Poll of the Day > Is the U.S. a 3rd world country

(+) Yeah! (+)

The uneducated are everywhere. Folks cannot live off of their wages. The citizens vote against their own self interest.

HornedLion posted...

citizens vote

that's at least 2nd world

The original meaning was:

First World: US, NATO, and their allies
Second World: USSR, Warsaw Pact, and their allies
Third World: Non allied countries

I don't know. I think we might need something worse than 3rd world to describe the US. In 3rd world countries they have at least solved the problem of finding a place to go poo.
https://time.com/5368610/san-francisco-poop-patrol-problem/

captpackrat posted...

Second World: USSR, Warsaw Pact, and their allies

A quick google does reveal the USSR had elections and thus Lokarin is right.

Nichtcrawler-X posted...

A quick google does reveal the USSR had elections and thus Lokarin is right.

to be fair, there are two definitions. the old one for NATO and the cold war, and a second one in terms of civil development, which extends to a "5th" world.

No. Third world countries are ones where:

• Democracy is under attack, such as when elected leaders deny the results of elections and incite their followers to attack democratic institutions such as government buildings, or where political parties attempt to restrict voting access by denying mail in ballots or having very few voting stations.
• Cults of personality form around political leaders. This might take the form of people buying merchandise with the politician's name on it, especially flags or clothing.
• Influence lies exclusively with those with money. Bribing politicians is legitimized through words like "lobbying" or "donors".
• There is significant inequity between racial and sexual groups. The "dominant" group uses denial to further perpetuate their social supremacy.
• A very high percentage of their citizens are incarcerated.
• Violence, including random acts of violence, are commonplace. Politicians refuse to do anything about it.
• Military spending is an usually high proportion of their GDP, and education spending is unusually low.
• Health care access is restricted to only those of a certain social class.

The United States is clearly none of those things, so it's not a third world country.

faramir77 posted...

The United States is clearly none of those things

I feel as though you are being ironic.

EclairReturns posted...

I feel as though you are being ironic.

Oh he was, and I loved it.

No. Yes, there's a huge amount of inequality. Definitely see 'news' sources like RT constantly ragging on about the US being 'third world'. OK cheers, I guess Russia is like, 5th world then lmfao.

No, but there seem to be plenty of religious fundy assholes who are doing their level best to turn it into one. So I wouldn't be surprised if it happens in my lifetime. And of course they'd blame it on everyone but themselves because self-righteous blowhards don't like personal accountability.

No, but it is funny to see people get bent out of shape at the accusation.

You guys are delusional if you think the US can be classified in the same category of countries as Haiti or something

Socially yes, economically no

faramir77 posted...

No. Third world countries are ones where:
* Democracy is under attack, such as when elected leaders deny the results of elections and incite their followers to attack democratic institutions such as government buildings, or where political parties attempt to restrict voting access by denying mail in ballots or having very few voting stations.
* Cults of personality form around political leaders. This might take the form of people buying merchandise with the politician's name on it, especially flags or clothing.
* Influence lies exclusively with those with money. Bribing politicians is legitimized through words like "lobbying" or "donors".
* There is significant inequity between racial and sexual groups. The "dominant" group uses denial to further perpetuate their social supremacy.
* A very high percentage of their citizens are incarcerated.
* Violence, including random acts of violence, are commonplace. Politicians refuse to do anything about it.
* Military spending is an usually high proportion of their GDP, and education spending is unusually low.
* Health care access is restricted to only those of a certain social class.
The United States is clearly none of those things, so it's not a third world country.

Ah haha

Nope, well except the blue states that is.

Only the red states!

The traitors want us to be, but we're not.

Only in the mind of the perpetually self-victimized.

the united states has, in fact, been downgraded to a third world country

officially.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/8/20/trump-and-i-can-agree-the-us-is-a-third-world-country

Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr, chimed in on Twitter with the assessment: This is what you see happen in 3rd World Banana Republics!!! Never mind that the FBIs seizure of secret documents does not fit the corruption bill quite as well as some other characteristics of American democracy: say, the fact that non-taxpaying billionaires can be president or that the country is run as a crooked, oligarchic corporatocracy.

and from 2020

https://fortune.com/2020/09/30/america-is-a-third-world-country-now/

and from 2015

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/six-ways-america-is-like-a-third-world-country-100466/

Not in any measurable quantity.

No by any real definition, but ignoring every actual definition and playing around with the idea, yes, although not for the reasons you cite.

HornedLion posted...

The citizens vote against their own self interest.

Pretty much true of every democracy, although it's worth noting the people claiming that also generally don't understand what people's interests are.

HornedLion posted...

The uneducated are everywhere.

Kinda happens when you prioritize teachers over students and let unions run roughshod over public interest. But, to be fair, the uneducated are prevalent in every nation on the planet because the elite don't want a fully-informed public because a self-reliant, informed public has little need for government.

That said, America is actually one of the most educated countries in the world.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-educated-countries

Our tertiary education rate is higher than Sweden

faramir77 posted...

No. Third world countries are ones where:
* Democracy is under attack, such as when elected leaders deny the results of elections and incite their followers to attack democratic institutions such as government buildings, or where political parties attempt to restrict voting access by denying mail in ballots or having very few voting stations.
* Cults of personality form around political leaders. This might take the form of people buying merchandise with the politician's name on it, especially flags or clothing.
* Influence lies exclusively with those with money. Bribing politicians is legitimized through words like "lobbying" or "donors".
* There is significant inequity between racial and sexual groups. The "dominant" group uses denial to further perpetuate their social supremacy.
* A very high percentage of their citizens are incarcerated.
* Violence, including random acts of violence, are commonplace. Politicians refuse to do anything about it.
* Military spending is an usually high proportion of their GDP, and education spending is unusually low.
* Health care access is restricted to only those of a certain social class.
The United States is clearly none of those things, so it's not a third world country.

Not what third-world countries are. In fact, many third-world nations have very low military spending by GDP and relatively small numbers of incarcerated people.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-declares-us-will-soon-considered-third-world-nation-amid-border-crisis-1631024

https://www.sunjournal.com/2021/05/15/bob-neal-the-countryman-how-america-became-a-third-world-country/

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/six-ways-america-is-like-a-third-world-country-100466/

https://fortune.com/2020/09/30/america-is-a-third-world-country-now/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0dQAUb22WA

https://www.foxnews.com/media/united-states-third-world-blake-masters-arizona-senate

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-a-third-world-america-that-no-one-notices/2017/11/21/640c4c1a-c499-11e7-aae0-cb18a8c29c65_story.html

lol

anyone that thinks so has not visited any third world countries

hera posted...

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-declares-us-will-soon-considered-third-world-nation-amid-border-crisis-1631024

https://www.sunjournal.com/2021/05/15/bob-neal-the-countryman-how-america-became-a-third-world-country/

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/six-ways-america-is-like-a-third-world-country-100466/

https://fortune.com/2020/09/30/america-is-a-third-world-country-now/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0dQAUb22WA

https://www.foxnews.com/media/united-states-third-world-blake-masters-arizona-senate

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-a-third-world-america-that-no-one-notices/2017/11/21/640c4c1a-c499-11e7-aae0-cb18a8c29c65_story.html

lol

I thought you said it was declared one officially.

Revelation34 posted...

I thought you said it was declared one officially.

Helly has been kinda acting weird for the past few months.

Judgmenl posted...

Helly has been kinda acting weird for the past few months.

Well it can't be easy voluntarily undergoing the severance procedure and essentially lose eight hours to a completely different person that is somehow also you, on a near daily basis; I hear the pay and benefits at Lumon are great though.

3rd world means unaligned in WWII. So no

Revelation34 posted...

I thought you said it was declared one officially.

i declared it bitch

New York City and the lesser bastions of knowledge are Beyond first world Countries.

the hill billy hee jaws of the suburbs and the sticks and boondocks are tenth world countries.

No, though it feels like one sometimes.