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ok here's a thread on why i don't say "third world country" and neither should you
disclaimer: other people from the global south might feel differently. they might prefer the term third world. that is okay. please don't tell people in the global south how they should name themselves
The term "Third World" came about during the Cold War to define countries that didn't alling with either NATO (capitalism, lead by the US) or the Warsaw Pact (communism, lead by the USSR)
"why didn't those countries allign with either?" because to be a part of nato, you have to have money and you have to have a good army, and most countries have neither. and if you tried to be a part of the warsaw pact that was a great way to get a US intervention on your ass
since the "third world" countries were largely undeveloped economically with poor industrial power and just generally unstable governments, that became synonym with poor + unstable countries, something that has carried out after the cold war
however, the first/second/third world leaves out a great deal of factors, such as human development, democratic strength, rule of law supremacy and just generally how much we've been fucked by the first world on a regular basis
so after the cold war some other measures appeared. based on the HDI index, we can categorize countries in developing and developed countries, which offers a bit more nuance into economic factors:
or, my personal favorite, the global south, that can convey our collective southern past of exploitation, cultural links arising from colonization, neocolonization and imperialism, and just general fuckery besides political instability and economic problems:
so, to sum up: third world is a perjorative term based on an outdated notion from the cold war that is largely out of place in our modern world, and there are better ways to describe people in the global south
also, if i see another american going "we're just a rich third world country" or "we see this in third world countries, not in the GREAT united STATES of AMUHRICA" i will stomp you to death with my hooves. STOP.
