he Arab countries of OPEC used the revenue from oil to grant foreign aid to many developing countries. In 1980, the foreign aid of Arab members of OPEC as a percentage of GNP was 2.34%; in the same year, the United States provided only 0.27% of their GNP to foreign aid (al-Sowayegh, 24). Also, the Arab nations involved in OPEC contributed a total of $30 billion in aid, remittances, and trade, which exceeds the total oil bill incurred by all third world countries (al-Sowayegh, 26). This fact strongly supports the argument that the Arab nations were concerned not only with their own welfare, but were interested assisting developing countries that did not have precious forms of revenue such as oil. OPECs foreign aid contributions make it clear that their objectives were actually not selfish in nature. It is evident from their strong financial aid record that OPEC was interested in promoting unity and cooperation among developing nations.Other critics of OPECs role in the South state that oil alone cannot serve to achieve the goals that the South seeks to obtain. While OPECs influence in the international economy is based on oil exports, the South does not necessarily have to rely on using natural resources as weapons. The actions of OPEC served a far greater purpose: to provide a model of unity and cooperation to the developing countries of the South. Also, OPECs model forced the developing countries to learn the principles of business knowledge and public awareness. While the actions of OPEC alone could not secure an NIEO, they definitely provided the South with encouragement and confidence in their ability to influence the countries of the North.Many people will criticize OPEC for losing its influential power in the 1980s. However, one can feel the presence of OPECs power when they pay nearly $1.60 a gallon for gasoline. Crude Oil prices have tripled in the last year as a result of OPECs desire to cut production (Drozdiak and ...
