2/26/2009

The Definition of a First World Country

Until recently I didn't know the real definition of the terms: "first world country", "second world country", or "third world country".
I had a rough idea of that they meant, and generally thought it had to do with income, standard of living, and freedom.
a mental shorthand i kept in my head was Europe= 1st world, South America= 3rd world.
the ideas i had were generally true, but only by coincidence.

the REAL meaning of the terms are:
1st world = Capitalist/Democratic countries
2nd world = Communist countries
3rd world = neutral/undeclared/underdeveloped

here's a map.
1st world = Blue
2nd world = Red
3rd world = Green

(The only part that seems somewhat inaccurate is that for all intents and purposes India should be blue at this point.)

on a slightly different note. it's also worth pointing out that these 3 "countries" would have made much better definitions of 3 constantly warring future nations than George Orwells "Oceana", "Eastasia", and "Eurasia". As his definitions in 1984 never made much sense to me.
compare

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