First World - Definition

Definition

After World War II, the world split into two large geopolitical blocs, separating into spheres of communism and capitalism. This led to the Cold War, during which the term First World was highly used because of its political, social, and economic relevance. The term itself was first introduced in the late 1940s by the United Nations. Today, the First World is slightly outdated and has no official definition, however, it is generally thought of as the capitalist, industrial, developed countries that aligned with the United States after World War II. This definition included most of the countries of North America, Western Europe, Australia and Japan. In contemporary society, the First World is viewed as countries who have the most advanced economies, the greatest influence, the highest standards of living, and the greatest technology. After the Cold War, these countries of the First World included member states of NATO, U.S.- aligned states, neutral countries who were developed and industrialized, and the former British Colonies which were considered developed. It can be defined succinctly as Europe, plus the richer countries of the former British Empire (USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand) and Japan. Countries were also placed into the First World based on how civilized the country was. According to Nations Online, the member countries of NATO after the Cold War included:

• Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, West Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

The U.S.-aligned countries included:

• Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (ROC).

The neutral countries included:

• Austria, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland.

The former British colonies also included in the First World were:

• Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.