Imperialism in the contemporary world

We have created global systems of economic exchange and governance which enables obscene amount of accumulation by the few. The status quo also provides very comfortable lifestyles to the minority of the global population which supports and helps sustain hierarchical socio-economic systems. On the flip side, however, is the global majority struggling to meet their basic needs amidst the growing threat of ecological disasters triggered by the broader process of unbridled accumulation.

The economic anthropologist Jason Hickel notes how imperialist appropriation drains resources from poorer countries through unequal exchange systems, which undervalue the labour of the poor, and overcompensate those who control capital, or those who work for systems which help sustain this unfair system. On the heels of the global pandemic, Oxfam estimated that the richest one percent grabbed nearly two-thirds of all new wealth created since 2020. Besides, the super-wealthy, hardworking and well-educated employees of multinational corporations also make impressive salaries and live enviable lifestyles, but they do so by unfortunately promoting the interests of the so-called 'one-percenters'.

Exploitation of the global south did not end with colonialism. Neo-colonialism is more sophisticated than the blatant tactics used by colonisers in how it shapes the economics and politics of poorer countries to serve its own interests. Neocolonialism does not need occupation to exploit labour and raw materials. Globalisation of trade has created other mechanisms such as outsourcing which enables capitalists in the global north to secure raw materials and labour from poorer countries at throwaway prices.

Outsourcing is not only limited to companies based in the West purchasing products from local suppliers in the global south. Manufacturers supplying goods to international and even to local buyers rely on several lower tiers of the supply chain, many of which operate within the informal sector without labour or environmental oversight. Child labour, for example, is rampant in mining critical minerals such as cobalt in Congo, which is then used to power electric vehicles, computers and mobile phones sold by big brand names. Human slavery, in the form of debt bondage, has been found on fishing trawlers in Thailand, which then sell their catch via intermediaries to produce seafood and even pet food found on supermarket shelves of major grocery chains. Debt bondage is also common within the agricultural sector in Pakistan, India and many other countries which produce cash crops like cotton for the global economy. Even value addition via textiles production does not bring much more benefit to the factory workers who slave away for long hours for little pay to enable fast fashion brand names to reap exorbitant profits.

The staggering net transfer of wealth to the global north from the global south pales any form of aid provided to poorer countries. Aid in fact has become a convenient tool to not only entice the leadership of poorer countries to serve hegemonic geostrategic goals, but to continue structurally adjusting the economies of poorer countries to serve as needed cogs in the global hierarchy.

The world is a messy place, and some totalitarian and repressive leaders do defy the global socio-economic system, but these states are readily ostracised and punished when possible, so that their influence to disrupt the global order remains minimal. Conversely, the global elites are very apt at coopting potential challenges posed by progressives, feminists or environmentalists to fashion new concepts such as corporate social responsibility, the need for increased gender representation within the workplace, or creating a market to trade carbon credits. Yet, these concepts provide only lackluster opportunities to address the glaring problems of deprivation, gender exploitation and growing climate threats, as they do not aim to challenge the underlying inequities which sustain the prevalent capitalist system of profit maximisation at all costs.