Third World

For other uses, see Third World (disambiguation).

For the association of Anglican provinces, see Global South (Anglican).

Third World is a categorical label used to describe states that are considered to be underdeveloped in terms of their economy or level of industrialization, globalization, standard of living, health, education or other criteria for "advancement". The name Third World arose during the Cold War to refer to nations that did not belong to the similarly termed "First" or "Second Worlds". There is debate over the appropriateness of the term. Critics of the term caution that the term implies that industrialization is progressive [1]. Supporters of the term advocate that the term is embraced by many Third World nations themselves , particularly in the Non-Aligned Movement, and that no alternative is without detractors, (see controversy).

Etymology

First (blue), Second (red), and the Third World (green) countries during the Cold War (1946-90).

The economist and demographer Alfred Sauvy, in an article published in the French magazine L'Observateur, August 14, 1951, coined the term Third World in referring to countries currently called either "developing" or "under-developed", especially in Latin America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia, that were unaligned with either the Communist Soviet bloc or the Capitalist NATO bloc during the Cold War (1945–1989)..

Third World was a reference to the Tiers État, the Third Estate, the commoners of France before and during the French Revolution, opposed to the priests and nobles who composed the First Estate and the Second Estate. Like the third estate, wrote Sauvy, the Third World has nothing, and "wants to be something", implying that the Third World is exploited (as was the third estate) and that its destiny is revolutionary. Moreover, it conveyed the second concept of political non-alignment with neither the industrialized Capitalist bloc nor the industrialized Communist bloc.

Definition

An abandoned Mogadishu street in 1993. Somalia is considered a Third World country due to rampant poverty and lawlessness.

In academic circles, the countries of the Third World are known as the "Third World", the "Global South", the "developing countries", and the "under-developed countries". Economic development workers refer to these nations as the "Two-thirds World" and "The South". Some developers disapprove of the term "developing countries" because the term implies that industrialization is progressive [2].

"Third World" has also been used frequently to refer to the less industrialized countries of the "South" in the "North-South" conflict after it was noted that most (not all) of the industrialized nations appear to be located in the Northern Hemisphere.

Controversy

It has also sometimes been interpreted as a pejorative term - especially when used by citizens of erstwhile First and Second World countries. For example, in November 2008, Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden came under strong criticism in India for using the term. Back home in Australia after a 2-0 series defeat by India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Hayden spoke about, what he perceived as, poor ground conditions and inordinate delays during matches "that happen in Third World countries".

History

Percentage of population living on less than 1 dollar per day 2007-2008

The term "third world" was first intended to refer to the way those countries were discovered and because most of them were born as colonies of more powerful nations before they became independent nations. The term later on became popular as a way to denominate countries that have not "developed" or are in the process of "developing". In the colonial era, western imperialists exploited these countries. Once imperialism ended, these countries were left to take care of themselves, something most colonial powers never allowed. These countries were left to face the challenges of nation and state-building on their own for the first time.

As European colonies in Africa, Asia, The Americas, and Oceania gained their independence they commonly experienced widespread poverty, high birthrates, and economic dependence upon their former colonial masters. After World War II, the capitalist Western and the communist Eastern blocs fought to expand their spheres of influence to the Third World. The military and intelligence services of the United States and the Soviet Union worked secretly and publicly to influence Third World governments, with relative success.

Further reading

• 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)
• Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures. (1992)
• A. Escobar, Encountering Development. The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. (1995)

External links

• Hans Rosling at TED 2006