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There is a tacit double standard at play in development economics that feels to me distinctly racist. Why is it that workers in the global North are seen as worthy of the minimum wage ($35/day), while workers in the global South are worthy only of the poverty line ($1.90/day)?
Pundits celebrate when workers in the South go from $1.90 to $2/day, proclaiming an end to poverty and a vindication of globalized capitalism. We would never apply that standard to a worker in the North. We would be horrified, and indignant about their exploitation.
Because for workers in the North we readily apply the standards of morality and justice. But when it comes to workers in the South we apply the standards of mere biological survival.
