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Inflation will potentially reduce the US to a third world country. America is already a third world country. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-new

Inflation will potentially reduce the US to a third world country. America is already a third world country. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/six-ways-america-is-like-a-third-world-country-100466/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/six-ways...

dragonwriter 5y ago
> America is already a third world country. The first/second/third world distinction is pretty irrelevant these days, but the US is unalterably a first-world country in it.
- onion2k 5y ago
  You can't just say somewhere is a first world country. You have to look at it and see what life is like there. America is only a nice place for the rich. For everyone else it sucks. That is not true for most other first world developed countries. Practically every metric demonstrates that very clearly.
  - jeroenhd 5y ago
    The term "first world" comes from the separation of countries aligned with the USA (first world), the communist countries (second world) and whatever remained (third world). Its origins have little to do with wealth or social development. South Africa and Morocco aren't exactly the wealthiest countries in the world, but they're still decidedly first world. Ireland and Sweden are third world countries, despite their relative wealth. Now that the second world has mostly fallen or become capitalist, the term "third world" is often used to refer to developing nations (which is silly, as if not aligning with the USA inherently makes you poor) but its origins explicitly make it impossible for the USA to be part of anything other than the first world. And let's be honest, even with its terrible labour laws, unmaintainable healthcare system, two-party political system and income inequality inequality, the USA is still far ahead of the developing nations people call "third world". Compare the poor American states to the poor European countries and the USA still comes out ahead on average. America is a country of extremes, where the rich are extremely rich and the poor are extremely poor, especially given the wealth that surrounds them. I'd much rather be homeless in Europe than be homeless in the USA, but being middle class in most of Europe leaves you more budget constrained than being middle class in much of the USA.

dragonwriter 5y ago

> America is already a third world country. The first/second/third world distinction is pretty irrelevant these days, but the US is unalterably a first-world country in it.

onion2k 5y ago
You can't just say somewhere is a first world country. You have to look at it and see what life is like there. America is only a nice place for the rich. For everyone else it sucks. That is not true for most other first world developed countries. Practically every metric demonstrates that very clearly.
- jeroenhd 5y ago
  The term "first world" comes from the separation of countries aligned with the USA (first world), the communist countries (second world) and whatever remained (third world). Its origins have little to do with wealth or social development. South Africa and Morocco aren't exactly the wealthiest countries in the world, but they're still decidedly first world. Ireland and Sweden are third world countries, despite their relative wealth. Now that the second world has mostly fallen or become capitalist, the term "third world" is often used to refer to developing nations (which is silly, as if not aligning with the USA inherently makes you poor) but its origins explicitly make it impossible for the USA to be part of anything other than the first world. And let's be honest, even with its terrible labour laws, unmaintainable healthcare system, two-party political system and income inequality inequality, the USA is still far ahead of the developing nations people call "third world". Compare the poor American states to the poor European countries and the USA still comes out ahead on average. America is a country of extremes, where the rich are extremely rich and the poor are extremely poor, especially given the wealth that surrounds them. I'd much rather be homeless in Europe than be homeless in the USA, but being middle class in most of Europe leaves you more budget constrained than being middle class in much of the USA.