Information about Third World

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Third World is a term used along with First World and (to a much lesser extent) Second World to divide the nations of Earth into three broad socio-political and economic categories. The term was coined in 1952 by French demographer Alfred Sauvy to refer to what are now called developing or underdeveloped countries, especially in Latin America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia, which were not aligned with either the Soviet nor American blocs during the Cold War.^[1] Today, however, the term is synonymous with all countries in the developing world, independent of their political status.

Third World countries are also known as the Global South, developing countries, and underdeveloped countries in academic circles. Development workers also call them the "two-thirds world" and "The South." Some disapprove of the term "developing countries" as it implies that industrialization is the only way forward, and they believe it is not necessarily the most beneficial model.

The term "Third World" was coined by economist/demographer Alfred Sauvy in an article in the French magazine L'Observateur of August 14, 1952. It was a deliberate reference to the Tiers Etat (Third_Estate) commoners of France before and during the French Revolution - as opposed to the priests and nobles which comprised the first and second estates respectively. Like the third estate, wrote Sauvy, the Third World has nothing, and it "wants to be something." The term therefore implies that the Third World is exploited, much as the third estate French commoners were exploited, and that, like the third estate its destiny is a revolutionary one. It conveyed as well a second idea, that of non-alignment, for the Third World belongs neither to the industrialised capitalist world nor to the industrialised communist bloc.

The economically underdeveloped countries of Africa, Oceania, Asia, and Latin America, considered as an entity with common characteristics, such as poverty, high birthrates, and economic dependence on the advanced countries were often nations that were colonised by a European nation historically.

After World War II, the Western and Eastern blocs struggled to expand their respective spheres of influence to the Third World. The military and intelligence services of the United States and the Soviet Union both worked secretly and overtly to influence Third World governments, with mixed success.

The term gained widespread popularity during the Cold War when many poorer nations adopted the category to describe themselves as neither being aligned with NATO or the USSR, but instead composing a non-aligned "Third World" (in this context, the term "First World" was generally understood to mean the United States and its allies in the Cold War; which would have made the Eastern bloc the "Second World" by default - however, the latter term was seldom actually used).

Leading members of this original Third World movement were Yugoslavia, India, and Egypt. Many Third World countries believed they could successfully court both the communist and capitalist nations of the world, and develop key economic partnerships without necessarily falling under their direct influence. In practice, this plan did not work out quite so well; many Third World nonaligned nations were exploited or undermined by the two superpowers who feared these supposedly neutral nations were in danger of falling into alignment with the enemy.

The Third World having economies distorted by their dependence on the export of primary products to the developed countries in return for finished products. After liberation from colonial rule in the 1950s - 70s, many Third World nations faced high rates of illiteracy, disease, population growth and unstable governments. This was particularly true of Africa, where nation-states were artificially carved by European colonial powers who did not divide up based on social-cultural sensitivities.

For the most part the term has not included China. Politically, the Third World emerged at the Bandung Conference (1955), which resulted in the establishment of the Nonaligned Movement. Numerically, the Third World dominates the United Nations, but the group is diverse culturally and increasingly economically, and its unity is only hypothetical. The oil-rich nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Libya, and the newly emerged industrial states, such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore, have little in common with desperately poor nations, such as Haiti, Chad and Afghanistan.

Criticism of the term

Despite criticism that the term has no objective definition and that it is out-of-date, colonialist, othering, or inaccurate, its use remains common. The term is also disliked as it may be perceived to imply that the referent countries are not a part of the global economic system. Political theorist Hannah Arendt contends that, "The Third World is not a reality but an ideology."^[2]

In general, Third World countries are not as industrialized or technologically advanced as OECD countries, and consequently developing nation is the current term in use in academia. Terms such as Global South, developing countries, less economically developed countries (LEDC), least developed countries, and the Majority World have become more popular in circles where the term third world is regarded to have derogatory or out-of-date connotations. Other synonymous terms include the two-thirds world (because two-thirds of the world is underdeveloped) and The South. Some theorists, such as Andre Gunder Frank and Walter Rodney have used the term underdevelopment or underdeveloped world, to indicate the active process by which the global South has been locked out of development by imperialism and the post-colonial policies of the richer nations.

See also

• List of countries and territories by fertility rate
• Developing country
• Human Development Index
• List of countries by Human Development Index

References

• A. R. Kasdan, The Third World: A New Focus for Development (1973)
• E. Hermassi, The Third World Reassessed (1980)
• H. A. Reitsma and J. M. Kleinpenning, The Third World in Perspective (1985)
• J. Cole, Development and Underdevelopment (1987).

•  • [ e] Economic classification of countries

Developed country Developing country Least developed country High income country Newly-industrialized country Worlds Theory First World Second World Third World Fourth World Lists of countries GDP per capita List of countries by GDP (nominal), (per capita) List of countries by GDP (PPP), (per capita), (per hour) Human Development Index List of countries by Human Development Index Human Poverty Index List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty Literacy rate List of countries by literacy rate