Issue 21, April 19 - May 2, 2017

Why using the "first world" and "third world" terminology is not in?

Few in New Zealand - including some sections of the media - still use the terminology of "1st" and "3rd" world, when the rest of the world has moved on with using the terms such as "developed" and "developing" world.

They probably don't realise that terms like 1st and 3rd are an endorsement of an international hierarchy of countries, indicating a strong evolutionist bias for achieving Western levels of economic growth as the ultimate goal. But, who is to say which country is part of the "1st" world and which should still be stigmatised as the "3rd" world? Certainly not this newspaper.