Re: Third World Man
The US is slipping into the second world as we speak, with no signs of a turnaround ahead. Only the sheer size of the economy keeps people from believing it.
Just a nomenclature peeve - I'm not sure of the precise time and place the (first|second|third) world meme originated, but it seems to predate 1970, and until very recently it's meaning was clear: First world: Western (and Westernized) nations - mainly the US, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, & New Zealand Second world: Communist bloc (I can still remember the Cultural Revolution. Prior to that, the Communists seemed a monolithic force, marching in lockstep.) Third world: The rest, mostly poor nations. Back then, the world was a simpler place. Peter Trei Senior Software Engineer Purveyor Development Team Process Software Corporation trei@process.com
On Mon, 21 Aug 1995, Peter Trei wrote:
The US is slipping into the second world as we speak, with no signs of a turnaround ahead. Only the sheer size of the economy keeps people from believing it.
Just a nomenclature peeve - I'm not sure of the precise time and place the (first|second|third) world meme originated, but it seems to predate 1970, and until very recently it's meaning was clear:
First world: Western (and Westernized) nations - mainly the US, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, & New Zealand
Second world: Communist bloc (I can still remember the Cultural Revolution. Prior to that, the Communists seemed a monolithic force, marching in lockstep.)
Third world: The rest, mostly poor nations.
Erm, nope. The "First World" (or old world) was Europe and Asia; the "New World" (not frequently referrred to as the second world, but hey...) The third world was the developing nations. THAT (as far as I was taught in history class, so it MIGHT be a lie...) was how the terms originated... Jon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jon Lasser <jlasser@rwd.goucher.edu> (410) 494-3253 Visit my home page at http://www.goucher.edu/~jlasser/ You have a friend at the NSA: Big Brother is watching. Finger for PGP key.
On Mon, 21 Aug 1995, Peter Trei wrote:
First world: Western (and Westernized) nations Second world: Communist bloc Third world: The rest, mostly poor nations.
That's pretty much how I learned it in school, back in the 60s. Mind you, "third world" wasn't an insult then. I also heard another version: 1st world was Europe/Asia (cuz they were there first), 2nd world was America (they got discovered later), and 3rd was everybody else. -- Dave Horsfall (VK2KFU) | dave@esi.com.au | VK2KFU @ VK2DAA.NSW.AUS.OC | PGP 2.6 Opinions expressed are mine. | D8 15 71 F9 26 C8 63 40 5E 63 5C 65 FC A0 22 99
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Peter Trei