We know this because the so called richest country on the planet has a nationwide baby formula shortage. And it is not just a small shortage it is the kind of shortage where the USAF has to go to foreign countries and load pallets of the stuff on USAF transports. Remarkable.
Remember 2nd World countries are not necessarily poor countries. They are countries that can be quite wealthy but that wealth is so concentrated in the hands of a small and powerful elite that ordinary people actually live in poverty comparable to 3rd World countries. A country that finds it difficult to adequately feed their infants falls into that category.
One other aspect of 2nd World countries is they tend to be authoritarian. The US has not gone all the way there yet but it is certainly moving in that direction.
For now, Americans can still claim they live in a 1st World country but that is changing and recent events would seem to indicate that change is accelerating.
2 comments:
I'm not sure if Hungary counts as a 2nd world country, but the GOP is certainly moving towards embracing the "illiberal democracy" model of Viktor Orbán (who is also a close cohort of Stephen Harper through his SPECTRE alliance of "centre-right parties"). Fox is the prion-diseased braintrust of the GOP, where Rupert Murdoch's demagogic wunderkind Tucker Carlson has been enthusiastic in his support for Orbán, even doing a series of broadcasts from Budapest and an "exclusive" sit-down interview with the Putin-aligned despot. This year, the most prominent public gathering of American conservatives was held where else but in Orbán's backyard. I've sadly become resigned to this year's midterms being the catalyst for America's slide into a copycat of Hungary. Elections still being held, but as kabuki theatre/Potemkin village show events that make a mockery of true democracy. The mass of babies about to be born after abortion becomes de facto illegal, through inaccessibility and Kafkaesque criminal trials for women, will struggle to thrive. This formula shortage is an omen; many children will die and their mothers will be jailed for neglect. In the "richest country in the world," resources are scarce (for the people), wealth inequality is egregious (for the tiny .01%), and reality is what you make of it. Or as Janis Joplin said, freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.
Yes, all of the former Eastern Bloc countries, with the exception of East Germany and the Czech Republic are 2nd World Countries. Slovakia is on the cusp but seems to be moving away from criteria of 2nd World status.
They are all relatively wealthy but the wealth is unevenly distributed in the extreme, they all have largely authoritarian governments and they are wholly dependent on the rest of the world for maintaining their position in the global system. These countries did not join NATO because they feared Russia. They joined NATO because they feared being left behind.
The US has met the extreme economic inequality criteria. It is sliding to the authoritarian criteria. And its influence in the world has slipped considerably and continues to slip. It is being rivaled by China for world influence. It is an open question of which will prevail. If, as I expect, China prevails then the US will be the leader of the West, or not. The EU is a pretty powerful economic block and may rival the economic influence of the US is the West.
If that happens the US's descent to 2nd World status will be complete.
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