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> Violence? [...] That is the difference between a first world country and a second or third. "Third-world" doesn't mean what you think it means. Switzerland i

> Violence? [...] That is the difference between a first world country and a second or third. "Third-world" doesn't mean what you think it means. Switzerland is a third-world country.

mc32 9y ago
In parlance 3rd world didn't just mean non aligned as it did in political circles, for the hoi polloi it just meant underdeveloped economy --whether that was misuse of the term is irrelevant because that's how most people used it when a politically bipolar world existed.
bjelkeman-again 9y ago
Interesting. I have never met anyone in Europe that uses the term that way, but apparently it was used that way in some contexts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
pmontra 9y ago
I upvoted you for historical merit but the meaning of words change. Third world means poor countries now.
- throwaway613834 9y ago
  > Third world means poor countries now. A citation would be nice. Also, what countries would be second-world with that definition? EDIT: Note that I asked what countries would be SECOND-world with this definition. Not third-world.
  - CamelCaseName 9y ago
    >A citation would be nice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World >Also, what countries would be second-world with that definition? In present-day English, the Third World is "the developing countries of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa".[1] Third world countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa include Russia, Albania, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Cuba, South Africa, and Armenia. The term usually suggests poverty and low level of industrial development and thus it is the opposite of the term developed nations. This usage is considered by some to be offensive.
    - throwaway613834 9y ago
      Re-read my comment? I asked what countries would be SECOND-world with that definition.
      - pmontra 9y ago
        The Second World used to be the communist block [1] but not necessarily meaning that it was worse off than the First one. Western Europe had many communist/socialist parties looking forward to implementing a socialist kind society. They were thinking about it as an improvement. About the origin of those terms see [2]. The Second World term was seldom used in Europe even during the 70s as far as I can remember. There is no more second world now. We jump straight from first to third world. It feels sadly right if we agree that the gap is widening. By the way, nobody in Europe would think Russia is a third world country. It's first world. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World [2] http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries....
labster 9y ago
None of that Cold War pedantry. Language has evolved in the decades since the fall of the USSR. Switzerland is a first world country on the developed-developing-underdeveloped economic axis that most people mean now.

> Violence? [...] That is the difference between a first world country and a second or third. "Third-world" doesn't mean what you think it means. Switzerland is a third-world country.

mc32 9y ago

In parlance 3rd world didn't just mean non aligned as it did in political circles, for the hoi polloi it just meant underdeveloped economy --whether that was misuse of the term is irrelevant because that's how most people used it when a politically bipolar world existed.

bjelkeman-again 9y ago

Interesting. I have never met anyone in Europe that uses the term that way, but apparently it was used that way in some contexts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

pmontra 9y ago

I upvoted you for historical merit but the meaning of words change. Third world means poor countries now.

throwaway613834 9y ago
> Third world means poor countries now. A citation would be nice. Also, what countries would be second-world with that definition? EDIT: Note that I asked what countries would be SECOND-world with this definition. Not third-world.
- CamelCaseName 9y ago
  >A citation would be nice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World >Also, what countries would be second-world with that definition? In present-day English, the Third World is "the developing countries of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa".[1] Third world countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa include Russia, Albania, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Cuba, South Africa, and Armenia. The term usually suggests poverty and low level of industrial development and thus it is the opposite of the term developed nations. This usage is considered by some to be offensive.
  - throwaway613834 9y ago
    Re-read my comment? I asked what countries would be SECOND-world with that definition.
    - pmontra 9y ago
      The Second World used to be the communist block [1] but not necessarily meaning that it was worse off than the First one. Western Europe had many communist/socialist parties looking forward to implementing a socialist kind society. They were thinking about it as an improvement. About the origin of those terms see [2]. The Second World term was seldom used in Europe even during the 70s as far as I can remember. There is no more second world now. We jump straight from first to third world. It feels sadly right if we agree that the gap is widening. By the way, nobody in Europe would think Russia is a third world country. It's first world. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World [2] http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries....

labster 9y ago

None of that Cold War pedantry. Language has evolved in the decades since the fall of the USSR. Switzerland is a first world country on the developed-developing-underdeveloped economic axis that most people mean now.