Two different soups!

Princess Gaia (PG) interviews the Global South and the Global North — PART ONE

Photo by Jade Aucamp on Unsplash

Princess Gaia, the Global South and the Global North sit together in a rental office at the Kotoka International Airport of Accra.

Global North: Dear Princess, good to see you here in Accra, we desperately need your advice, or anybody’s, in case, you cannot help us. But the South and I, we have never felt this close to each other and yet, so far away…

Global South: Yes, dear Princess. Each day we move further apart from each other, while, at the same time, my human inhabitants are crossing the South-North-divide in order to live a better life, which makes us sort of melted. This is such a weird, weird feeling, like being extremely loved and on the other hand even more so hated.

PG: Thanks for the trust and truthfulness, you two. Let me understand your basics first, before I miss a point. Why is there such a division between North and South and how did it happen to evolve? As I understand, the boundary between the Global North and the Global South is one of socio-economic and political divide. Am I right so far?

Global North: Yes, this is about it. My members are the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand as well as the developed parts of Asia — like Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. I call myself the Umbrella of the so called “First and Second World”.

Global South: This leaves the referred to “Third World” with me, the poorer, less developed regions. Which means all the other countries of the world, dear princess, which are Africa, Latin America, all the rest of Asia and the Middle East.

PG: To get it clear, you two. What exactly do these terms “First, Second and Third World” mean?

Global South: If you ask me, princess, from my point of view, as host of the “Third World”, I look upon the “First and Second World” as follows. Interrupt me in case I am wrong, North. I always like to use economic explanations, when I am trying to define our differences. You, the Global North, the First World, control 80% of the income earned anywhere in the world. Even though only 25% of human beings live on your half of the planet. That seems somehow imbalanced and not fair at all. You, Global North, claim to have the…