Editing First World (section)

== History==
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 often used because of its political, social, and economic relevance. The term itself was first introduced in the late 1940s by the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Macdonald|first1=Theodore|year=2005|title=Third World Health: Hostage to First World Health.|publisher=Radcliffe Publishing|page=4|isbn=1-85775-769-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCbVkCkmCoIC&q=fourth|access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref> Today, the terms are slightly outdated and have no official definition. However, the "First World" is generally thought of as the capitalist, industrial, wealthy, and developed countries. This definition includes the countries of [[North America]] and [[Western Europe]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], [[Australia]], and [[New Zealand]].<ref name="nations">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm |title=First, Second and Third World |publisher=Nations Online |access-date=27 May 2017 |date=July 24, 2009}}</ref> In contemporary society, the First World is viewed as countries that have the most advanced economies, the greatest influence, the highest standards of living, and the greatest technology.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}} After the Cold War, these countries of the First World included member states of [[NATO]], U.S.-aligned states, neutral countries that were developed and industrialized, and the former [[British Empire|British Colonies]] that were considered developed.

According to Nations Online, the member countries of NATO during the Cold War included:<ref name="nations2">{{cite web|url=https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/first_world.htm|title=Countries of the First World|publisher=Nations Online}}</ref>

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

The US Aligned States included:<ref name="nations2"/>

* [[Israel]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], and [[Taiwan]]

Former British Colonies included:<ref name="nations2"/>

* [[Australia]], [[pakistan]] and [[New Zealand]].

Neutral and more or less industrialized capitalist countries included:<ref name="nations2"/>

* [[Austria]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Sweden]], and [[Switzerland]].

===Shifting in definitions===
Since the end of the [[Cold War]], the original definition of the term "First World" is no longer necessarily applicable. There are varying definitions of the First World; however, they follow the same idea. John D. Daniels, past president of the Academy of International Business, defines the First World to be consisting of "high-income industrial countries".<ref>{{cite book |title= International business: environments and operations |last= Daniels |first= John |year= 2007 |publisher= Prentice Hall |isbn= 978-0-13-186942-4 |page= [https://archive.org/details/internationalbus0000dani/page/126 126] |url= https://archive.org/details/internationalbus0000dani/page/126 }}</ref> Scholar and Professor George J. Bryjak defines the First World to be the "modern, industrial, capitalist countries of North America and Europe".<ref>{{cite book |title= Sociology: cultural diversity in a changing world |last= Bryjak |first= George |year= 1997 |publisher= Allyn & Bacon |isbn= 0-205-26435-2 |page= 8}}</ref> L. Robert Kohls, former director of training for the U.S. Information Agency and the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C., uses First World and "fully developed" as synonyms.<ref>{{cite book |title= Survival kit for overseas living: for Americans planning to live and work abroad |last= Kohls |first= L. |year= 2001 |publisher= Nicholas Brealey Publishing |isbn= 1-85788-292-X |page= [https://archive.org/details/survivalkitforov00kohl/page/21 21] |url= https://archive.org/details/survivalkitforov00kohl/page/21 }}</ref>

===Other indicators===
Varying definitions of the term First World and the uncertainty of the term in today's world leads to different indicators of First World status. In 1945, the United Nations used the terms first, second, third, and fourth worlds to define the relative wealth of nations (although popular use of the term fourth world did not come about until later).<ref name=macdonald>{{cite book |title=Third World Health: Hostage to First World Health |last=Macdonald |first=Theodore |year=2005 |publisher=Radcliffe Publishing |isbn=1-85775-769-6 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCbVkCkmCoIC&q=fourth}}</ref> There are some references towards culture in the definition. They were defined in terms of [[Gross National Product]] (GNP), measured in U.S. dollars, along with other socio-political factors.<ref name=macdonald/> The first world included the large industrialized, democratic (free elections, etc.) nations.<ref name=macdonald/> The [[second world]] included modern, wealthy, industrialized nations, but they were all under communist control.<ref name=macdonald/> Most of the rest of the world was deemed part of the [[third world]], while the [[fourth world]] was considered to be those nations whose people were living on less than US$100 annually.<ref name=macdonald/> If we use the term to mean high-income industrialized economies, then the [[World Bank]] classifies countries according to their [[Gross national income|GNI]] or gross national income per capita. The World Bank separates countries into four categories: high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income economies. The First World is considered to be countries with high-income economies. The high-income economies are equated to mean developed and industrialized countries.