It's re-reading Glanville's History of the World Cup book, where contemporary reference is made to the "Third World" in the chapters to do with the 70s and 80s, that got me thinking about this again.
"The Third World" used to be pretty clearly used in those days as a euphemism for much of the whole geographical entities of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
But assuming the "First World" was Western Europe, the USA and the larger ex-Commonwealth countries that still had the Queen as head of state, what was the "Second World" ever meant to be? The USSR and its satellite states?
Is there a modern equivalent, as well? It's clearly not on geographical boundaries anymore, seeing as several Asian economies appear far healthier than most in the EU?
"The Third World" used to be pretty clearly used in those days as a euphemism for much of the whole geographical entities of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
But assuming the "First World" was Western Europe, the USA and the larger ex-Commonwealth countries that still had the Queen as head of state, what was the "Second World" ever meant to be? The USSR and its satellite states?
Is there a modern equivalent, as well? It's clearly not on geographical boundaries anymore, seeing as several Asian economies appear far healthier than most in the EU?
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