World History II

Chapter 33: The Global South: Latin America and Africa
1945 to the Present

62: Mon, Apr 27, 2020

Please read the chapter and take the quiz by midnight on Sun, Apr 26, 2020.
Please also post in the forum for the day a short essay in response to this question:

The countries of Latin America entered the twentieth century politically independent but economically tied to the United States and Europe through neocolonialism. Most of the countries of Africa were still colonies until after World War II, with little control over their own resources. In the twentieth century, both regions sought to become economically as well as politically independent of the United States and Europe, with mixed results. Among their efforts, leaders tried:

• nationalizing businesses, including industries and financial institutions (e.g., banks)
• government appropriation of land (elimination of private property)
• reducing or eliminating foreign investment
• emphasizing industrialization and urbanization
• redistributing land to peasants or local farm cooperatives
• encouraging private small business
• encouraging increased foreign investment

How successful were these at stimulating the national economy? Which allowed for greater distribution of wealth within the country (reducing economic disparity between groups)? Which make the best use of local natural resources as well as the labor and talents of the local populations?

Your text measures economic improvement by looking at the “GDP” or gross domestic product of a country and the rate at which it grows. Review the Wikipedia article on GDP. How valid a measure is GDP of the economic status of the average citizen of a country? How valid is it as a measure of the efficient use of a nation's resources?

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