An article published on the official website of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​Spain, on March 22 introduced a new study titled "Imperialist seizure in the world economy: the consumption of southern bet365 code through unequal exchange from 1990 to 2015"，This result was taught by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the school、Jason Hickel, senior visiting scholar at the Institute of International Inequality at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and Christian Dorning, researcher at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition (KLI) in Austria Completed in collaboration with Christian Dorninger and others。Researchers found，Northern bet365 code rely heavily on grabbing resources from southern bet365 code to develop themselves，Excessive resource consumption in northern bet365 code is passed on to southern bet365 code；The losses of southern bet365 code far exceed the international aid they receive；Uneven exchange is the main cause of underdevelopment and global inequality。Our reporter recently interviewed Hickel about the core content of this research。

　　“Unequal exchange” continues to this day

Historians have long pointed out，The rise of Western Europe was largely due to the large-scale forcible plundering of natural resources and labor from southern bet365 code during the colonial era。Spain seizes the gold and silver of the Andes，Portugal gets Brazilian sugar，France obtains fossil fuels from West Africa、Mineral、Agricultural products，Belgium gets rubber from Congo，Britain is sitting on cotton from colonies around the world、Opium、Grains、Wood、Tea and other commodities。All of this is based on the forced exploitation of labor in southern bet365 code，Labourers in southern bet365 code are enslaved on a large scale。This pattern of appropriation played a key role in the development of European industry，Also Canada、Australia、New Zealand、The expansion and industrialization of European settlement colonies such as the United States provided an important source of funds，These settler colonial bet365 code also used similar imperialist methods to treat southern bet365 code。

For some time，A new “postcolonial innocence narrative” is gaining popularity，Proclaimed by its admirers，The world economy is based on meritocracy - it has a sound system、Healthy market、bet365 code with abundant labor will prosper，Lack of these qualities or poor governance、Corrupt bet365 code will be trapped in poverty。This assumption forms the dominant perspective in the field of international development，And reinforced by statements such as “Free trade and internationalization create a level playing field”。

However，This rhetoric immediately attracted a lot of criticism。1960s and 1970s，Proposed by economists and historians who support dependency theory and world systems theory，The overall structure of the colonial economy is still functioning，In the post-colonial era, the industrial growth of northern bet365 code continues to rely on the seizure of resources from southern bet365 code。Rich bet365 code and monopolies exploit their geopolitical and commercial dominance of the world economy，Suppressing resource and labor prices in southern bet365 code at the national economic level and in the global commodity chain。Therefore，Southern bet365 code import one unit of resources and labor from northern bet365 code，We must export more units of resources and labor to northern bet365 code as compensation，Northern bet365 code have achieved "net appropriation" through north-south trade (that is, they have not received equal compensation through trade)。Marxist economists Arghiri Emmanuel and Samir Amin call this process “unequal exchange”。

"Unequal exchange" causes value to change from southern bet365 code to northern bet365 code、Concealed transfer from periphery to center，There is no overt coercion by the colonial machine，Therefore does not directly trigger moral outrage。Price is seen as representing "utility", "value" or the result of "market mechanisms" (such as supply and demand)，And obscures the decisive role of power inequality in the global political economy on prices。The price difference in international trade thus became a distinctive feature of maintaining the colonial economy—an effective way to seize the model，The "fault" of underdevelopment is passed on to the real victims。

1980s，With the rise of globalization，Manufacturing has been transferred to southern bet365 code in large quantities。Although the vast majority of global industrial labor and industrial production are contributed by Southern bet365 code，But the preemption pattern is still deeply rooted。Northern bet365 code’ seizure of resources and labor from Southern bet365 code not only includes primary products，Also includes manufactured goods，Like a smart phone、Computer chip、Car、Fashion and intermediate parts。Seizure occurs mainly through global commodity chains。Businesses in northern bet365 code take advantage of buyer's monopoly and seller's monopoly，Underbid Southern suppliers at every step from extraction to manufacturing，And set the final price as high as possible。

　　The degree of “net occupation” is astonishing

According to Hickel，Some scholars have tried to estimate the monetary value of the resources of the southern bet365 code that the northern bet365 code have seized through "unequal exchange"，The general approach is to take into account North-South price distortions，Recalculate southern bet365 code’ import revenues to reflect their losses。Amin’s research focuses on wage inequality，But other factors that may affect the overall price difference cannot be taken into account。Canadian scholar Gernot Kohler uses the distortion coefficient between the market exchange rate (MER) and the purchasing power parity (PPP) as a proxy indicator of the overall price difference，But this calculation method also has limitations，Will underestimate the losses of southern bet365 code。

The bigger problem is，Existing methods generally estimate losses to Southern bet365 code based on trade income and price differences，Not covering the actual products behind the monetized trade data。Traditional monetization data only involves the traded goods themselves，Does not include upstream inputs used to produce traded goods，The cost of upstream inputs has a great impact on trade prices，And in the decentralized global commodity chain，May involve many bet365 code。For example，An aircraft exported by a developed country mostly contains parts imported from developing bet365 code，Existing methods can calculate the price of these parts，But it is impossible to calculate the cost of materials and labor used in manufacturing parts in developing bet365 code。

In order to break through the limitations of previous research，Hickel et al. used a new approach based on ecological economics and industrial ecology，Quantitatively examine the raw materials in North-South trade through footprint analysis of input-output data、Land、Energy、Labour and other aspects。This approach combines the trade goods themselves with the upstream resources and labor used to produce and transport the trade goods (such as machinery、Engineering、Infrastructure) are also included in the calculation scope。Footprint metrics make it possible to calculate upstream investments，Doing so would provide a more reliable assessment of price inequality in North-South trade，And maximize the comparability of resource flows between the north and the south。

Analysis display，1990-2015，The net inflow of labor and natural resources from southern bet365 code to northern bet365 code is huge。2015 only，The "net occupation" of northern bet365 code from southern bet365 code includes 12 billion tons of raw materials、8.2.2 billion hectares of land、21 exajo energy and 392 billion hours of labor，The total value of these "net occupations" is up to 10.78 trillion US dollars，23% of northern bet365 code’ 2015 GDP。1990-2015，The total value of "net occupation" of northern bet365 code to southern bet365 code reaches 242.41 trillion US dollars，Accounting for 24% of the GDP of northern bet365 code。

In terms of use value，This "net occupation" has caused huge losses to southern bet365 code。The raw materials they lost、Land、Energy and labor could be used to meet the needs of the country’s population，Cultivation of national industrial production capacity。For example，21 AJ energy is enough to cover the annual energy consumption of southern bet365 code to build necessary infrastructure，To ensure decent housing for 6.5 billion people、Public transportation、Medical and Health、Education、Communication and other services。8.2.2 billion hectares of land is theoretically enough to provide nutritious food for about 6 billion people。

In resource extraction areas，“Net occupation” will bring serious ecological consequences。Based on industrial ecology research，The annual global material resource extraction and use should not exceed 50 billion tons。However，The world consumed 87 billion tons of resources in 2015，It is the highest limit 1.74 times；The per capita resource consumption in northern bet365 code was 26.71 tons，is the sustainable threshold of 3.9 times。Discovered by Hickel et al.，58% of excessive resource consumption in northern bet365 code comes from the "net occupation" of southern bet365 code。“Extractivism” (led by developed bet365 code，Aim to maximize profits，Economic activities that do not take into account the ecological environment and resource sustainability) may also cause social disorder and conflict in resource-rich areas of southern bet365 code。

When northern bet365 code profit from the “net appropriation” of energy，Southern bet365 code are bearing the climate losses。Most of the “net occupied” energy belongs to fossil energy，is the main source of global greenhouse gas emissions。Most scientists set a safe threshold for carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth's atmosphere at 350 parts per million to 400 parts per million；Calculated in 350 parts per million，Northern bet365 code are responsible for 92% of the excess。However，Climate change related deaths，98%-99% occurs in southern bet365 code；Loss caused by climate change，82%-92% is borne by southern bet365 code。Also，The "net appropriation" of non-renewable energy by northern bet365 code may result in southern bet365 code having no such resources available in the future。

　Northern bet365 code hunt for more value

1990-2015 period，Price differences in North-South trade are often attributed to productivity gaps，That is, goods exported by northern bet365 code have higher "added value"，These bet365 code have higher labor productivity。Hickel et al. challenged this view。Calculated by traditional method，Labor productivity is determined by prices rather than the actual productivity of workers。For example，When a northern country relies on its monopoly position in the global commodity chain to lower the price of its imported products from foreign bet365 code，When raising the price of the country’s export products to foreign bet365 code，The country’s labor productivity appears to be rising，Labor productivity appears to have declined in its trading partner bet365 code。In fact，There is evidence that the true productivity gap between workers is very small；“Added value” is not about who provides more value，But who has the power to control the price。In the global commodity chain，Trade in Value Added (TiVA) indicates where value is captured，Not where value is created。This new study shows，The value in the global commodity chain is more created by southern bet365 code，But they are more hunted by northern bet365 code。

Although the degree of “net occupation” of southern bet365 code by northern bet365 code is shocking，But they did not make commensurate compensation。Estimated by Hickel et al.，1990-2015，Northern bet365 code benefit from "net appropriation" 80 times more than the international aid they provide。In other words，For every donated in North Country，Occupied resources worth US through unequal exchange。Calculated for recipient bet365 code，For every in aid received by bet365 code in the South，Lost resources worth 。

Hickel said，This study can "boost" voices calling on developed bet365 code to pay "ecological debt" to developing bet365 code。Northern bet365 code should at least follow the polluter pays principle of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)，Compensate the economies of southern bet365 code for the seizure of their resources、Social and ecological losses。This can meet the development needs of southern bet365 code，It can also reduce overconsumption in northern bet365 code and the ecological damage it causes to southern bet365 code and the world。Data derived from this study，Can be used as a reference range for the amount of compensation。In addition，When calculating the amount of compensation，Also consider，Many losses suffered by southern bet365 code，Such as non-renewable resources, etc.，Neither can be measured solely in monetary terms。Ecology is the basis of life，Money is not enough to repay ecological debt。Therefore，Corresponding compensation must be able to eliminate the unfair gap in resource distribution and burden between northern and southern bet365 code，Rebuilding the damaged ecosystem，And help bet365 code in the South transition to regenerative economies。

Hickel told our reporter，The current international development model has obvious flaws。In a "net occupied" system，Catch-up development is impossible，It’s impossible from a physical perspective。For southern bet365 code，More efficient、A more effective development policy is to focus one's own labor and production capacity on meeting the needs of its own citizens。

Hickel and others hope that this research can bring enlightenment to international development theory and practice。Developing bet365 code join the world economic process under unequal conditions。Therefore，Ensuring that developing bet365 code have the economies they need to improve their citizens’ quality of life、Material and human resources are vital。First，World Bank、International Monetary Fund、Global economic governance institutions such as the World Trade Organization should speed up their own democratization process，Strengthening the ability of Southern bet365 code to control trade and financial policies。Secondly，Northern bet365 code should stop unfair subsidies for agricultural exports，Cancel the additional conditions on aid loans to southern bet365 code。This will help reduce downward pressure on wages and resource prices in southern bet365 code，Enable them to develop their own industrial production capabilities。Again，Establishing a global living wage standard and environmental regulatory system，It can also provide a “bottom” for labor and resource prices。

Hickel also talked about，The above reforms are less likely to be carried out from the top down，Because this is contrary to the interests of those who benefit from the current global economic structure。Structural changes must rely on bottom-up political efforts，Includes anti-imperialist and anti-colonial movements、Environmental Justice Movement。At the same time，Southern bet365 code need to use industrial and fiscal policies to consolidate economic sovereignty，Enhance self-sufficiency in food and energy，Actively looking for import substitution，Maintain regional unity, development and stability。