The term “third world” was made up during the cold war to identify and belittle developing countries that were maturing but not strong enough to defend themselves who had also not picked a side in said cold war. They have been systematically plundered of anything of value by the “first world” countries. There’s no doubt they’re not in good shape but the biggest reason that is is any means they had to not be like that were stolen and continue to be stolen from them.
Gold, diamonds, copper, lithium, oil, wood, water, anything of value. More recently the plundering has taken the form of just money, though still not exclusively.
The term “third world” was made up during the cold war to identify and belittle developing countries that were maturing but not strong enough to defend themselves who had also not picked a side in said cold war. They have been systematically plundered of anything of value by the “first world” countries. There’s no doubt they’re not in good shape but the biggest reason that is is any means they had to not be like that were stolen and continue to be stolen from them.
Gold, diamonds, copper, lithium, oil, wood, water, anything of value. More recently the plundering has taken the form of just money, though still not exclusively.
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2021/5/6/rich-countries-drained-152tn-from-the-global-south-since-1960
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/may/24/world-is-plundering-africa-wealth-billions-of-dollars-a-year
https://www.colorado.edu/polisci/2024/03/28/exclusion-wealth-within-developing-countries
The same economic class perpetrates both things.