This article is about the Western political concept. For the Maoist political concept, see Three Worlds Theory.
The Second World is one of the "Three Worlds" formed by the global political landscape of the Cold War, as it grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union. This grouping was directly opposed to the First World, which similarly grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Western Bloc of the United States. It included communist states that were originally under the Soviet sphere of influence, though some eventually broke away from the Soviet ideology (e.g., Yugoslavia's split and China's split) to develop their own path as socialist states while retaining their communist governments. Most communist states remained under Soviet influence until the Revolutions of 1989. In 1991, upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, only five communist states remained: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. Though the terms "First World" and "Third World" continue to see present-day relevance in colloquial speech, albeit with a repurposed definition, the term "Second World" is obsolete outside of a Cold War context.
The concept of "Second World" was a construct of the Cold War and the term is still largely used to describe former communist countries that are between poverty and prosperity, many of which are now capitalist states, such as Eastern Europe. Subsequently, the actual meaning of the terms "First World", "Second World," and "Third World" changed from being based on political ideology to an economic definition.[1] The three-world theory has been criticized as crude and relatively outdated for its nominal ordering, and some sociologists have instead used the words "developed", "developing", and "underdeveloped" as replacement terms for global stratification (which have been criticized as displaying a colonialist mindset);[2] nevertheless, the three-world theory is still popular in contemporary literature and media. This might also cause semantic variation of the term between describing a region's political entities and its people.[3]
Human developmentedit
The Three Worlds Model was used to rank the development of countries and their economies during the Cold War. First World countries were capitalist and industrial; they shared similar political and economic institutions, and retained influence over parts of the former colonial world. Second World countries advocated socialism and shared certain characteristics such as centrally planned economic systems, single-party states, and mainly medium income levels.[4] The First World and the Second World were competing for political and economic influence over developing nations known as the Third World.
The Human Development Index is an index used to rank countries and is quantified by looking at a country's human development such as life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators. The scale is 0-1 and they are put into one of four categories; 0-.55 is low, .55-.70 is medium, .70-.80 is high and very high tops out at .80-1.0. The Second World countries from the Cold War era currently range from medium human development to very high human development in terms of HDI.[5]
The powerful economies of the West are still sometimes described as "First World", but the term "Second World" became largely obsolete following the collapse of the Soviet Union.[6]
^Silver, Marc (4 January 2015). "If You Shouldn't Call It The Third World, What Should You Call It?". NPR.
^Giddens, Anthony (2006). Sociology. Polity. p. 42. ISBN978-0-7456-3379-4. second world countries communist.
^Bankoff, Greg; Oven, Katie (24 June 2019). "What happened to the Second World? Earthquakes and postsocialism in Kazakhstan". Disasters. 44 (1): 3–24. doi:10.1111/disa.12362. PMID 31231813. S2CID 195327230.
^"Second World Countries Population". World Population Review. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
^Andrews, Evan (22 August 2018). "Why are countries classified as First, Second or Third World?". History. A&E Television Networks.
November 15, 2023
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This article is about the Western political concept For the Maoist political concept see Three Worlds Theory The Second World is one of the Three Worlds formed by the global political landscape of the Cold War as it grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union This grouping was directly opposed to the First World which similarly grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Western Bloc of the United States It included communist states that were originally under the Soviet sphere of influence though some eventually broke away from the Soviet ideology e g Yugoslavia s split and China s split to develop their own path as socialist states while retaining their communist governments Most communist states remained under Soviet influence until the Revolutions of 1989 In 1991 upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union only five communist states remained China Cuba Laos North Korea and Vietnam Though the terms First World and Third World continue to see present day relevance in colloquial speech albeit with a repurposed definition the term Second World is obsolete outside of a Cold War context The Three Worlds of the Cold War in April August 1975 First World Countries aligned with the Western Bloc i e NATO and allies led by the United States Second World Countries aligned with the Eastern Bloc i e Warsaw Pact China and allies led by the Soviet Union Third World The Non Aligned Movement and other neutral countries Contents 1 Concept 2 Human development 3 Examples and decline in usage of term 4 See also 5 ReferencesConcept editThe concept of Second World was a construct of the Cold War and the term is still largely used to describe former communist countries that are between poverty and prosperity many of which are now capitalist states such as Eastern Europe Subsequently the actual meaning of the terms First World Second World and Third World changed from being based on political ideology to an economic definition 1 The three world theory has been criticized as crude and relatively outdated for its nominal ordering and some sociologists have instead used the words developed developing and underdeveloped as replacement terms for global stratification which have been criticized as displaying a colonialist mindset 2 nevertheless the three world theory is still popular in contemporary literature and media This might also cause semantic variation of the term between describing a region s political entities and its people 3 Human development editThe Three Worlds Model was used to rank the development of countries and their economies during the Cold War First World countries were capitalist and industrial they shared similar political and economic institutions and retained influence over parts of the former colonial world Second World countries advocated socialism and shared certain characteristics such as centrally planned economic systems single party states and mainly medium income levels 4 The First World and the Second World were competing for political and economic influence over developing nations known as the Third World The Human Development Index is an index used to rank countries and is quantified by looking at a country s human development such as life expectancy education and per capita income indicators The scale is 0 1 and they are put into one of four categories 0 55 is low 55 70 is medium 70 80 is high and very high tops out at 80 1 0 The Second World countries from the Cold War era currently range from medium human development to very high human development in terms of HDI 5 Examples and decline in usage of term editSome examples of Cold War definition Second World countries were Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Hungary Mongolia North Korea Poland Romania the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic The powerful economies of the West are still sometimes described as First World but the term Second World became largely obsolete following the collapse of the Soviet Union 6 See also editBRIC Eurasian Economic Union Socialist state Developing country Third world Fourth WorldReferences edit Andersen Margaret L Taylor Howard Francis 2006 Sociology Understanding a Diverse Society Thomson Wadsworth p 250 ISBN 978 0 534 61716 5 Silver Marc 4 January 2015 If You Shouldn t Call It The Third World What Should You Call It NPR Giddens Anthony 2006 Sociology Polity p 42 ISBN 978 0 7456 3379 4 second world countries communist Bankoff Greg Oven Katie 24 June 2019 What happened to the Second World Earthquakes and postsocialism in Kazakhstan Disasters 44 1 3 24 doi 10 1111 disa 12362 PMID 31231813 S2CID 195327230 Second World Countries Population World Population Review 24 October 2019 Retrieved 21 February 2020 Andrews Evan 22 August 2018 Why are countries classified as First Second or Third World History A amp E Television Networks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Second World amp oldid 1170818320, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
