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Like 19th century Poland—which was said to be not so much a country as a state of mind—the poor nations are united more perhaps by attitude than by geography. Underlying that unity are a gnawing sense of anger against the West and a common feeling that their fate is not in their own hands. Two related events galvanized them into a cohesive bloc: the 1973 decision by the ministers of OPEC to quadruple the price of oil, which had been $2 per bbl., and the Arab nations' imposition of an oil embargo at the time of the October War. The LDCs—even those not directly involved in oil exports or the Middle East conflict—were exhilarated. They saw both actions as proof that the industrialized West was vulnerable to collective pressures from the poor nations. "For the first time since the rise of Western capitalism, a decision affecting the world economy was taken outside the West," says Ismail Sabry Abdullah, director of Egypt's Institute of National Planning.
Much to the surprise of some Western observers, the unity of the poor in confrontation with the rich has survived, even though the OPEC price hike did more harm to the economies of underdeveloped nations than to those of the West. Most First World countries ultimately succeeded in boosting exports of their manufactured goods and technology enough to offset the higher import costs of petroleum. Developing countries, on the other hand, have had to spend so much of their foreign currency reserves on costlier oil or petroleum products that many have had to cut back sharply on development plans requiring capital equipment imported from the West. By joining in the chorus that blames the First World for the economic problems of the underdeveloped states, OPEC has been able to deflect responsibility for the disastrous impact of higher oil prices. Many underdeveloped countries, moreover, have been actively trying to create OPEC-like cartels in order to increase profits on their own commodity exports. While bauxite exporters have been able to hike their prices, copper producers have not.
The anger and unity of the poor have been reinforced by the worldwide recession. If nothing else, the slump demonstrated how dependent the developing economies still are on the prosperity of the First World. When the industrialized West's consumption of LDC raw materials dropped, so did the price of many commodities. The world price of copper, for example, has plummeted from $1.52 per Ib. in mid-1974 to 53¢ today. To cover deficits caused by the loss of sales to the West and the increase in imported oil prices, many developing countries have had to borrow heavily. Their total foreign debt will reach an estimated $175 billion by year's end. In some countries, debt servicing on loans accounts for about 50% of the aid received from the First World.
In attacking the First World's complacency, the developing nations make four main charges, each of which contains some truth:
1) Colonial exploitation raped defenseless societies, depriving them of their natural resources and destroying traditional social relationships.
As proof,