Definition of Third World

The notion of the Third World is a very complex notion rich in ideas that can be taken not only to the political but also to the economic, social and cultural levels.

Political division of the world that arose during the Cold War but that later would continue in force to establish economic differences especially

When we speak of the Third World we are referring to a world division clearly politics that the Cold War began in the 20th century and that it implied the organization of the different countries of the planet into three worlds or regions: the First World (made up basically of the capitalist powers: Europe, North America and Australia), the Second World (made up of the communist nations, mainly the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or now Russia) and the Third World (all those countries that would not directly align with one or with other).

However, the concept of the Third World is not a concept that is used today with exclusively political meaning. This is so because, before the fall of the Soviet bloc and the disappearance of the Second World, the dynamic between the First and the Third World was established mainly at the economic and social level. In this sense, the organization between these two regions supposes the economic, political, social and cultural primacy of the First World over the poverty, misery and underdevelopment of the Third World.

Precisely the poverty, the scarcity of resources, and the absence of development are the conditions that today command to define a country as part of this Third World.

Main characteristics: food insufficiency, poverty, difficult access to health, education and opportunities

If we delve into the analysis we will find identical characteristics in these third world countries and that are what help us when classifying them as such.

Food insufficiency, that is, lack of access to a feeding conformed by a large part of the population it is a constant and it is undoubtedly one of the main problems of these nations because a large part of its members die of malnutrition.

From newborns, people do not have access to the proper food because they do not have the resources and because the state does not take charge of this situation. In many cases, the latter is a consequence of laziness and corruption, which is high in these countries and where resources are normally allocated.

Another problem that third world countries present is the lack of education, there is a very high rate of illiterate population, which cannot access the basic education, for the same reasons we mentioned about food. Of course this state of affairs generates as a direct consequence a total lack of possibilities for citizens of these countries compared to others that do have them because they come from countries developed.

Health is also another very serious problem that exists in these regions, many diseases end up becoming endemic due to the fact that they are not treated properly, and on the other hand, due to the lack of money to treat diseases and develop prevention, the diseases become epidemics that cause massive deaths, with a very high mortality, especially of children.

Children are undoubtedly the most vulnerable part of the population in every sense.

Main causes: Laziness and corruption

It is a constant in these areas that the few resources they have are wasted on expenses that are not necessary or have a direct destiny to the pockets of public officials, because corruption is another of the endemic problems that exists in the Third World.

And we cannot ignore the very marked social differences that exist in these nations, with wealthy upper classes and very poor classes.

Among the Third World countries we find the entire African continent (perhaps the poorest region on the planet) but also Latin America and Southeast Asia. Although some countries in these last two regions are in fervent growth and development (such as China or Brazil), the remaining countries are characterized by having a high proportion of their total population below the line of the poverty.

Furthermore, Third World countries are those that have not been able to develop a economy independent and dynamic, depending largely on the permanent assistance of the organisms international, taking debt with them especially.

Finally, at the cultural level, Third World countries are those in which regional expressions have been in largely eliminated by those cultural expressions and representations imported from the great world powers.

Third World Issues