True, that’s how the meaning started, but the typical understanding of the term “3rd world” has meant impoverished S Hole for a long time.
I guess I could have said “developing countries” but does anyone here really think these countries are doing much developing?
“does anyone here really think these countries are doing much developing?”
It doesn’t happen overnight, but it is happening quickly.
When you double the income of those tribesman you saw covered with flies in their mud (probably really cow patty) huts, they will still seem to be living in squalor. But they are doubling pretty quickly. The fastest percentage rise in income is among Earth’s poorest, just because it takes so little to do it.
People are leaving their crops and herds and heading into the city by the droves around the world. The movement from the country to the city in China over the last couple of decades is believed to be the biggest human migration ever in raw numbers. Chinese wages have gone up so much, that many Chinese manufacturers have set up overseas, notably in Ethiopia.
Remember when Ethiopia was in the news for mass starvation? Well that was the effect of the Marxist policies of the Derg Government there, and their use of famine to eliminate opponents, rather than inherent backwardness. Ethiopia (Africa’s second most populous country) has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world for some time now, maintaining 7-10% growth in GDP, since throwing off the Derg and exiling Mengistu to Zimbabwe.
You can still see some people in the South living in mud huts like something out of National Geographic, but they probably now have a cell phone. Chinese factories and construction projects are very visible, and it takes much less time to get around the country than it did just a few years ago. The rich have gotten a lot richer of course, but the rise of the overall standard of living is (though frustrating to many) is rapid compared to historical or global averages.
Many factors contribute, but the biggest are probably technology and better Government economic policies. The former Commies are now out to make as much money as they can, and except for Zimbabwe, are doing so in ways that is growing the overall economy. The African Union is harmonizing regulations across countries to ease trade, based on best practices that they are spoon-fed from the International community. So local bureaucrats are not just swinging in the dark pulling policy out of their butts, they are generally getting and implementing much better advice.
Even the security situation is improving over the long term. Hard to believe with high profile problems like Boko Haram or the Central American/ Mexican gangs, but there has also been a gradual improvement in overall safety and stability (except for the Arab Spring areas, which have markedly degraded in recent years).