Unequal exchange theory posits that economic growth in the “advanced economies” of the global North relies on a large net appropriation of resources a…

https://twitter.com/jasonhickel/status/1493599591547211783

In 2015, the North’s net appropriation from the South included:

-12 billion tons of embodied raw material equivalents -822 million hectares of embodied land

-21 Exajoules of embodied energy

-188 million person-years of embodied labour

-12 billion tons of raw material equivalents is 43% of the North’s annual material consumption. In other words, nearly half of the North’s material consumption is net appropriated from the South.