The Impacty of Language on Social Development: the Third World - Essay Example

Collins (2011a: slide 5) lists numerous terms that have been used to label the third world. Each of them reflects the users’ attitude and stresses a certain indicator(s) or else a biased or prejudiced view. The term ‘third world’ itself was coined by Alfred Sauvy (1952, in Collins, 2011a: slide 9). It has its origins in the Cold War period and reflects a tripartite view of the world. The First World comprised of the West, the Second World of the Communist bloc and the Third World of the non-aligned countries that happened to be largely underdeveloped.

The Third World is therefore an aggregate of underdeveloped nations (Naipaul, 1985: page 31). This description was justified because it helped to identify a pressing need of the time, namely the huge gap between the rich and the poor (Greig et al., 2007: page 1). This usage was then adopted, for example, by Seers (1971) and Sachs (2005) to refer to the poor nations, and by Mittelman to refer to nations lacking in economic power (Collins, 2011a: slide 23). As consequences of this labeling, Jeffrey Sachs notes how power inequalities have helped to justify exploitation of the poor (Collins, 2011b: slide 5).

The Third World has been repressed under the pretext of ‘creating a good investment climate’ (Roy, N.d.: page 181). . Under this relationship, whereas countries in the core can expand through self-impulsion, the exploited countries are only able to expand in line with the expansion of the countries dominating them (Collins, 2011d: slide 8). Ironically, according to Frank’s thesis, development is facilitated only when the ties are weak rather than when they are strong (Collins, 2011d: slide 12).

Eduardo Galeano further describes a vicious six stage circular symphony in which poor countries find themselves (Collins, 2011d: slide 17). In practice, the rich nations tend to plunder the Third World as they are bent on profit and power (Pullella, 2007, in Collins, 2011d: slide 21). Peter Bauer considers the term ‘Third World’ as not only condescending but also as portraying a stereotype because it makes them be seen as at the mercy of the more powerful richer nations (Collins, 2011c: slide 9).

This thinking also stifles development because development requires a restructuring of the way rich and poor nations relate with each other (Collins, 2011b: slide 21). According to Rostow, the current stage of development of third world countries is commensurate with the stage of growth of societies in the first world over the previous three centuries (Collins, 2011e: slide 12). This suggests there is a time lag between the first and third worlds. On the other hand, the term ‘Third World’ helps to remind of the reality in which a large proportion of the world is indeed poor and therefore invites an analysis that can lead to forming a solution (Collins, 2011c: slide 7).

However, the concept also homogenizes the Third World whereas disparities can and do exist (Collins, 2011c: slide 8). It thus robs