A Particular Perspective on the Societies in the Third World - Research Paper Example

?Life in the Third World In the present era, one of the terms commonly heard of is “Third World.” It is a challenge even to the experts to exactly define the term although the public can have an idea on the term. For that matter, one way of achieving a view on the issues related to the Third World is through the presentation of the different social factors affecting the life of the people living the nations classified to be in the Third World. The objective of the paper is to present a particular perspective on the societies in the Third world through the discussion of the various factors in the society that can present a significant view on the similarities and differences with other nations. Characteristics and Definition of the Third World The term Third World is used to describe underdeveloped nations in the continents such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It had been known to have started during the rise of industrialization. The need to quantify and analyze the level of industrial technology in a nation led to the stratification of the nations on the basis of their development in the discipline which is influential to every aspect of the society specifically economy. Upon the realization of the said need, countries considered as industrial leaders became the standards and models (Escobar 1995). Nations in the North America and Europe were considered as the model nations and were referred to as the First World nations because of being industrialized. The notion of the stratified world is the main principle that affected and is continuously dominating the modern era, specifically the post-World War II period in terms of the social, economic, cultural, and political aspects (Escobar 1995). The views on the different aspects of the society in the nations classified as Third World are the main targets of the discussion. The classification of the nations on the basis of the concept of the three worlds is often criticized due to prejudice. Some refer to the term as mythical and unreal while others contest that each of the different levels for example the Third World is a mental region which is considered ‘intellectual, metaphysical, and experiential’ in nature as desert is a climatic region, the exact location can only be determined by the types of organisms inhabiting the area (Norwine 1988). The Third World then can also be determined by the quality of like and the type of people and technology which can be found in the particular nation. To be able to present the objective of the paper, the different aspects and issues related to the society will be presented. The Aspects and Issues in the Third World There are important issues and aspects of life in the Third World. This includes social, political, economic, and cultural issues. But due to the interdependence and interconnectedness of the different factors, one issue can simultaneously affect two or more aspects of life in the underdeveloped nations. Political Aspect Politics is one of the significant aspects that provides clue to the life in the Third World. Basically, one of the basic characteristics of leadership and government in nations belonging to the Third World is being a young. As compared to nations which had been stable for a long time, the nations in the Third World experienced political renewal, unrest, colonization, coups d’etat, change in the type of government, military leadership and dictatorship, or even war. This is the reason why these countries at the moment are still considered as developing and trying to catch up to the established, stable and developed countries of the First World (Lowder 1986). Based on the references, political struggle for stability is common in the Third World due to the effects of different issues specifically the need for survival since economy and source of livelihood is still a problem. Due to the tendency of the government to be unstable as a result of the multitude of problems needed to be dealt with, the concentration of power in a central government is the usual set-up. This is be able to achieve a greater control over the governance but can be prone to different problems such as dictatorship when the leader wants to keep the power to himself (Lowder 1986). Military regimes are considered as one of the stereotypical characteristics of Third World. This is related to the fact that nations either came from war to struggling to achieve a stable government. Military regimes affect the different aspects of the society. It changes the organization of people, the economic structure and even the culture and traditions. This can be related to the fact that military force imposes rule on the people commonly bordering on ‘ultraconservatism’ thus freedom is hindered. Due to the fact that these nations depend only on a single decision maker which is the leader or the government as a whole, that commonly is not open to criticism, the nations cannot reach the full growth potential. Different countries in the Third World specifically from Asia, Africa and Latin America experienced the said form of governance at any point in history which may have contributed to the stunted growth of these nations (Looney 1990). Economic Aspect In terms of the economic aspect, Third World nations were known to have low income as compared to the Western developed nations which are listed as First World and the Soviet and Eastern bloc which are listed as Second World. In the stratification of nations, the economic aspect is one of the most important bases (Lowder 1986). The economic level of a nation is measured by the per capita income and other factors such as employment, poverty, literacy, etc. Third World nations have low per capita income and the most susceptible to economic crisis. In terms of employment, there is usually a high concentration of jobs in the rural sector while there is a high percentage of underemployment and unemployment in the urban sector. The level of the literacy is also another important factor in relation to the economic status of a nation. For that matter, there is low percentage of professionals in the population of the nations included in the Third World. One reason is the lack of educational institutions and facilities to educate the population. Another is the migration and draining of the professionals to be able to work in other countries for better wage opportunities. Other factors that classify the nations in the Third World are then the ‘wide range of in wealth, the service provision and the employment structure (Lowder 1986, 2). Life in the Third World nations then can be considered to be affected by poverty and scarcity of resources in the different aspects. Public services, education and basic needs are all difficult to access. Public services include transportation, communication and other forms of technologies. In terms of education, either there is an absence or lack of educational facilities and policies or the accessibility to education cannot be available for the large part of the population (Escobar 1995; Kamrava 1993; Looney 1990; Lowder 1986; Norwine and Gonzalez 1988). Basic needs such as food and shelter are also scarce in areas specifically the rural locations in most of the countries considered as Third World. Healthcare is another basic need that can be considered as an important parameter in the determination of the quality of life in the Third World. It is a common problem in the developing nations to access public health based on the lack of facilities or the expensive provision of healthcare services (Escobar 1995; Kamrava 1993; Looney 1990; Lowder 1986; Norwine and Gonzalez 1988). Although there are countries that do not have difficulties in other aspects, the problems in specific aspects in the economy can greatly affect the total performance of a nation. Social Aspect The social aspect of the life in the Third World can be considered as the interaction and the synergy of the different issues and factors that can affect the nations in the said classification. This can be attributed to the fact that if the government and political leadership are encountering problems on governance on the basis of lack of stability, being a young government, lack of policies and shortcomings in implementation of laws this will inevitably result to the problems in the different aspects of the society (Kamrava 1993; Looney 1990). For that matter the rights, the needs, the culture and the behavior and attitudes of the people will be affected. Social issues then include a multitude of problems affecting the life of the people in the Third World. The economic problem such as poverty can be related to other issues such as inability to access basic needs such as food, shelter, healthcare and education. This can also be related to overpopulation and work related issues such as underemployment and unemployment. Political and civil rights are also hindered. Another significant social issue in the Third World is the lack of improvement in terms of human development. As compared to developed nations in the First and Second Worlds that can explore and improve on themselves in activities other than work such as travelling and hobbies which can improve behavior and outlook in life, people in the Third World can be considered deprived of such capabilities (Escobar 1995). Basically life in the Third World can be considered colorful due to the presence of the variety of cultures but economic, political and social struggles are causing stress on the way people live to the point of hindering the expression of such cultures and the achievement of the full potentials of the people in the said nations (Heilbroner 1963). Conclusion The life in the Third World is generally challenging and difficult on the basis of the political, economic and social aspects. Although this is the case, the cultural and social heritage of the countries are completely comparable to all the nations in the world. Bibliography Escobar, Arturo. 1995. Encountering development: the making and unmaking of the Third World. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Heilbroner, Robert L. 1963. The Great Ascent. New York: Harper & Row. Kamrava, Mehran. 1993. Conceptualising Third World politics: the state-society see-saw. Third World Quarterly 14 (4): 703-716. Looney, Robert E. 1990. Militarization, military regimes, and the general quality of life in the Third World. Armed Forces & Society 17 (1): 127-39. Lowder, Stella. 1986. Inside Third World cities. London: Taylor and Francis. Norwine, Jim and Alfonso Gonzalez, eds. 1988. The Third World: states of mind and being. London: Taylor & Francis. Read More