Africana Studies. Defining the term “Third World”. History Essay

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Defining the term “Third World”
Introduction
The term “Third world” is frequently used to mean a nation that is in the process of developing. The term emerged amid the cold war and it was used to identify nations that did not conform to capitalism and communism. The countries are mainly in Africa and Asia. The phrase has been used to explain nations who’s its major population is characterized by low living standards and poverty .They lag behind economically and the citizens are faced with problems such as, poor infrastructure, low education levels and poor health care conditions. The phrase is degrading as it is inappropriate and outdated. For example, a country like South Africa is referred to as a “third world country” though it is untrue since it has a grown GDP as compared to other countries in Africa and Asia. The phrase is solely used to refer to all the countries in Africa, though it is true to say that, some countries have developed economies and do not fall under the category of “Third World” countries. Furthermore, the term is rooted in racism and the following discussion explains this further.
In the journal, “Early prehistory of Africa,” from “History of Africa”, the author explains that, the term refers to certain nations as being entirely on a different world to other nations. The term is used when people cannot explain its actual meaning. For example, when a person wants to refer to a country that is poverty-ridden, its government is characterized with extreme corruption, or is repressive in offering civil liberties, the term “Third world” has been commonly used to refer to all these. While the above mentioned characteristics overlap some countries, to fully term a nation as “Third world” is totally misleading. The phrase is ambiguous and its use is vulnerable to refer to uninformed or meaningless political rhetoric. Additionally, the term assumes that hierarchy exists between countries. It paints Western countries as ideal without considering the problems affecting countries in the West. Furthermore, the phrase is not concrete since if quantitative data is used, it can provide a solid comparison base, for instance, infant mortality rates.
Secondly, the term lacks legitimacy. No criterion is used to explain which country is to classify the other. Even in this decade, there exists no clear con...