Quote: On the Backs of Others

The welfare states of the North have been and continue to be funded, in part, from the enormous transfer of wealth from global South to the North. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), approximately $500 billion is transferred from the South annually in the form of interest payments on debts and the results of unequal terms of trade. Only about one-tenth of that, approximately U.S. $50 billion, flows back to the South in terms of highly condition-laden aid from the North. These enormous shifts in wealth take place through the interwoven practices of both private (corporate) and public (national states and international bodies, such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank) actors.

-- Nandita Sharma, references in original