How many times must those at the margins suffer under a global system that constantly labels them as outsiders — powerless, manipulated by forces that claim to offer freedom but only deepen dependence? How often do we accept the simplistic division between the Global South and the West as truth, when in reality it conceals the intricate networks shaping global economic and social relations?
The term ‘Global South,’ presumably born from anti-colonial and postcolonial movements, was intended to unite communities historically marginalised. Yet, paradoxically, it also masks the many layers of oppression that transcend borders, creating narrow, fixed ideas about resistance.
A history of exploitation
The story of the Global South begins with undeniable facts of colonial plunder. But to treat it solely as a history of victimhood is to limit a far more complex narrative, full of ongoing effects and ruptures.
Consider British colonial rule in India, which drained over £ 1 billion (more than $ 100 billion at the time), collapsing an economy that once accounted for roughly a quarter of the world’s output. Under King Leopold II, the Congo was brutalised by forced labour and violence, with an estimated 10 million deaths to satisfy European demand for goods. These tragedies are only the opening chapters in a long history of exploitation.
After independence, many nations hoped to rise anew, only to witness former freedom fighters become dictators who hoarded wealth.
Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire stole roughly $ 5 billion and stashed it in Western banks, leaving his country in economic ruin. Nigeria’s Sani Abacha took about $ 3.4 billion, most of which is still only partially recovered. Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines hid $ 5–10 billion offshore; much of it still out of reach.
These colossal losses reveal a harsh truth: postcolonial governments sometimes perpetuated new forms of exploitation under the guise of patriotism.
The real nature of globalisation
Yet, to see the Global South merely as a single group of victims opposing a singular Western oppressor oversimplifies today’s tangled global ties. Calls for economic self-sufficiency or isolation, common in nationalist rhetoric, misunderstand the intricate interconnections forged through global trade and investment.
Nations are linked by flows of money, goods, and labour. Southern economies rely on Western markets for their products, Western companies invest heavily in these economies, and remittances sent home by migrants in the North sustain millions. These interdependencies resist simple narratives of liberation.
This complexity is not deception; it reflects the real nature of globalisation — a mixture of cooperation and contradiction. It urges us to move beyond outdated notions that celebrate isolation or protectionism and instead to pursue strategies grounded in international solidarity. ‘Global South’ should be understood less as a fixed political label and more as a call to forge alliances among oppressed peoples, whether in former colonies or marginalised communities in the West.
This perspective challenges the notion that the Global South is isolated or closed off. It stresses the importance of linking separate struggles against imperialism and capitalism, recognising them as facets of a larger system of interconnected oppression.
Walter Rodney observed: “Africa was exploited and underdeveloped by the imperial powers, whose wealth was built on the exploitation of African resources and labour.” His insight extends beyond Africa, revealing a global system of exploitation that transcends borders and generations.
The need for a major shift
Today, the challenge is not merely to remember past theft or to assign blame to former colonial powers, but to interrogate ongoing inequality within supposedly independent nations.
Wealth continues to be siphoned out — now via illicit financial flows that transfer billions from Global South countries into secret Western bank accounts. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates these losses at over $ 1 trillion annually, exceeding all official development aid combined. This exposes a stark double standard: the Global North preaches anti-corruption and development while hosting the very mechanisms that hide stolen wealth.
A major shift is therefore required. The Global South must no longer serve as a mere symbol for protectionism or political manoeuvring. Instead, it should become a hub for global solidarity — a space where oppressed people from all backgrounds unite across continents and classes to combat systemic injustice.
As Kofi Annan emphasised during the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, “We must work together to recover stolen assets from corrupt leaders who have robbed their own people.” The imperative is not only the recovery of wealth or political gain but dismantling the systems that enable corruption on a global scale.
In this light, the myth of the Global South as a solitary victim must give way to an understanding of connected resistance.
The struggle is not confined by colonial-era maps but is a shared mission, uniting marginalised communities everywhere — from the favelas of Rio and townships of Johannesburg to immigrant neighbourhoods in Paris and working-class districts in London. What matters is collective action against ruthless global capitalism and oppressive regimes, wherever they are.
Deconstructing a myth
Reframing the Global South is more than a semantic exercise; it demands a profound rethinking of the world’s interconnections while honouring its complexities.
Frantz Fanon reminded us that “each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it”. Today, the challenge is to move beyond inherited narratives of victimhood and confront the powerful, hidden forces of global capital and politics that perpetuate inequality.
Exploitation continues through secret financial flows, corrupt leadership, and international systems that allow it to persist. Addressing this reality requires an approach that both critiques and reconstructs, exposing the hidden harms behind nationalist slogans and isolationist ideologies.
This strategy must also cultivate cross-border alliances, uniting all who face oppression under capitalism and authoritarian rule. Antonio Gramsci’s concept of a ‘historic bloc’ — a powerful coalition of thinkers and workers — offers guidance: we must forge international partnerships that transcend the North-South binary.
Oppression knows no single geography; immigrants in the North endure injustice just as acutely as rural communities in the South. The urgent task is a global movement of resistance that understands and acts upon this shared struggle.
Deconstructing the myth of the Global South is not an academic exercise; it is essential to uniting people worldwide against the enduring structures of domination that define our era.
(The writer is an author based in Colombo)
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of this publication)