THE THIRD

WORLD AND THE ‘-

GLOBAL SOUTH

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THOUGHT PROCESS
• What are the implications of talking about countries as First or Third
World?

• Where did these terms come

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These terms are outdated and inaccurate ways of talking about global
stratification.

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GLOBAL STRATIFICATION
 THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH, POWER, PRESTIGE, RESOURCES, AND INFLUENCE
AMONG THE WORLD’S NATIONS.

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 ORIGIN OF THE IDEA OF THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD WORLD.

Let us begin by deconstructing the idea of the First, Second, and Third
World hierarchy by looking at their origins and their implications.
The terms date back to the Cold War, when Western policymakers began
talking about the world as three distinct political and economic blocs. (Tomlinson,
2003)
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• Western capitalist countries were labeled as the “First World.” ( NATO: US,
Western Europe & Allies)
• The Soviet Union and its allies were termed the “Second World.” (Communist
Bloc: the Soviet Union, China, Cuba & Allies)
• While everyone else not belonging to any of the above category was grouped
into “Third World.” (non alliance)
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 After the Cold War ended, the category of Second World countries
become null and void, but somehow the terms “First World” and “Third
World” stuck around in the public consciousness.

Third world countries, which started as just vague catch-all term for non-
alliance countries, came to be associated with impoverished states, while the
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First World was associated with rich, industrialized countries.

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 In addition to being outdated, these terms are also inaccurate. They are
more than 100 countries that fit the label of “Third World,” but they have vastly
different levels of economic stability. Some are relatively poor, but many are not.
For example, lumping Botswana and Rwanda into the same category does not
make much sense because the average income per capita in Botswana is nine times
larger than in Rwanda.
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Common
Characteristics
Common
Characteristics

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BEFORE …
• FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES – DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

• SECOND WORLD COUNTRIES – DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

• THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES – LESS DEVELOPED OR

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UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Although this concept and description can still be seen a lot today, it is much
considered as outdated and therefore void

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 Nowadays, social scientists sort countries into group based on their
specific levels of economic productivity. To do this, they use the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the total output of a country, and the
Gross National Income (GNI), which measure per capita (World Bank, n.d.).

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Lower Middle class

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 A new and simpler classification, North-South, was created as Second World
countries joined either the First World or the Third World. First World countries, such as the
United States, Canada, Western Europe, and developed parts of Asia are regarded as the
“Global North”, while the “Global South” includes the Caribbean, Latin America, South
America, Africa, and parts of Asia.

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Overall

FIRST WORLD - FIRST WORLD/DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND (before “DEVELOPING/SECOND

WORLD”)
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THIRD WORLD – DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (before “LESS DEVELOPED)

or

GLOBAL SOUTH – THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES/DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (Lower and Lower Middle
countries)

GLOBAL NORTH – FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES + SECOND WORLD COUNTRIES (DEVELOPED

COUNTRIES) (High and Middle income countries)

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MAJOR OUTPUT ‘-

First World Vs. Third World Problems

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FIRST WORLD vs. THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS

What to do ?
 Think of real life scenarios that shows the difference between first world and third world problems
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 Create a “meme” showcasing the difference between the First World and the Third World Problems.

 Make it simple but are inspired by real events

(you may use photo from the internet for the representation of scene/s but the overall thought must be made
by you.)

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Examples.
FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS vs. THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS

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FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS vs. THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS

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WHY PEOPLE RIOT ?

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FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS vs. THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS

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They didn’t get my name write I don’t even know how to write my name

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HOW TO DO IT:
• MS WORD (A4 or Short)
• Cover page
- Major Output in GE 4
“First World vs. Third World Problems ‘-
- Write your name, course, year and section
- date
• First page
- the “meme”
- brief description about the “meme”

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WHEN & WHERE TO SUBMIT:

• Submit it on or before April 17, 2023 (Monday)

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