Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Concept of Third World
The Concept of Third World
The Concept of Third World
THIRD WORLD
THIRD WORLD
■ “Third World” as shorthand for poor or developing
nations.
■ While wealthier countries such as the United States
and the nations of Western Europe are described as
being part of the “First World.”
■ Where did these distinctions come from?
■ Why do we rarely hear about the “Second World?”
“Three Worlds” Model of Geopolitics
■ First arose in the mid-20th century as a way of
mapping the various players in the Cold War.
■ The origins of the concept are complex, but
historians usually credit it to the French
demographer Alfred Sauvy, who coined the term
“Third World” in a 1952 (“Three Worlds, One
Planet”)
“Three Worlds” Model of Geopolitics
■ The First World included the United States and its capitalist
allies in places such as Western Europe, Japan and
Australia.
■ The Second World consisted of the communist Soviet Union
and its Eastern European satellites.
■ The Third World encompassed all the other countries that
were not actively aligned with either side in the Cold War.
– (Often impoverished former European colonies, and
included nearly all the nations of Africa, the Middle East,
Latin America and Asia.)
“Three Worlds” Model of Geopolitics
■ Today, the powerful economies of the West are still sometimes
described as “First World.”
■ The term “Second World” has become largely obsolete following
the collapse of the Soviet Union.
■ “Third World” remains the most common of the original
designations, but its meaning has changed from “non-aligned”
and become more of a blanket term for the developing world.
– Since it’s partially a relic of the Cold War, many modern
academics consider the “Third World” label to be outdated.
– Terms such as “developing countries” and “low and lower-
middle-income countries” are now often used in its place.
The Debate
If you shouldn’t call it the Third World, what should you call It?
■ “The 1-2-3 classification is now out of date, insulting and
confusing. Who is to say which part of the world is "first"?
And how can an affluent country like Saudi Arabia, neither
Western nor communist, be part of the Third World? Plus,
the Soviet Union doesn't even exist anymore.”
■ ”It's not like the First World is the best world in every way. It
has pockets of deep urban and rural poverty.
– "The Fourth World," referring to parts of the United
States and other wealthy nations where health problems
loom large.
The Debate
If you shouldn’t call it the Third World, what should you call It?
■ Geographic labeling: “global south” and “global north”
– The majority of poor countries are in the Southern
Hemisphere, aka the "global south."
– Then again, impoverished Haiti is in the global north.
– And many rich countries are in the south: Australia, New
Zealand, Argentina, Chile, to name a few.
– the "global south" is "tinged with politics" in a world
where there are tensions between the West and the
other countries,
The Debate
If you shouldn’t call it the Third World, what should you call It?
■ What about "Developing countries“?
■ "Developing nations is more appropriate [than Third World]
when referring to economically developing nations of Africa,
Asia and Latin America. Do not confuse with 'nonaligned,'
which is a political term."
■ They said the phrase "developing country" in Swahili would
be stated as "countries that are growing."
The Debate
If you shouldn’t call it the Third World, what should you call It?
Critics:
■ “it assumes a hierarchy between countries. It paints a picture of
Western societies as ideal but there are many social problems in
these societies as well. It also perpetuates stereotypes about
people who come from the so-called developing world as
backward, lazy, ignorant, irresponsible."
■ “..the developed-developing relationship in many ways replaces
the colonizer-colonized relationship. The idea of development is
a way for rich countries to control and exploit the poor. You can
see this through the development industry where billions of
dollars are spent but very little gets achieved.”
The Debate
If you shouldn’t call it the Third World, what should you call It?