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I thought "third world" was an informal and occasionally derogatory synonym for "developing countries". Is that not the case?
by happytoexplain 7y ago
I thought "third world" was an informal and occasionally derogatory synonym for "developing countries". Is that not the case?
- Tomte 7y agoOriginally not. The meaning as it existed during the Cold War was "block-free". USA/NATO were the First World. USSR/Warsaw Pact was the Second World. Everyone else was Third World. That definition includes countries like Switzerland, which sounds very strange today, because the meaning has changed to precisely the one you have in mind.
- jandrese 7y agoThe dissolution of the Warsaw Pact meant the old definition was a bit meaningless, hence the shift in connotation where "First World" is a glorious modern stable democracy and "Third World" is "shithole." That said, "developing country" isn't necessarily the most precise phrase either, since many of those countries are either keeping the status quo or are actively decaying due to environmental disaster, war, famine, etc... Also, when you say "developing country" what a lot of people still heard is "shithole". Still, it's the preferred phrase and the inherent optimism built into it does count for a little.
- the-dude 7y agoI read somewhere in the past few years "third world" is actually a political term. And the The third world being defined as being not aligned with either the first or second world. Where the first world would be the US influence sphere, and the second world being USSR influence sphere.