Third World
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Third World is a name given to nations that are generally considered to be underdeveloped economically during the 20th century. The name Third World arose during the Cold War to refer to nations that did not belong to the First and Second Worlds. While there is debate over the appropriateness of the term, and no alternative is without detractors, the term is one embraced by many Third World nations themselves, particularly in the Non-Aligned Movement.
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[edit] Etymology
The economist and demographer Alfred Sauvy, in an article published in the French magazine L'Observateur, August 14, 1952, 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).[1].
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.
[edit] Definition
In academic circles, the countries of the Third World are known as 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 "developing countries" term because the term implies that industrialization is progressive.[citation needed]
[edit] History
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 are still in the process of developing. In the colonial era, western imperialists propped up 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, 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 U.S. and the U.S.S.R. worked secretly and publicly to influence Third World governments, with relative success.
The term Third World became popular usage during the Cold War when many poor nations adopted it in describing themselves as aligned with neither N.A.T.O. nor the U.S.S.R., but instead composed an unaligned Third World. In that context, the First World denoted the U.S. and its anti-Communist allies, concomitantly, Second World denoted the "Eastern Bloc" — the U.S.S.R. and its communist and socialist allies.
For the most part, Third World did not include China. Politically, the Third World emerged at the Bandung Conference (1955), which established the Non-Aligned Movement. Numerically, the Third World dominates the United Nations, but is so culturally and economically diverse that its political cohesion is hypothetical. The petroleum-rich countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, etc.) and the new industrial countries (India, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Brazil, Mexico etc.) have little in common with poor countries (Haiti, Chad, Afghanistan, etc.).
In 1972, China's Chairman Mao gave another definition of three worlds. In his definition, super power dual US and USSR belong to the first world because of their great impact on the world affairs. Western Europe, Japan, Australia, and Canada belong to the second world. Other countries in Asia including China, Africa and America belongs to the third world.
[edit] See also
[edit] 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)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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