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by amanaplanacanal 25 days ago
People usually use the term for poorer countries, as opposed to the rich ones. Originally third world meant those not aligned with the USSR or NATO, I believe.
1 comments

I get the meaning of "third world" but the USSR hasn't existed for decades, is China the modern equivalent? And it wasn't made clear why a neutral country like Switzerland would be expected to be highly corrupt while Russia would be low in corruption. Or indeed why Switzerland would be seen as a country in the process of becoming financially rich.
Right. I'm saying the meaning has shifted, and doesn't mean that any more.