>From http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm
The First, Second, Third World and the Forth World A rough probably outdated model of the geopolitical world from the time of the cold war. There is no official definition of the terms of the first, second, and the third world. Following OWNO's explanation of the terms. The term "First World" refers to so called developed, capitalist, industrial countries, roughly, a bloc of countries aligned with the United States with common political and economic interests: North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia. List of Countries of the "First World" "Second World" refers to the (former) communist-socialist, industrial states, (formerly the Eastern bloc, the territory and sphere of influence of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic) today: Russia, Eastern Europe (e.g., Poland) and some of the Turk States (e.g., Kazakhstan) as well as China. List of Countries of the "Second World" "Third World" are all the other countries, today often used to roughly describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The term Third World includes as well capitalist (e.g., Venezuela) and communist (e.g., North Korea) countries as very rich (e.g., Saudi Arabia) and very poor (e.g., Mali) countries. List of Countries of the "Third World" The term "Forth World" first came into use in 1974 with the publication of Shuswap Chief George Manuel's: The fourth world : an Indian reality (amazon link to the book), the term refers to nations (cultural entities, ethnic groups) of indigenous peoples living within or across state boundaries (political units, states). Native North American Indians >From http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/World First world, second world, third world The terms first world, second world, and third world are used to divide the nations of Earth into three broad categories. Originally, the term "first world" referred to capitalist societies, the term "second world" to centrally planned ones, whereas "third world" stood for tribal systems. During the Cold War, the phrase "first world" referred to nations within the United States' sphere of influence, the phrase "second world" to nations within the Soviet Union's sphere of influence, and the phrase "third world" to nations within neither sphere. After the Cold War, "first world" began to refer to countries with "Western" societies and large economies and "third world" to developing countries in regions such as Africa (because originally neither Cold War superpower bothered with such countries); with the fall of Leninist Communism the term "second world" largely fell out of use. Regards, Bob... ------------------------------------------ Politically incorrect sig line deleted to prevent "socialists, statists, elitists and weekend golfers [you know who you are] from receiving discomforting enlightenment." -Larry Elders From: "frank theriault" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > In addition to the drivel in my last post, I think that the following terms > are more or less equivalent: > > 1st World = Developed Countries > 2nd World = Less Developed Countries (LCD's) > 3rd World = Non-Developed (or Undeveloped) Countries (NDC's) > > Maybe that'll help. > > "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist > fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer > > >From: "frank theriault" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >Well, I've heard several versions of what 1st, 2nd and 3rd World refer to. > ><snip>
