Developing Countries Are More Than Economic Rivals and Terror Threats

The Atlantic: Developing Countries Are More Than Economic Rivals and Terror Threats

I still hear many people today talk about the "Third World." It refers to those nations that were poor and not aligned with either Western capitalism (First World) or the communist world (Second World.) The Third World has vanished, and it is time to bury the term. The world's nations and populations exist on a continuum, and there are now multiple poles, not two, shaping the world. Furthermore, the story is not one of descent into global dystopia but rising prosperity. It is hard to address contemporary problems with antiquated frameworks meaningfully.

It's time to develop a new framework for assessing the post-Cold War, post-9/11 world. …

… The three worlds used to be capitalist, communist, and the rest. Now they are the West, the failed states, and the emerging challengers. But that's still too simple a view. A small and declining number of developing countries are charity cases. And none are competitors with us in a zero-sum game. Rather than dividing most of the planet into two threatening classes, we need to see states of the developing world as vital partners—both in strengthening the global economy and in preserving the global environment. …

… Given that much of the world only makes headlines when it is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis and U.S. assistance is on the way, it isn't surprising that the average American thinks things are going to hell in a handbasket: a recent survey of Americans found that two thirds believe extreme poverty worldwide has doubled over the past 20 years. The truth is that it has more than halved. This might also explain why Americans think that 28 percent of the federal budget goes to foreign aid—more than 28 times the actual share.

According to the World Bank, the developing world as a whole has seen average incomes rise from $1,000 in 1980 to $2,300 in 2011. Life expectancy at birth has increased from 60 to 69 years over that same time, and college enrollment has climbed from 6 to 23 percent of the college-age population. Progress is happening everywhere, including Africa: Six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies over the past decade are in Africa. There were no inter-state conflicts in the world in 2013 and, despite tragic violence in countries including Syria and Afghanistan, the number of ongoing civil wars has dropped considerably over the last three decades. Emerging markets themselves are also playing an ever-expanding role in ensuring global security. The developing world is the major source for blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers, who are ending wars and preserving stability in 16 different operations worldwide. The 20 biggest contributors of police and military personnel to the UN's 96,887 peacekeepers are developing countries. …

Very interesting piece. For more data, see yesterday's post, The (Mostly) Improving State of the World.