IVERSON M.

MASTRILI BSA103A

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH

A reflection paper

Based on what I read, the North and South have a noticeable difference based
on their economic and sociological presence. Countries below the equator, with the
exception of Australia, are less advanced compared to the countries above the Northern
countries. This is evident because of the possible opportunities given in the Northern
countries.
Seeing that the North is consisting of ¼ of the global population and the ¾ is
from the South, it is visible that most of the people are less developed. North and South
does not necessarily mean that countries above and below the equator, it can also
mean countries that are developed and less developed. Countries which are developed
to an extent that they can hold their own political, social, and economical stands can be
called as North. Whilst, those who fails to do so in any aspect may be called south.
I think that it is possible that one is causing the other. The Northern Division is
possibly causing the presence of the Southern. Since the North has a good economy
compared to the latter, and they control almost all of the markets including technology
and produce, they can increase the prices to their likings. Also, they purchase produce
from the Southern hemisphere for them to sell at a higher price. The market they are
selling to includes the countries from the South.
Also, another reason why I think that there is a cause and effect relationship
between the two is that the people who are from the “North” countries are far more
susceptible to exploit the “South” countries. The south does not have power over the
north since they do not have the means of doing so. They lack the technology and the
political power to compete with them so they have no choice but to follow how their
economy is being dictated.
This begs the question “Is one exploiting the other?”, and the answer is yes. The
North can and will purchase produce such as vegetables and fruits from the South,
since the areas below the equator are more suitable for agriculture compared to the
North. By purchasing these products for a low price, they can generate income by
selling it to a much higher price. The people from the South who produced these
products can only get a small per cent of the total income that the North generates.
Because they lack the advanced technology to export it themselves, they rely on the
North who has access to these types of technology to export it to have a good
economy.
 But I do think that having one exploit the other is necessary to have the effective
global economy we have today. Having people from the South being the main
producers and having the North being their way of exporting it, this can at least make
them open for global trade.
This can have advantages and disadvantages for both sides:
For the North, its advantages are that they can generate more income for the low
cost production and the high quality products. Another one is that they can control the
price since they are the ones who mainly control the economy as the well developed
countries. But when it comes to disadvantages, the North does not have that much of
disadvantages compared to the South, making this a one-sided agreement. The only
disadvantage it has is that the South may possibly fail to produce the desired amounts
or quality of products on time due to their lack of technology.
In the South, the advantages are that it can now have an economy where they
are participating in the world trade. Their products are now reaching to other countries
due to the help of the well developed countries. This exporting of products is not
something they could do by themselves. They could also gain a market where they
have a share from the income generated.
This may sound good but they also have a lot of disadvantages. The income they
receive for producing goods are little compared to how much the profit the North makes.
Also, these South countries, even though they participate in the global trade, are still no
developing due to its circumstances.
There is interdependency between the North and the South countries. The
northern countries rely on the South for their land and agricultural sustainability. While
the South is dependent on the North or the advanced countries to export their produces
since the income is low if they do not make it to the global trade.