@lochnessmunster1189]

Unfortunately, this video has failed to mention that the world's poorest countries are immeasurably richer than they were 100 years ago.

[@sagedraws1000]

@@lochnessmunster1189 How does that change anything? Lmao

[@sournois90]

​@Loch Ness Munster this only represents the rise in wealth concentration in these countries. no, this isn't a good thing.

[@user-nk8zx1yw8s]

@@lochnessmunster1189 You fail to understand that the increase in GDP has nothing to do with the increase in quality of life or the wealth of the common person in that country.

[@lochnessmunster1189]

@@user-nk8zx1yw8s Please explain how the two aren't related.

[@Octoberfurst]

Great video! I get so tired of hearing my fellow Americans say that countries in the global south are poor because of "corruption" and "ineptitude". No, it's because of exploitation! Thanks for setting the record straight.

[@sceptile57]

It's even worse when people over here in latin america believe those lies so hard that we're so convinced it's our fault. That we're lazy and we just need to "work as hard and be as smart" as those in the US. If only they understood the people over there are the same as us.

[@iodopovidona7458]

@@sceptile57 Yeah it's pretty sad when we fall for that shit and even more so when we generalize our entire region as poor because of socialism, inequality and corruption. Chile and Uruguay are less corrupt than the US and avobe Southern Europe in the Transparency Index, Uruguay is less unequal than the US in the GINI index, alongside Chile they are amongst the most stable economies in the americas, yet they are still developing economies, so there must be something else beside those bullshit excuses.

[@guyfromtheplaceshown3690]

@@sceptile57 Mexico and Latin America exploited slaves and the Natives, they are settler colonies like the US and Canada

[@zachb1706]

The problem is a lot of countries are now adopting the welfare state model. Poor countries which can't afford it are facilitating incredibly expensive welfare programs. Why? Because of democracy. Votes matter more than building a prosperous nation. When you see places like the Congo with59% tax rates, you start to understand why they don't grow

[@MK_ULTRA420]

They're poor because their wealth comes from resource extraction instead of value added. Trading oil and minerals for t-shirts, fast food and video games is a bad long-term economic strategy. Resource extracting nations also tend to lean to Socialism since Socialism doesn't require a service industry. China and India know this which is why they tried to build their own middle class as fast as possible to allow for their own self-sustaining service industries, even if it meant that their workers had to suffer for a generation or two via State Capitalism. Mexico knows this too but they're dealing with the CIA treating them like their personal playground.

[@fargoflagrant7796]

"Underdevelopment isn't a stage of development, but its consequence. Latin America's underdevelopment arises from external development, and continues to feed it." - Eduardo Galeano 🇺🇾

[@jaihalai7674]

This is a brilliant analysis on the report. One thing I think this definitely could be covered on a topic more close to what I'm familiar with is the Global North being responsible for the vast majority of ecological and climate damage throughout history, yet now when faced with a ticking doomsday clock, want the Global South to follow suit in their "Altruistic Climate Goals". It is clear that the Global North has the resources to allow developing countries to catch up, but will not due to their need to depress bargaining power in order to further exploit them as they need to maintain their monopoly on influence and resource flow.

[@Tethloach1]

The oldest trick in the book and people ate it up. Most nations are left overs from the Empires.

[@mrsupremegascon]

"We have the ressources to let poorer country to catch up". Did you ever walked in a Western city ? You didn't saw all the homeless people ? The young people struggling to afford a house ? The endless economic crisis ? Huge Inflation in Europe ? Poorer countries has a far greater gdp growth than rich countries. I will let you explain to the Westerners that are already struggling with money, that they infact are rich and exploit the rest of the world. No wonder why the West is becoming more and more nationalist with such speech against them from so called scholars.

[@jaihalai7674]

@@mrsupremegascon All of that is a result of capitalism being a failed system. The issue isn’t a lack of resources but a lack of a fair and equitable distribution of resources. The rich horde resources while the poor suffer and are exploited. At the end of the day the resources are still being siphoned from poorer countries and sent to the Global North as shown in the video.

[@mrsupremegascon]

@@jaihalai7674 So what your proposing ? We stop trading with the South ? Put an embargo on their export so we makes sure no ressources leave the South ? This video explaining nothing. It just throwed some numbers, with barely any explanation and hope we believe him.

[@cloudynguyen6527]

They ship trash to our country then act surprised when we refuse to recycle their trash. Their consumerism is absurd, more than whatever "primitive" technology we are using in our daily life.

[@algfourty9185]

Excellently delivered as always, Hakim. Unequal trade is one of those things that I think most of us are aware of the existence of, but seeing the true scale of it is certainly eye-opening.

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

Seeing the scale of it was eye watering for me!!

[@Tethloach1]

Inequality can only be sustained if everyone is complacent forever.

[@LVArturs]

Negotiate better then. And develop/buy technologies to make your own advanced production, so you don't have to export 5 times the mass you import. The global market is not a charitable organisation, everyone tries to squeeze out more remuneration from their skills and resources.

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

@@LVArturs "Negotiate better and buy/develop new technology ..." Yeah sure, because the poorest Countries ALWAYS approach the negotiating table from a position of strength, don't they? Buy/develop your own, better tech ... Oh yeah sure, I'll just see what kind of human resources my Universities turn up with this year, shall I? Oh yeah sorry, we've only got the one University in the whole Country, and it's mostly staffed with Junior High School level teacher's, and the only qualified Lecturers of our nationality have been head hunted ... While being educated, overseas!! Fancy that!!! The World Markets aren't a charity.... Except where and when they are, with huge Government subsidies and tax breaks by the $ Billion, I believe you call it "corporate welfare!!" Oh yeah sorry, they're what's called "incentives" aren't they? They're "incentivizing" the hell out of the corn growing industry, the oil and gas industry, the car industry, the housing industry etc etc etc, but never mind, all markets need INCENTIVES, I mean it is, after all, just HUMAN NATURE, is it not? .... PFF!!

[@scepturer6275]

@@frenzalrhomb6919 Lol, if my country Vietnam can become prosperous after a war then your country has no excuse.

[@kapatidtomas]

As a Filipino comrade (who just recently became a Marxist upon stumbling your channel around the time on when genocidal Queen Elizabeth II just died). I appreciate you so much for mentioning my country (the Philippines) for being so rich in natural resources, but despite being rich in natural resources. By being historically exploited by outside powers, especially by the United States and by the US supporting a fascist dictatorship from 1965-1986 here, we never got to nationalize those resources + the fact of never taking advantage of developing our country futther with those resources because of that horrendous dictatorship that also stole billions of government money and outside aid. Hope we get a revolution to change all of that here eventually since the country's situation is still dire. Long live the working classes, death to capitalism's cancers (including fascism/imperialism), and may the international proletarian revolution prevail & persist!

[@herrkommandank675]

Found the NPA Account In all seriousness, the country is rich in natural resources AND IS NOW EXPLOITING TO A GREATER EFFECT, that's why we have been experiencing rapid economic growth for the past decade. Nationalizing all industries is problematic, as it stiffle productive expansion, as compared to private-based industries, because less capital is generated and re-invested. Ever since the economic liberalization starting from the Ramos Administration up until the Duterte Administration, with his Foreign Investment Act and PSA Ammendments, it has resulted our GDP being multiple 4.5x from what it was in 2001 (100 USD Billion to more than 400 USD Billion). Before you fight for "workers right," which isn't something wrong, make sure those workers aren't unemployed first, as protectionism and import-substitution limits the greater expansion of our industries. Workers right don't mean sh1t if they don't have work in the first place. Fortunately, our manufacturing and service industries have been expanding BECAUSE OF LIBERALIZATION OF THE ECONOMY. Fascism is defined and characterized by the fanaticism of some racial structure, which leads to forming some sort of ethno-state, what you've said isn't "Fascism."

[@CommunistBot]

​@@herrkommandank675 GDP goes up, big deal. All that matters is real wages

[@vtndzn]

A few weeks ago I finished reading the open veins of Latin America, by Eduardo Galeano. It's an excellent read for any American (in the broad sense of the word). Definitely recommend it to everyone interested on the subject of exploitation of the so-called third world. As a Latin American, I can say it gets emotional many times

[@kambuyiblack7462]

My brother I am from Africa, 'emotional' is an understatement and irrelevant now. We need a serious conversation on how we can work together and address our problems we both in the same situation but oceans apart

[@kokorochacarero8003]

It's so heartwarming how so many african brothers came together to comment on this thread

[@PrinceZakariyya]

@@kokorochacarero8003 LMFAOOOO

[@robdeskrd]

You don't even have to explain it in this way, it's much more fundamental- Who sets exchange rates for currency? What COUNTRIES run the WORLD bank?

[@abody499]

yeah the monetary system is the elephant in the room

[@mrtesticles889]

Jews

[@Jebemtimater-hw7lv]

oy

[@blessedandbiwithahintofmagic]

This color scheme for the thumbnail is ♡ The production quality of Hakim's work is getting better and better constantly - I appreciate his laboring work ♡

[@Krgirk]

Voice from Kazakhstan. We have some "deals" from 90s with America and some european countries. Those "deals" focus on mineral resourses and oil. Only 2% of mined resourses are Kazakhstans profit. Now due to Ru-Ukraine war europe wants to build logistical infrastracture in Kazakhstan. Due you know what is a kicker in that one if it will be done? Companies that would build infrostracture - european. Companies that will controll it - european. Who will profit - european. And who will pay for that? People of Kazakhstan becouse all that logistical paradise will be financed by a credit from europe. So we will have a situation where we have 0 controll, 0 profit and we will have to pay that fcn loan. And the saddest thing is that our goverment enables it.

[@sinoroman]

hopefully southern countries can get better deals in the future. perhaps when the global system is broken down

[@alexfrost2420]

IMHO, the issue is not the globalism itself. It might have been a force of good and for good with a fairer economic system.

[@liasonlee1248]

Better deals? Southern countries should revolt and cut any dealings to the north, let the north suffer the same thing they have caused the south over the centuries.

[@duncan.o-vic]

Even in the northern countries the majority of people are being exploited, globalisation itself is not a bad thing, it's the capitalism

[@aoeu256]

@@alexfrost2420 Actually, thanks to hegemonic competition from China Africa & Latin America & Indonesia have recently been improving a bit economically with their infrastructure & factories, thats why the West is trying to demonize China.

[@manovrsb]

​@alexfrost2420 problem with our southern economy is if we raise prices on resources and goods , it'll make the final product and machinery EXPENSIVE for locals to purchase thus leading us into a crisis. Or if the government chooses to increase wages for the people it would lead to a collapse of the economy. Cheap labour isn't only for foreigners to exploit , locals do it as well even pay less than expected.

[@kambuyiblack7462]

I have been saying this all along to my African brothers we are in a game where the score is 100 to 1. We cannot continue like our situation and poverty is normal. If we want drastic change we must engage in drastic actions we really owe our Ancestor that. Our fathers fought and never accepted slavery today we are by far the happiest slaves. A disgrace to the nature of a man. DISGRACEFUL!

[@Redrot272]

I would love to see you try and explain to an actual slave that capitalism under todays standers is slavery.

[@kambuyiblack7462]

@@Redrot272 slavery was capitalisms. Slavery has nothing to do with being chained up it has everything to do with your mind being chained

[@Redrot272]

@@kambuyiblack7462 Slavery existed long before the concept of capitalism and it existed in Africa long before any Europeans started interfering. Slavery is someone being someone else's property, that's not a thing in your mind, that's a matter of fact. If you don't show up to work I doubt you have people chasing you down, beating you up, whipping you or possibly killing you, all under the accepted norms and laws of your society. Like there is a difference of me saying that your mind is a prison, because you are following certain patterns that you are used to, and you ACTUALLY being in prison. I also find it strange that you are saying it's in your mind but you yourself would describe your people as "happiest slaves"? Wouldn't the first step of freeing your mind be not to view your self as a slave?

[@kambuyiblack7462]

@@Redrot272 You have never read the book written by the first free slave in America right? He said to free yourself from slavery you must first identify yourself as a slave - you must acknowledge that I am trapped and need to free myself. The slavery I talk about is the commercial race-economics slavery of Europeans on peoples across the world. This slavery is different and is highly sophisticated than all previous slavery in Africa or across. If you do not pitch up at work you will be in trouble (some manager calling you or giving you a warning the next day - this is my experience you cannot deny me my experience). Capitalism has incorporated slavery in the constitution thus making it hard to distinguish the two from each other. Understanding that to be a successful slave master you need to enslave the mind of the people you own or else they can revolt against you and even kill you. Better yet the slaves can reject to work thus ruining your business if you not control them well. That is way the author of that book said some slaves did not want to leave the farm - they accepted the position of slavery and their minds were entrapped to not picture a life outside the system of slavery - how will they eat and survive? African leaders are happy slaves because they have accepted they position. Obviously happy slave is humoristic, it is another way of saying a slave who has accepted his position and the slave master is very pleased with that position.

[@Jkjoannaki]

"Not underdeveloped, overexploited " Exactly

[@Jkjoannaki]

I'm greek and Greeks are poor bc we are just a big nato base and nothing else. Also, good for tourism.

[@chinobiii]

Comrade Hakim, your work is beyond necessary! Marxism is growing a lot here in Brazil and seeing your work makes even more hopeful about revolution in a global scale.

[@edgarma4037]

Thanks for uploading this! Your original video on unequal exchange was what initially turned me away from a reformist socdem position and convinced me of the need for revolution, and it’s great to see this topic covered in a new light.

[@sonkoro-sama4040]

as a western european, this video made me stop delaying the reading on politics, economy,etc. if the situation is really this unequal and my lifestyle is based on the misery of so many people to this extent, it feels selfish not starting developing an awareness to eventually take action right now.

[@Kioki1-x8p]

Imagine being so as evil as to ruin other nations with large populations, knowing full well it will lead to global chaos to erupt and might even lead to apocalyptic wars breaking out.

[@guest_4416]

This video is very well made and really expands on what I've learned in school about unequal exchange.

[@folke_hagall2946]

I HAVE WANTED THIS SEQUAL FOR SO LONG!!! i am currently reading unequal exchange and the prospects of socialism, and as a member of an organisation in the the first world I think it's SOOO important that more people learn about this Vital theoretical concept!

[@todotwt8732]

Perfect timing since were discussing africa in geography class rn thanks hakim

[@stefandv1480]

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[@stefandv1480]

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[@stefandv1480]

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[@stefandv1480]

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[@jman4062]

Great video, especially detailing that imperialism isn't purely militaristic in nature, which should be common knowledge with the work of Lenin, but isn't. My nation of Haiti was terrorized by this process from our independence. From Dessalines killing the French colons to obtain trade the British or the same deal by Haiti not being a Republic. To Henry Christophe giving total trade monopoly to the British. The French under the threat of 2nd invasion larger invasion demanded crippling reparations for liberating ourselves from slavery, not only that they gained near total monopoly on Haitian trade which they used as a backdoor to overthrow any president or leader who wanted to end the debts. After decades of foreign terrorization, by the US blowing up our ships because we were pirates until they recognized our existence in the 1860s after 60 years of independence in a very similar and spiteful act mirroring our neighbors in Cuba to this day. Even then we fell into a 3 way governmental struggle between the puppets of France, Germany and The US. Leading the Americans occupying the country for 2 decades. Even afterwards the dictators they left open sold out goods purposely unequally, so the US can get out of the depression and the Marshall plan. 1946 a large scale proletariat revolution against the state occurred however disunity between the Communist and Socialist parties combined with a National Bourgeoisie of noiriste 'liberals' with the threat of a second US occupation ended the revolution however with the rise of socialists in Haiti in popular politics lead to the US supporting the Noiriste who consolidated under Françios Duvalier, who had tens of thousands publicly executed, many more disappeared, massacres of whole towns, concentration camps and the exodus of nearly a million people. With the Cold War ending the US laxed their support for the Duvaliers leading the resurgence of the Communist party and Fanmi Lavalas the US supported military strong men and VSN death squad members. Who overthrew Aristide and only reinstated him when the military were losing to socialist militias liberating the country. Aristide would be reelected in, renouncing IMF restructuring, refusing western aid, restructuring the government and economy weakening western monopolies and oligarchs, increased wages by double, emphasized trade with Latin America and Africa over the US or EU, creating an economic pact with Cuba, called out the French for the 120 years of debts demanded, the repatriation of communists who were forced into exile. In this a group of oligarchs aptly named Group 184 started a color revolution with the disbanded Haitian military, police and paramilitaries, known as the "Cannibal Army" funded and aided by the US, France and Canada, after overthrowing Aristides they called a UN occupation to maintain their power. This government would collapse the Haitian society until this day serving Western imperialism. There is a mild bit of hope with the rise of various socialist movements and militias however it is still quite bleak. However we stand as the harsh reminder of this process and goals of exploitation the global south

[@AbstractTraitorHero]

Haiti is genuinely one of the most tragic nations to ever exist

[@TRD315]

That exactly what the U.S and British did to my nation. Woaw.

[@jman4062]

@@souventudubanned Pride and care for you own country is second to the accumulation of capital. Foriengers provides capital thus they will exploit the rest of the country for them. If not you will be overthrown in a US coup.

[@Th33Xx]

If the world system is so static and unfair, how is it, that all these "core countries" are no longer "core countries": PT,ES, NL, FR, UK? Why did Japan, singapore, korea, rise to the top? Why is China, indonesia and India now taking over the West in total GDP?

[@thanhvinhnguyento7069]

The answer is in the question. Think of it as trickle down economics, japan, china, korea, singapore lifting the whole region up by simply being close and favorable for trade. All these countries had great investment from the west

[@thepeacefulenemy4026]

Since I started reading/watching Paul Cockshotts’s material on your recommendation, I would sure love it if you could address his videos on this subject, especially where he uses the example of steel production in India vs the US, looking at their input/output data. But I know you’re a busy guy. As always, thanks so much for all you do.

[@thepeacefulenemy4026]

@@novinceinhosic3531 apologies if I’m misunderstanding you, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that either Hakim or Cockshott would ever shy away from expressing controversial opinions. We are talking about nuanced differences within Marxist-Leninist thought after all. If they wanted safe and inoffensive, they could have just stuck with liberalism😂

[@thepeacefulenemy4026]

@@novinceinhosic3531 🙄oh lord

[@ehtresih9540]

@@thepeacefulenemy4026 what did he say?

[@thepeacefulenemy4026]

@@ehtresih9540 it was kinda incoherent tbh. Just had a weird axe to grind. Said Cockshott was an idiot, without elaborating. Seemed to imply Hakim was was some kind of liberal grifter (lol), and that he wouldn’t want to address my original question because he’d get cancelled or something. Even said Hakim was hiding the fact that he’s a Muslim to fit in better among atheists😂 I dunno man, people are strange.

[@ehtresih9540]

@@thepeacefulenemy4026 oh lol

[@probablynotben6288]

Why am I getting the feeling that he repeated what was said in the article word for word because he knows most of his viewers won’t bother to read it so he could save time on writing scripts

[@rodjayoma7085]

Thanks for this video Hakim. As a Filipino, I always felt that the US has never been a good ally to the Philippines even after the end of the 2nd World War as it actively tried to undermine our economy through the Bell Trade Act and an unsustainable 2 peso per 1 dollar exchange rate that was imposed on us then later on through free trade agreements via the IMF and World Bank during and after the Marcos Regime. But apart from foreign actors, this type of exploitation is perpetuated by our capitalist and political elite alike who have turned our country into a right wing, small government(weak institutions), laissez-faire wet dream where power and money dictates everything. The gov't tries its best to spend the bare minimum amount for public investment in healthcare, education, infrastructure, etc. or if they do will fund it through foreign debt while handing the rest of the economy to a handful of oligarchs who heavily rely on rent-seeking and captured markets.

[@ELVIR2]

im a Filipino and you clear didn’t received proper education.

[@piotrtchaikovski6674]

Hakim when he remembers the 15 yo barista makes more in an hour than he makes in a day

[@zachb1706]

Americans when they find out comparing income in other countries using dollar amounts is retarded

[@Azazin187]

This explanation can only work if you take the concept of "unequal exchange" for granted. But many Marxists pointed, rightfully, out that this concept is build on ricardian and neoclassical (unrealistic) assumptions. Here is an interview in Jacobin from 2020: David Zachariah: "Let’s turn to some central issues of economic inequality and redistribution. Radical economists have typically explained persistent global inequalities in terms of unequal exchange, monopolistic capitalists, or extra-economic imperial coercion. By contrast, you have argued that the main causal force reproducing such inequalities is capitalist competition itself. Can you explain how your theory differs from the conventional accounts?" Anwar Shaikh: "When you’re in the Global South, you think of the Center as this entity that has some sort of plan. That’s true to some extent, as the record of imperial powers like Britain makes clear. But the nature of capitalism subjects imperial planners and capitalists themselves to persistent pressures - what Smith, Ricardo, and Marx called the “laws of political economy” - which are beyond their direct control. And the resulting patterns also impose themselves in the Center itself. That led me to think, what are these forces to which even capitalists and their representatives in the state system are subject? When you look at the history of capitalism you observe many patterns, such as the recurrence of economic depressions, which happen irrespective of anyone’s subjective intentions. Reading Marx gave me the sense that you could have a foundation to explain such things, and go on to explain regional and global inequalities from that base. That’s not to deny the heavy hand of imperialism, but I don’t believe that we need to explain it in terms of monopolization or unequal exchange in the traditional sense. I spent fifteen or twenty years teaching all three volumes of Marx’s Capital, trying to extract and develop his economic theory and apply it to the modern world. It seemed to me that the conventional account of “monopoly” was grounded in neoclassical theory. I used to be in contact with the Marxian economists Paul Sweezy and Harry Magdoff, who worked just two blocks away from the New School. I remember asking them what they meant by monopoly, and thus by competition? Their answer was basically that competition is what neoclassical economics says it is. It seemed incredible to me that they would reduce Marx’s notion of competition to that of Milton Friedman. They had relegated competition to some long-distant stage of capitalism - a view that was advanced by the highly influential Marxian economist Rudolf Hilferding at the beginning of the twentieth century. I believe that the same competitive forces that produce uneven development within national economies also produce regional or transnational inequalities. The difference is that within most advanced national economies, the state is under pressure to intervene in order to mitigate these imbalances, because they’re a threat to the whole system. In a world economy dominated by imperialism, powerful states can choose instead to suppress the struggles against inequality by force, for considerable periods of time." Basically what Shaikh is saying is, that not unequal exchange or "monopoly" were the source of inequality and poverty, but moreover competition.

[@eb.e.1649]

I live in an African country and this just misses the point. The reason why my country is poor is not because of western countries but poor economic policies that cripple our productivity and industries. Lack of property rights which makes us unable to take advantage of our own property for development. The governments here are too focused on centralising power instead of decentralising it and giving power to the common man and his local communities. It is what it is

[@rickb3650]

Ask yourself where these "poor economic policies" come from. And for that matter, how did your country become a country in the first place? Empires don't just take the resources of the lands they conquer, they export their systems into the places they subjugate. You didn't say which country you live in, but since it is African the chances are good that it was created by a European power that dictated its borders and laws and forced multiple societies and cultures, some of whom had their own differences with each other, into this singular nation. This creates the foundations of internal conflict which they they can continue to exploit.

[@MikeBNumba6]

@@rickb3650 well said

[@YouHaveAnApeHead]

Congratulations on 200k Hakim. It is probably a few thousand smaller due to accounts that are inactive and alternative accounts, but hey, big number go up. No doubt that atleast one if them 200k have been radicalised due to your content.

[@Gray-dr2ri]

Love the vids! Also, I’m actually an econ major and no one uses critical thinking in that field bc technically speaking there’s a way to prove that a monopolistic socially planned economy is the most efficient way of economic organization (can further elaborate if desired) but people are too brainwashed to put two and two together.

[@esoopthederp7672]

Is the method ignoring the human factor? I have a feeling that a pure enough society and culture too allow that too happen would only lose less than a quarter efficiency in productivity in a capitalist state whereas any corruption would devestate the centralized state

[@shepardice3775]

@@esoopthederp7672 No, with well organized planning at its full capacity you don't need people to be any better than just regular people.

[@sic5764]

Please do further elaborate, it's not like a "monopolistic socially planned economy" hasn't ever been tried, so I am curious how you want to solve the many problems that historically came with such systems.

[@randomsnow6510]

​@@sic5764 companys with verticly intergrated supply chains and automated logistic planning are allready themselves essentially miniture centrally planned economies, pretty much all companies that work with physical products end up like this because it is the most effcient way of getting stuff done they have allready solved the technical problems for us. it is not a question of is it possible to plan the entire economy in this way? it is a question of when it will happen.

[@KalebOfAxum12]

I disagree, time and time again planned economies have been proven to be inefficient, ineffective, and corrupt. It’s not about brainwashing or some other tin foil hat conspiracy, the fact is planned economies don’t work, this is primarily due to the fact that they tend to be managed by people like yourself, who are more interested in achieving ideological goals rather than something that would be practical and effective. Look at Russia during the 1900’s it was a backwater at the beginning of the century during Tsarist rule, but it’s economy was growing rapidly, so much so that the Germans deemed it impossible to wage war with them by the end of the 1910’s. Its culture was prospering and Its population was growing rapidly as well. When the soviets took over however that all changed after moving to a planned economy things got incredibly worse people starved riots and revolts broke out. During the early 20’s Lenin even returned the state to a market economy because the situation was so bad. Stalins focus on ideology rather than practicality led to the killings of kulaks (who actually knew how to farm) and replaced them with inexperienced poor people, which led to a famine. His 5 year plans greatly industrialized the country, at the cost of millions of lives. Stalin also choose to persecute religion excessively, many Christian’s were dragged out of their church’s and killed, nuns were raped, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews also suffered similar fates. Furthermore culture was destroyed in Russia and replaced with the sad and pathetic way of life that the Russians have today. Many of the problems modern Russia faces were caused solely by the soviets, severe population decline? Thank the soviets for killing so many people and encouraging women to be loose and use protection! Terrible economy dominated by oligarchs? Thank the soviets for their failed planned economy that prevented any meaningful competition or progress! Tyrannical government that silences opposition? Thank the soviets for destroying the first Russian Republic and ruining the only chance the Russians had at maintaining a functioning democracy! I could go on and on. Look I know communism offers all these great promises of equality and a society that is perfect in every way, but it’s just that, a promise. Market economies work because they promote a culture of competition, which leads to maximum efficiency because the companies that can’t keep up go out of business. It’s literally a system of survival of the fittest where only the best and most effective businesses can survive. Communism or a socialist planned economy however require unlimited resources to work, a completely uncorrupt and highly capable leadership, and a population who is completely loyal to the system, and working at maximum efficiency. In other words it won’t work because it can’t.

[@vadimk3484]

Not to sound like a dick, but I think the whole "North vs South" concept is misleading. It's rather "Core vs Periphery" - yeah, sure, there's no doubt that African countries are getting the worst of it on a global scale, but, for example, core countries of the EU are using the same unequal exchange mechanism to pump value out of the EU periphery, like Eastern Europe for example. Russia is doing this to lesser countries of CIS. Heck, the whole Ukraine bloodbath is Russian and US/EU capital fighting over whose oligarchy is going to be robbing Russian periphery in the near future. It's also worth noting that most of the wealth that gets extracted via unequal exchange ends up in the hands of a bunch of super-wealthy parasites from the very top of the capitalist core. I'm sure Hakim is not a social-chauvinist and perfectly understands the class nature of unequal exchange, but I thought it was worth to point out that it's not the workers of the capitalist core robbing Africans, it's the megacorps and oligarchs. The working class of the core is only getting some leftovers from the bourgeois table - sometimes more, sometimes less, but it's still peanuts compared to what the real parasites are sucking out of the periphery.

[@h4Q6e]

Yes! fantastic work! Besides researching unequal exchange and imperialism, Jason Hickel is also a major proponent of degrowth theory. I know from the podcast that you seem to not be a great fan of degrowth, but I would argue that it is absolutely necessary not only to tackle the structural differences in wealth created by imperialism, but also climate change, which is a byproduct of the need of capital to continuously grow. The ideology of growth is something that has persisted even in situations where capital had been defeated and arguably it is one of the reasons why often capitalism found a way of creeping back in. I would love in the future to see you tackle this topic. Thanks Hakim for your passion and your work.

[@jacobdada]

The problem with degrowth is that it seems really obscene and impossible for most of the world. Not even talking about the 759 million people deprived of electricity, 800 million in malnutrition, there will be growth if the basic infrastructures are developed where they need to be. If someone from Tchad for instance say they need roads, power plants, public services, industries, local businesses, tourism... what can you argue? That beeing said yeah, gdp dollars are a messed up and nocive indicator for wealth.

[@h4Q6e]

@@jacobdada currently degrowth theory argues for the necessity of degrowth only in the Global North. Most countries in the Global South need to expand growth (as in production and consumption of materials, energy) to meet the necessity of their population. Also the majority of countries in the Global South do not exceed their share of planetary boundary. So in the North by reducing excess resources and energy use, and relying less on the exploitation of the South you would expect to also curb unequal exchange. It is quite a new idea, but I hope that it is going to gain traction in the future!

[@jacobdada]

@@h4Q6e I doubt this idea can attract people outside of a limited social and geographic strata. Maybe for countries like the USA or Australia it would be economically viable, for some local communities it can be a way of life, but I don't get how it could play on a global or even national stage. Like a government would aim at negative growth? Also what you call share of planetary boundaries seems very vague, in terms of carbon emissions, under developed nations may not be so bad but when they start developing they are going to make huge contributions (India now makes up seven per cent of global carbon emissions...), the impact from development on biodiversity is still very much devastating... I really think degrowth is a bit outside the point, just mirroring the discourse of gdp growth when we mostly need to change the terms of the equation ie, the way we mesure wealth and evaluate a successful economy, which determines crucial loans and investments.

[@Spiritualmanlet]

Global south countries have two options: either reduce trade to the extreme minimum, like North Korea. Or trade with other countries which in most situations will produce unequal exchanges, including between nominally similar “global south” countries. This is the negative byproduct of the world not yet producing a viable alternative to a world economy depending on a market for labor, materials, and finished products.

[@doctorinternet8695]

north korea didn't reduce trade, it suffers from an economic blockade. Do you think the huge crisis they went through after the dissolution of the ussr, losing their major trade partner, was intentional? An interesting fact is that at the beginning of the 21st century, nk conducted trade with brazil in which they sold the higher value goods. nk sold microchips and musical instrument parts, while brazil sold commodities like soy.

[@Spiritualmanlet]

@@doctorinternet8695 That is true, and the fact about Brazil-NK trade is interesting. Do you think there is any rational basis to the sanctions on NK? Is there any reason that the state regards the acquisition of nuclear weapons to be so important to override the what they would otherwise get through trade? Is that in the interest of the NK people?

[@doctorinternet8695]

@@Spiritualmanlet "Do you think there is any rational basis to the sanctions on NK?" Yes, the US and NK are enemies, the US views their system as deleterious to US interests, nk is at a strategic position against china, and the us doesn't depend on nk for anything. So it's only logical that they would install an economic blockade to destroy the country. "Is there any reason that the state regards the acquisition of nuclear weapons to be so important to override the what they would otherwise get through trade?" There is a reason. nk was under immediate threat by the us on several points after the war (and the war hasn't technically ended). It is known that there were plans for an invasion of the country, you can find them online. It is an obvious strategical move to have weapons that can challenge a much more powerful opponent which 1) has invaded you and destroyed you, 2) planned to do it again, 3) installs a blockade against you (I think the blockade already existed before the dissolution of the ussr), and 4) to this day performs military exercises near your border. "Is that in the interest of the NK people?" Well, it certainly deters conflict. While it caused the tightening of the blockade, it already existed before. As far as I know, nk is at a point where the blockade has become tolerable, since they were able to build a good industrial and agricultural base to support their society. The nuclear technology also isn't just for weapons, it works as a spearhead for the development of other areas, like energy production. I guess the population could derive benefits from a capitulationist government. But it's easy for us to make guesses of what would be better for a country. Libia was invaded after all, and that had catatrophic results. And cuba still suffers a blockade, and it is no theat to the US. Who's to say that even with deferal by nk, they wouldn't suffer anyway.

[@gscsilvavaladares7065]

@@Spiritualmanlet Did you even read the comment you reponded? It does not matter what NK state wants , when they are in a blockade, they can not make trade with almoust anyone. And for the response of your first question, no , there is not , North Corea does not have a capitalist bourgoirse in power that i subservient to the bourgoirse of the West , and so they receive a blockade , same happens to any country that has sovereignty over their resorces , independant of their political sistem .

[@MCDreng]

I was gonna say "Yellow Parenti" and then you actually showed the Yellow Parenti. True comrade

[@anmolt3840051]

Q: Why are rich countries rich? A: Theft ... Like the estimated 47 trillion USD stolen from India by Britain

[@lottabee]

@Florentino Perez Yes.

[@annhilator55]

​@Florentino Perez excellent argument bro I hope the nordic countries aren't like arms profiteers and don't own multinational corporations that underpay their workers by a massive amount allowing for wealth to flow up from Bangladesh to the Sweden for example.

[@reis1185]

​@Florentino Perez they participated in colonial trade and still with neo-colonial grip on the global south

[@iodopovidona7458]

What about Singapore? The only reason it's rich it's just by being in the strait of Malacca a region with heavy flow of international commerce allowing it to become a commercial hub. The world isn't THAT black and white, and "Unequal Exchange" perspective removes agency from within poor countries, like corrupt elites that doesn't want to change the status quo because it benefits them and the ruling elites.

[@austintowns3745]

@Iodopovidona right so the reason poor countries are poor are their "political elites" and not because we buy their materials for pennies on the dollar and pay their workers cents per hour. Makes total sense.

[@drno87]

Aid contributions are given in dollars and bestowed on larger organizations, so often the money is spent on imports instead of developing local economies (see Super-Imperialsm by Michael Hudson). Infrastructure aid usually goes to building roads and railways from the mines to the ports rather than trying to facilitate trade between different parts of the country. There's also strong interest to minimize social unrest. This can come in the form of propping up local strongmen, but there's also a systematic route. If social unrest is caused by social pressures, and economic changes lead to social and political changes, then it's in the interest of foreigners to minimize real economic reform.

[@nelsonvillanueva1]

I’m glad you put numbers to my thoughts. I thought it was mostly labor but it is clear that it is in way so many ways which includes labor.

[@8is]

The problem with the source and the entire concept is that it tries to measures value as cost of land, labour, resources, etc. But that's inaccurate since the true value of anything is the price other people will buy it for. If you measure by the true value of the products bought and sold between these groups of countries, the "unequel of exchange" would be 1:1 by definition. Just because the sum of all products from "the North" required less land, labour, resources, etc. than "the South's" products did, that doesn't mean that the North's products are less valuable. Natural resources are cheap, semiconductors are not. That's why poor countries will trade a lot of natural resources for a few semiconductors, because the semiconductors are a thousand times more useful and thusly valuable.

[@devinB1917]

Ah yes the yellow parenti video. Everyone here should watch it regularly to remind yourself of his best points

[@lewisrobinson3380]

I haven't made it all the way through yet, but I hope that you touch on the fact that the vast majority of Global South banks have to pay interest on loans they get almost entirely from the Global North thus acting as an extra hidden Tax collected by and Large by the Nations they supposedly freed themselves from. This is a rather large issue for previous French colonies in West Africa for example who are virtually forced to get loans via French Banks. Which basically means at least a portion of whatever surplus value those African States might produce ends up going back France. I've also heard that China might be doing this to some extent but I haven't dug deeply into that yet.

[@andrewzhou4228]

The anti-imperialist strategy is to form an alternate supply chain outside of the monopoly capitalism.

[@lochnessmunster1189]

What's 'monopoly capitalism'?

[@gscsilvavaladares7065]

@@lochnessmunster1189 As the name implies , a monopoly of a single entity on the whole marked in capitalism , which happens all the time , unless it becomes a Oligopoly.

[@lochnessmunster1189]

@@gscsilvavaladares7065 Which monopolies exist at the moment?

[@O1iviaWard]

I'm literally shook. This is such an eye opener

[@DonovanHunt-o6v]

I’m a socialist, but I just wanted to point out a historical and accuracy on that map of the British Empire. You missed several West African British colonies. Again I apologize.

[@gytoser801]

Basically: Unequal Exchange Rate (Being Monopoly and Monoposony) , Imperialistic Global Financial Instutitions, Wage lowering Competence

[@debasishraychawdhuri]

It is true. The mid-level software developer in India gets paid less than a McDonalds worker at the US.

[@neurodivtries4101]

Because that software is less valuable in the world for humanity than that burger. Change your commie mentality bengali or else more generations will ruin in poverty.

[@Stacia.01]

⁠@@neurodivtries4101 u have 0 nuance

[@pyrobeingpyro]

I felt offended by them calling Brazil "rich". We are still an third world country, we are richer than the average because we are the 5th biggest country and we have tons of resources to sell.

[@sousmerde2retardataire]

« The racist theory that the black man was inferior led to the conclusion that he deserved lower wages ; and, interestingly enough, the light-skinned Arab and Berber populations of North Africa were treated as ‘blacks’ by the white racist French. (...) The Nigerian coalminer at Enugu earned one shilling per day for working underground and nine pence per day for jobs on the surface. Such a miserable wage would be beyond comprehension of a Scottish or German coalminer who could virtually earn in an hour what the Enugu miner was paid for a six-day week. The same disparity existed with port workers. The records of the large American shipping company, Farrell Lines, show that in 1955, of the total amount spent on loading and discharging cargo moving between Africa and America, five-sixths went to American workers and one-sixth to Africans. Yet, it was the same amount of cargo loaded and unloaded at both ends. » -- W.Rodney, "How Europe underdeveloped Africa" Oh how things have changed...

[@matusmotlo3854]

They do this to this day, even in Europe itself. Southern and Eastern Europeans get paid roughly a quarter of what the "Aryans" get paid, despite actually being more productive and working more hours in a year. And that's only speaking of those in the EU.

[@sousmerde2retardataire]

​​@@matusmotlo3854 Yeah, and if our wages were divided by 10 and the prices of products we're consuming was also divided by 10, then we wouldn't be/feel poorer, but it would be so much easier for foreigners to buy our mines/enterprises/.. if protectionnism is forbidden(, the world bank, i.m.f., ..., will make sure of that by locking countries into debt, and making sure they're grateful to us exploiters for our "help" towards this debt). But that's only an aspect of neo-colonialism, and i was surprised to discover that the most basic/important feature a.f.a.i.k., the old "export of raw materials(, with 'high competition'/'low margins')" for the South, vs. "export of manufactured goods(, such as planes or computers, with 'low competition'/'high margins')" for the North, hasn't changed much compared to colonial times, we do have Nintendo, Samsung, Huawei, but these are the main three countries that really made it in our markets, let's not have a "melting pot" of human beings if we don't want to, but only if we have a melting pot on our markets(, and i mean by that an equal standard of living for all countries, some could be more protectionnist i.d.c.). Yet this opposition raw//manufactured is still far from enough to talk about neo-colonialism, i remember that we strangely subsidize our agriculture to the point of losing money apparently, and as a result the poor farmers(, sometimes without any engines), will produce a food more expensive than the western one, so these countries can't even develop their agricultural "primary sector". One of the most shocking things, after the different kind of dumpings/'negative externalities' that have direct consequences on (non-)humans, is that even if life is more expensive in the west, you can still buy much more things with an hour of work than in southern countries, you can work 50h/week in harsher conditions and you'll still be able to buy less stuff than a westerner working 35h/week, more things should be shocking i know, but the unfairness is so obvious. And if these countries adopted our exact same laws, then they would still be in the same situation 50 years later, it's not a problem of legislation, and isn't as simple as 'rejecting free markets'/'embracing protectionnism'(, wise/knowledgeable is the one who'd know how to escape this condition, France should help its ex-colonies, that could be some starting point but it obviously won't happen, no western "leader" would ever pull the full-strength of h.er.is country to help another one, that's a useless wish, at most a couple hundred millions, but not teams to share knowledge, and build for free training centers and industries while accompanying the processes with its own market in a devoted/disinterested way, there's a lot of things to do but that'd be better trillions spent than in wars, it'd be a very serious endeavor, the kind of sacrifice that would deeply reverse our growth, until they rejoin us. It's a little-known fact that gdp per capita is growing faster in the west than in the South, such countries can't let that continue, they can't let their leaders be treated in european hospitals and even let stupid/evil people insinuate that the problem is cultural or genetic, and they can't realistically hope for a miraculous help from the West(, or anyone else really, nobody will slow its growth, these are childish dreams, perhaps if we were christians in the way of "i'm an eternal repenting sinner in front of the Lord", but that would also be a naive hope, it's pointless to talk about such "solution" any longer. On the other side, we'd simply need a collective awakening&desire to such project, i.d.k., it's technically feasible and i could envision our citizens agreeing to it with the correct propaganda/"pedagogy", i shouldn't be too cynical in rejecting at least the possibility of a western "sacrifice", you'd better polish your plan B though). I'm currently working with different people, some of them black(, mostly from Mayotte), and i was surprised to discover the extent of their interest/knowledge towards what's happening in Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger, ..., immensely more than french people, they identify themselves as "blacks" and are surrounded with white historical figures, well, i digress, was just surprised that they were so much more informed/interested in what's happening than the average french(wo)man. I probably forgot quite a few things about neo-colonialism, but i'm also certain that i'm ignoring way more than that, here're a few arguments then.

[@matusmotlo3854]

@@sousmerde2retardataire Yeah, great analysis. It is a problem. The bizzare thing is that the Westerners sell us the idea that we just have to work harder, despite them working shorter hours and being actually less productive. The myth of people outside of northwestern (e.g. Aryan) Europe being lazy is complete bullshit. People elsewhere work longer hours, and produce mor per hour, than their people do. And yet we get paid shit, while the products, in many other areas, like Eastern Europe, where I live, are more expensive. Seriously, we're more productive than Western Europeans and also work more hours, and yet the food here is more expensive than it is in Austria. Fucking ridiculous. We need to bring down this system.

[@keshi5541]

@@matusmotlo3854 It's called a global caste system.

[@mateusgirotto6346]

Setember 7th 1985, Brazil was close to be independent in oil and industrial products, also Brazil was close to be competitive with USA industry in some areas. This same day, USA president raise an embargo on Brazil =). 1964, brazil was trying to be independent in Energy and ending the dependency on USA energy market, so USA changed the brazil goverment.

[@MrAngryman69]

Hey Econoboi made a video trying to debunk this video. You should do a response video to counter his arguments. Should be fun

[@Numbers-gStands]

Big agree

[@shafkatmk4948]

even as a kid i always felt there was odd exchanges between my country and the west , it s always felt we we were giving and contributing more than we get

[@elinamanansi5508]

thus why the eu freaked out and sued Indonesia in WTO due to Indonesia restrictions on raw material (nickel).

[@Bell_plejdo568p]

exactly

[@ameridesign]

Fuck the EU

[@TheRedReid]

What an absolute banger of a video! I'll definitely be using this in the future

[@fluoridestare3561]

I've been reading The Wealth of (Some) Nations by Zak Cope and struggling to understand it at times this video is a godsend!

[@Gamerdude3567]

watching these genuinly makes me feel hopeless since we actually cant do anything as the elites and monopolies control every way of our lives.

[@doctorinternet8695]

we can organize and do the revolution

[@Stacia.01]

Vote

[@f4b0]

maybe your best video. great stuff brother

[@ps3650]

The most important point I would cite is: If you look at all the rosy statements about "global poverty reduction" over the last 80 years, 100% happened exclusively in countries with their own nuclear weapons. (Overwhelmingly China, but also to a lesser degree India and Pakistan) The only countries with any capacity to "develop" in any way are the ones that can retaliate with nuclear weapons against western invasion.

[@alexarviso6836]

Exactly. That's why everyone should have nukes to defend themselves.

[@macaque791]

Or the country that are nuclear power are great powers in general so of course they developped widely over the last 80 years like every major country did

[@macaque791]

​@@alexarviso6836 yeah ukraine should have nukes to defend themselves from Russian imperialism

[@elgatto3133]

​​@@alexarviso6836 any country trying to challenge western hegemony with nukes gets killed for it like iran. especially now with cyberwarfare. the feds will notice if someone is getting the raw materials for nukes. that being said, another leveler of the playing field is cyberwarfare.

[@ameridesign]

Starting my morning with a Hakim video! I've learned so much from you.

[@MaThyssen]

Greatest Respect, Habibi, for another banger!

[@hugoenzo2444]

Hakim with a banger to make the world a better place again

[@genova4485]

How many regime changed done by US when their leader attempt to nationalise their nature resources?

[@gabrieldavis7128]

Hey there Hakim! Another cracking video of yours! I dunno if you’ll read this, but I’d like to recommend a topic for a future video. Often I find people who hold anti-capitalist beliefs, but they’ll always disregard socialism/communism because of Marx himself. They claim that he was a bad person. They say he treated Engels like crap, abused his wife, had affairs, never worked in his life. Do you think you could make a video on Marx himself as a person? Sort of like the vids BadEmpanada did on Che Guevara?

[@DeoMachina]

Who cares? That's like refusing to use brushless AC motors because Tesla was an antisemite Anybody who disregards Marxism on the basis that "oooh he didn't bathe I'm so mad about that" isn't serious

[@gatitapunk616]

Greetings from the global south

[@botchedmandala5197]

Jason Hickel's a boss! Could you touch on degrowth sometime, that's some of his best work :) thanks again for another video hakim

[@danielrogers2026]

Obviously the material is excellent. My humble note on form would be to make the pace of the video a little bit slower. I’m familiar with all the terms being discussed and if I was a normie the speed would make it harder to absorb these important concepts. Really appreciate the work you do.

[@redox4088]

I am from Bangladesh and you can find the same shirt you buy for 50 dollars in the US for 2 dollars here.

[@michaelduguay7698]

Is this why China is seen as such a threat? Do you think China will help other global south countries no longer be reliant on the manipulative tactics of the global north, or will they join in on rampant exploitation?

[@sketchiefello9002]

China is a great force of good int he world

[@DeoMachina]

China is capitalist, and therefore will be forced to exploit other nations eventually

[@SoggyPoridge]

I think there's a strong case to be made that China being a viable (and much more preferrable/benign) alternative to the US/IMF for international funding is a good chunk of the reason. That said, it seems pretty hard to be certain at this point if they'd keep going as they are now or change tack into more exploitation. My guess is them continuing as they are now

[@aoeu256]

@@SoggyPoridge ASEAN is also growing they can help China.

[@zinjanthropus322]

China is dependant on the West for a market.

[@eddd123]

It was too dense too fast, for this concept it would be better to teach it slowly with examples.. "how does the shift happen" could have examples like how commodities are less valued because they make it so

[@eddd123]

Like coffee beans countries that produce them are not the ones who set the prices and own the major companies on the market etc..

[@hawkthebird]

On persons happiness is built on another suffering is always my theory

[@igotbeans2332]

Daddy Hakim has blessed us once again 🙏

[@sticks_and_stones7369]

Babe wake up, Hakim just uploaded a new video.

[@armenianrussian]

Dear Hakim! I really love your videos! And I love videos by YUGOPNIK and Second Thought. So I'd like to listen to your podcast. But Spotify left my country (I'm from Russia), so, as fa as I know, I can't do it. Can you, please, download your podcasts to some other platform? I know, that just for one viewer you, probably, won't do it, but... I'm still hoping for something. Thank you for your work!

[@sonal8109]

He has a deprogram YT channel, comrade

[@armenianrussian]

@@sonal8109 Didn't know it. Thank you, comrade!

[@georgeuferov1497]

Впервые вижу женщину в политической части тырнетов

[@armenianrussian]

@@georgeuferov1497 ну... мы существуем. И нас достаточно много. Привет

[@georgeuferov1497]

@@armenianrussian и тебе привет

[@caiooliveira4019]

How people can still not understand this is crazy to me

[@gagandeepsingh2518]

We have always kept the developing countries poor and will always keep them like that

[@evilthatmendo]

Recently started listening to the podcast thank you brother

[@ozisfake]

Awh yeah, breaking out the Michael Parenti yellow video, excellent choice

[@abibas3050]

I explained this to my brother yesterday! He's 7 but like teach em class consciousness young 💗

[@phoneticalballsack]

Oldest communist

[@abibas3050]

@@phoneticalballsack you know what that is funny

[@captain-chair]

You know... It actually makes me feel kinda better to know that the modern world isn't that different from the past. I mean, not because exploitation continues. But it just gives perspective into the fact that we are not that different from our ancestors. It ties history into a neat little bowe. I hope our generations can continue to loosen the screws of Imperialism, until it finally buckles. I hope to see the day, and I may very well will. It gives hope. Because lets not forget that Neo-Colonialism itself needed to exist because of loosened screws. The children of WW2 ended the direct empire... So it needed to become indirect a while to regain some strength. And when it is exposed... We will continue loosening those screws. Unimpeded by the tricks of the past. One day, and one step at a time. And when the empire buckles one last time... We will seize the day, and a brighter tomorrow will be born. Things get less stable on the drive forward. I guess Conservatives are in a way right. The highway to hell is paved with good intentions. But hell isn't our final destination... It's just something we will inevitably drive through, as the system of exploitation becomes less and less tenable. And as we all know... It was the Proletariat who built, pave, and upkeep the roads. And as always... Nothing will stop us from paving forward. And the dark times will be over.

[@alihashim3855]

Hey Hakim it's me again. Did you know that Stalin didn't watch memes? He watched wewes

[@user-ze1ej5zb6z]

I love that Parenti speech in the backrooms.

[@KekusMagnus]

naah bro it's totally because they don't have the hussler grindset

[@pannychanman]

I would have liked the "How does the shift happen?" section to be longer. Without examples (like privatization of natural resources financed by IMF loans or something), Unequal Exchange just sounds like trade to a layman.

[@ell3121]

Great video as always

[@littlegreenclementine]

the other day I was doing a bare-minimum fact-checking for some forum/discord posting, on pharmaceuticals. almost all of the pharmaceuticals (active ingredients) used or sold in the USA are manufactured from India or China, the "Made in USA/other 1st world country" label just means the pill form was assembled or separated into packaging in the 1st world (and then inflated in price to the 'consumer'). we shouldn't get rid of global supply chains, people who rely on medications to survive will get cut off if there are supply chain issues, but there needs to be equal fair exchange for the producers of the goods as well as less inflated costs for anyone who needs them (and no more capitalist vampires siphoning off profits).

[@princekrazie]

This is a very important concept for Leftists to understand, unfortunately I couldn't understand most of this video because I think the language was too obtuse. I hope you will make a follow up video that helps people understand this video more.

[@A1un9ine]

its all because Uncle Sam doesn't like seeing progress on any other land than his and the old lady "Europa"

[@oscarodonnagain]

Banger as usual Hakim, great analysis. That Parenti video gives me goosebumps it's so on point lol.

[@mrsupremegascon]

Yeah, but those theories are just based on nothing. You can make numbers tell everything you want. If you want to real concrete reason why Asia and Africa has issues to develop. Go here and see for yourself. You will not find white or japanese people, go around stealing money or ressources as this scholar said. What you will find, is widespread corruption, cast systems, ethnic conflicts that predate colonisation, nepotism, women discrimination, etc.. You can give all the fair trade or money to Africa or Asia you want. But you can't build a successful economy when your country is plagued with those diseases.

[@roselialouise8001]

This is just making me sad for the future... All the best future...

[@Musterprolet]

Great video comrade, keep going!!

[@lochnessmunster1189]

Why the hammer and sickle? Do you actually think Marx was correct about everything?

[@Musterprolet]

@@lochnessmunster1189 1.) It stands for the revolutionary workers' movement, to which I count myself. 2) It stands for the solidarity of the whole united working class. 3) It stands for the equality of the sexes in the proletarian women's movement. 4) It expresses my personal solidarity with the former socialist states.

[@Musterprolet]

@@lochnessmunster1189 Marx and Engels wrote 42 volumes of writings and articles. I consider most of the theories they put forth to be correct, as they specifically worked on abstractions of the system we still live in today.

[@lochnessmunster1189]

@@Musterprolet Ok, cheers, but is it actually true that profit is made by underpaying labor?

[@Potatotron10000]

I have to say Hakim, it's great to see you provide empirical evidence to demonstrate all of this, but it's absolutely depressing that this isn't common sense. I am unfortunately a corporate drone who doesn't have the free time or energy to research any of this in depth. I do however have a basic understanding of our history, and everytime I watch one of your videos I find myself thinking "that's exactly what I've been saying, but now with hard evidence". That is to say, the conclusions you reach through empirical analysis and focused research are the same conclusions that could be reached through much less involved means. The reality that most people are both too ignorant of our recent history, and too biased towards whatever bullshit imperial institutions have sold them on, is fucking terrible. I love the effort you and your fellow hosts on the deporgram put in, but as someone who has always had a strong natural understanding of people and what makes them tick, I can't be as optimistic as you guys. At this point there is just too much momentum behind the imperialist bullshit. Our populations have swelled and Western colonialist imperialist ideals have entrenched themselves too deep within the psyche of the people who hold the most influence and power. Enacting material change is difficult, but it is very much so doable. Changing people is, however, largely impossible. People are chaotic; guiding their ideals and principles is at best an exercise no different than trying to herd a bunch of deaf and blind sheep. It is absolutely not something that can be achieved democratically, not without a hard reset and an entirely new democratic apparatus. There's just too much noise and chaos when millions of disparately educated and heavily biased individuals try to come to a consensus. And there's the rub, if a true socialist revolution can't come to fruition through perceived democratic means, in the world's most powerful nations, then all we're really doing is riding a run away train headed for a cliff. Unless someone can figure out how to massively improve educational institutions in the West, while also completely destroying and rebuilding the existing instutions that heavily guide socialization, and keeping the failing American empire from plunging the world into chaos over the span and of a few generations, we're just fucked. So, so, so fucked.

[@midwesternlassalle]

Based Parenti

[@KistiTube]

Okay, so this exploitation scheme only makes up a quarter of northern consumption. This essentially means the north would be rich without even trading with developing countries, so the key to wealth may lay somewhere else. "They are effectively transfered for free" No, they are transferred to make up for the fact that most quality and high tier products are made in the west or by western companies, you will loose the labour of people so the working hours in this trade when your labour market has for example 40% agricultural workers and still not self sustainable when the US has around 2% and they are a huge food exporter. It costs much more to feed and produce for 6.5 billion people, their labour is cheap due to their numbers, their resources and products are sold so they can buy food(see the middle east or China), even their energy is traded since they dont use as much as westerners despite having a 5x higher population... "food for 6 billion could be provided" Yes with western capital and type of agriculture, if given to the global south nations it wouldnt produce enough and would in spite the many working hours. "off shoring pollution" Yes that happens and the biggest reason is that the corrupt governments in poor nations accept any deal like that. "drain from China" No worries they drain their fellow developing nations by now effectively. "theese countries are not poor because of internal failings" pff really? Maybe thats why you excluded certain settler societies like South Africa or Argentina from the rich group, despite having the same historric background as Australia for example, Actually Australia mostly exports food and raw materials just like Argentina, yet the latter is a middle income country with high inflation, the political instability, anti market policies and the lack of creativity pushed Argentina to the poor side compared to the Australians. Or examine China. They had a weak isolationist governance, decades of civil war, long and horrible war with Japan, Mao. Except the Japaneese invasion they caused theese all to themselves, interesting that once they took part in capitalism they became much more rich quickly. But then lets also mention countries that were poor but became rich, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore? They all have a highly capitalist society that is eager to trade with the west. "low skilled labour in the north gets payed better than high skilled in the south" Obviously, because western companies can finance high wages due to their previously mentioned productivity, western people dont have as many kids to further devalue their labour each year, western society does not accept poverty wages, not gonna lie the fact that most of the capital is in the north also plays a factor. "minimal productivity differences" thats simply a lie, if it was true the global south wouldnt trade with us, but produce all the goods they need, in fact produce 5x more than the north without issues. No idea how thoose studies measure productivity, but its pointless measurement when you clearly see that billions of people barely produce anything and thoose who do produce just create something inefficient and low quality or if they create something that can be sold in the west for good money, then it was done by a western company from the cheap labour and materials in the south. "they earn little due to exploitation" no they earn little because by the time said western company entered their borders they had barely any economy at all, just farming and very limited production compareable to the standards of medivial Europe, therefore if a western company offered someone 1$ a day it was still more than the local wages, even if its a trinket amount for us, otherwise why would thoose people take theese jobs? you mentioned that there are firms that are completely independent from the north, and yet thoose pay low wages as well, even in contient size countries, where they could produce everything they need for themselves and have US tier life standards.. well its a matter of worldview, no wonder the US mindset made people rich not for example the way indians or chineese have been thinking. "monopoly issue" there are global market prices if raw iron is sold for coins that hurts western iron exporters too, there is no way to unfairly set a price to one country meanwhile setting an other to a different country, or would you buy Australian iron for 5$ and Brazilian for 1$ just to depress their economy? (you would buy the cheaper) "final prices artifically high" Again noone forces them to take part, if its this easy to produce idk a car then poor countries should build them instead of trading in their resources and labour, this leads to a next point "patterns" Why 97% of inventions were made by the west? Our culture has incentivized this creative spirit via the free market. "subsidized north agriculture" dont forget how its also productive and needs to feed less people at home so its much more competitive. "borders" remove them and the system would actually collapse due to like a billion poor families flooding Europe and America in weeks. I belive you have some truth here, capitalism can be exploitative, espacially neoliberalism, but the idea that Congo would be US 2.0 without the colonialism past and current resource theft is just silly. Global south countries by now contribute much more to the world economy than just 2 decades before btw, mostly because of the shrinking importance of Europe and the stagnation of Japan, so their slow rise is not out of the question, if trends continue Id guess the US will have an isoalitonist era which cuts off immigration and returns the production to America due to the much higher risk of global conflicts and internal problems than before, if this happens the American labour will again have high value, yet the global south will still be poor but at least given the chance to industrailize themselves.

[@harishkumardatla6839]

"I belive you have some truth here, capitalism can be exploitative, espacially neoliberalism, but the idea that Congo would be US 2.0 without the colonialism past and current resource theft is just silly" How do you know that it is silly without ever happening ? unless you think people from congo are sub human than people from US ?

[@KistiTube]

@@harishkumardatla6839 People from the US originated from all over the world, including Congo, if this was a racial idea id have choosen a predominentaly white country like Norway to prove my point, not a multiracial society as the US. The key difference is that the US had a puritan freedom loving mindset that enabled its insane growth, of course they have good geography too which helps, yet when their ideas were exported to countries with very bad geography like Japan it resulted in the same, what matters is the way society is organized, or in this case the unorganized is better, as the state only makes everything burocratic and ineffective, meanwhile capitalism made countries of all different people and cultures rich, as long as they accepted the very ideas that came from the US.

[@harishkumardatla6839]

@@KistiTube Oh yeah, great idea to exploit, invade and overthrow governments, keep going at it mate .

[@harishkumardatla6839]

and your comments has the same energy as "oh no i dont hate muslims when i say middle east is barbaric, we have muslims in US too", covering xenophobia and racism with US has all people is so old school, so many countries have so many cultures and races, US is not unique in that matter.

[@KistiTube]

@@harishkumardatla6839 bruh, noone said the US is the only multicultural state, it wasnt mentioned as a positive or negative trait but as a fact. Plus why couldnt I belive that the middle east is a terrible place? I couldnt live there with their strict moral codes let alone the poverty and lifestyle, why would this make me racist? racism means you hate certain ethnicities like arabs or chineese, I dont hate them, I simply find their countries shit and their culture unable to make them wealthy, unless adopting the system of other cultures. This is a very essential difference. Xenophobia is even more retarded, I never hated aliens, in fact I find immigration an essential thing for the west.