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The terms "first, second, and third worlds" historically had nothing to do with development, thats a modern transition to a new definition. The terms were used for how a country aligned during the cold war. I had second and third world meanings switched in my mind.
Back in my day that was precisely the definition; "first world" - Western countries ( and probably the countries that were closely attached to the US/Great Britain - such as Japan.
Third world - undeveloped poor countries; many of them with colonial background.
Of course "third world countries" were not necessarily aligned with the Soviet Union; some were and some were aligned with the West.
But within this scheme of things, what the Soviet Union itself should be considered?
I for one believe that Soviet Union was the only country deserving the "second world" status.
For a reason that it shared certain things (defining first and third world countries) both with the Western countries and with the third world countries.
And that's the reason why Russia's bigger cities still don't fit in either "Western" or "developing country" definition.
But anyways, in order to demonstrate what I am talking about - this is for example ( judging by description) the worst district of St. Petersburg.
China outside of Tier 1 cities is decidedly 3rd world, this is not the case in the US.
You know, I have changed my mind after your last post. I was thinking about personal experience in China and the US rural areas, but obviously my personal experience is extremely limited in scope. I was also thinking marginal difference because several steps on the scale is marginal in some categories, but when taken in the context of living conditions across a huge swath of population (~40%) that "marginal" difference is not so marginal anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattks
A complete guess, but I'd venture to say less then 10-15% of China lives a life equal to those in the US. But thats a lot of people, 10% of a billion plus is still over 100 million people.
Thanks for putting it into perspective. Obviously just a guess on your part, but it is telling.
I don't know if the whole Buenos Aires city is like this, but the places I stayed(Puerto Madero/ San Telmo/ Palermo) had a very developed feel, as a Brazilian from Rio I was mind blown of how developed the city actually felt, it truly seemed like a world-class city. I hope to visit Santiago de Chile soon, as I've heard many nice things about Chile, but Buenos Aires surely impressed me.
I don't know if the whole Buenos Aires city is like this, but the places I stayed(Puerto Madero/ San Telmo/ Palermo) had a very developed feel, as a Brazilian from Rio I was mind blown of how developed the city actually felt, it truly seemed like a world-class city. I hope to visit Santiago de Chile soon, as I've heard many nice things about Chile, but Buenos Aires surely impressed me.
Buenos Aires always struck me as a clean and developed city.
Buenos Aires always struck me as a clean and developed city.
Maybe the most developed in Latin America?
It's so funny how people get fooled so easily. That's obviously a fake poster/profile. The statement of being "mind blown" by someone from Rio in Buenos Aires is ludicrous.
Wonderful city, fantastic architecture but don't be so fooled.
Buenos Aires always struck me as a clean and developed city.
Maybe the most developed in Latin America?
Like every latin american city, Buenos Aires has a lot of slums and rundown areas, but if you stay in the inner city and in the northern neighbourhoods you will have the feel that you are in an european city, with all that stunning architecture, cultural life and polite people. I would not say that it is the most developed city in Latin America - Santiago and Montevideo are good candidates; and São Paulo, while it looks and feels much more "third-worldish" than BsAs, has still a larger GDP and more connectivity to global markets.
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