Can you name a country that is pre-dominantly white yet considered third world?

No, because they were all colonized by European cultures.

Race hsa nothing to do with it.

Wow, I didn’t think about that! Yeah I agree with above, Many Europeans back then went all power hungry and colonized many many countries all over the world….

Belarus?
Georgia?

A lot of people would point to Romania and Bulgaria as well.

If by Third World you mean uncivilized, I could name dozens of “white” or “fair” countries (that could be considered so).

Define “white”.

All my Spanish friends think of them selves as white, yet you would probably think of them as hispanic or latino.

We also have to define “3rd world”, as the official deffinition is not all about money, things like high infant mortality rate also contribute to a countries classification.

At the moment, no, I can’t name any countries that are mostly white and 3rd world. However, 20 years ago I could have named quite a few, and I think in 10 to 20 years time I could probably name some more.

Russia and most of eastern Europe was very poor not too long ago, and I would argue that soon we will see poor countries in Europe again.

This is something that is constantly changing, specially since WW2. The entire concept of 1st 2nd and 3rd world is constrantly changing and evolving, so any attempt to use this status as evidence that the white race is better would be based on flawed logic.

I just asked about something similar on another Q today. That countries that have majorities and government that are not primarily caucasian are less likely to be industrialized, of course there are exceptions. The answer Simone gave was colonialism and imperialism. We didn’t really discuss it though, it would have taken the Q off track. She was stating how poverty and race are intertwined around the world.

@marinelife if the UK, Spain, Portugal, France, and other European countries have been out of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America for many many years, can we still be blaming them? I’m asking. My knowledge on this is 1 on a scale of 1–10.and when they leave did some countries do much better on their own than others? Is their a pattern of any sort?

@poisonedantidote yes white, as in fair skinned or european decent. 3rd world, lets not get into the full details, 3rd world in the basic sense can be described as un industrial. and no, spaniards are not latino or hispanic, hispanic has to do with mexicans, dont put words in my mouth please just answer the question. ive never stated that whites were the better race.

Cuba.

@dreamwolf Mexican, has to do with Mexicans. Some reading on the term Hispanic.

USA

I’m quite a cynic my self, so if we are not going to define exactly what is 3rd world, I’m going to go with:

Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Albania, Slovakia, Portugal, Grece, and a couple of others… yes I’m twisting the meanings of “white” and “3rd world” a little, but I think it still stands. Russia is not on the list as I think they ae actually not doing so bad now days compared to a few years ago.

@poisonedantidote I did great answer your answer. But I think what I meant in my question was that, a lot of third world countries aren’t even driving in cars, are un industrial, and things like that. Just for future answerers.

@dreamwolf Hispanic has to do with Mexican? Almost all of Latin America is Hispanic except for Brazil and Belize. I think some use Hispanic for Brazil, but I find that odd.

@dreamwolf In that case I can’t name any such country… yet. (chan chan channnn!)

@JLeslie Yes, i know i know, now. @Blackberry has told me and i thanked for that. i just grew up in san diego where i thought hispanic only referred to mexicans, because all my friends filled in the hispanic bubbles growing up, and i guess i never really had any other kind of hispanic come through. doesn hispanic refer to a land touched by spain, and had spanish settlers set up shop. please just message me, i think this is a good question that i posted and don’t want off topic answeres! thanks!

@dreamwolf If you’re interested, the book Guns, Germs and Steel is a pretty good overview of the subject your question is trying to address.

“Third world” is not really a technical term. In terms of development, I like to use the Human Development Index. If you are asking if there are any European/Western countries with a low Human Development Index score, the answer is no, there are none. All European/Western countries rank at least “medium” on the scale and there is only one that ranks medium, it is Moldova. All other “white” countries, based on my idea of white which may be flawed, rank High or Very High on the scale.

The countries with the lowest development among the “white countries” are the Slavic and Eastern European nations, most of them former Soviet or former communist nations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

@DominicX That map was very interesting. I had never heard of that index before.

Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, the Balkan states. I believe Albania is the most poverty-sticken country in Europe.

@DominicX I’m struggling with the fact that Rio De Janeiro isn’t really colored, or nor is South Africa. @lillycoyote That is awesome! Will definitely purchase that book. I’m wondering if generally, white’s tend to use their brain more over for manipulation of how they envision things around them, as opposed to colored people, who from what i’ve seen tend to be content with “natural” like living conditions. I’m am half white and filipino, and I’ve lived in two totally different worlds. In my homeland, Philippines, respect for elders is at the utmost top priority, perhaps this is why not much challenge goes into politics for a social advancement within plumbing nationally nor technologically. I’ve noticed from the white side of my family, the American side, is much more stern, and ambitious.

@dreamwolf What do you mean Brazil and South Africa are not colored in? They look like they are to me.

@JLeslie Oh I thought it was in regards to industrialization, not life expectancy.

A Third World Country refers to a country that isn’t aligned with the USA or Russia (CCCP). It pretty much just meant the little left out countries during the Cold War. Many people think it has to do with technology, but that is just an indicator, since we love those countries that buy our stuff.
I think Venezuela qualifies as 3rd World, and the people there are mostly not Latino, mostly. They are white.

@filmfann The thing is, in terms of how the US groups the population, Venezuelans are Hispanic. I don’t know the demographics of the country, but what I can tell you is my FIL would be considered Hispanic I think, because he is Mexican, but his parents are Israeli. Most Venezuelans I know “look” Hispanic to me. Whatever that really means. My closest friends who are Venezuelan are italian. My other girlfriend who is Venezuelan, I am not sure her national background, she looks Latin American to me. I know she is a mix of some sort.

@dreamwolf It’s not about brains. It’s about history. I’m glad you’re going to read the book. It’s not the whole story and the book is not without it’s flaws but it’s a place to start.

@lily

The second I read this Q I immediately thought about Jared Diamond and that book.

@dreamwolf

Several years ago, there was a multi-part documentary done by PBS with the same title and did a very good job of illustrating the principles outlined in the book with historical reenactments. They also had Diamond being interviewed about the book’s main points and it’s interspersed in brief 2–3 min. segments all throughout.

I’m sure it’s still available for either free streaming or download or perhaps purchase (not sure which).

I think it should be added to the curriculum of every HS Geography or History curriculum. It was that well done. It’s not just talking heads (like many docs) but enacted well—more like a movie. Really holds one’s interest. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I also think it should be required viewing for every registered member of the Republican party. But, that’s obviously a pipe dream, ha ha.

@Buttonstc I agree and @dreamwolf

Here is PBS’s official site for the Guns, Germs and Steel program. They have transcripts, links and additional resources there.

And the 3 episodes of the program can be watched online here or here. I guess it’s legal, but on the other hand, if it is, why doesn’t PBS itself offer the show streaming on it’s own website? Who knows? But still read the book @dreamwolf.

@lilly

My guess would be that PBS can’t/doesn’t want to pay for all tha bandwidth it would take to stream all of their docs. That’s really a lot.

That’s why a site like Megavideo limits the amount of time each user can watch continuously so one typically has less than a full program before it stops. They can then come back in 2–3 hrs. to resume watching. This enables them to manage the bandwidth allocation.

I also noticed that both of these sites state in their FAQS that they are not the hosts of the files but merely provide a link to a site which does host the content on their servers.

I also noticed that one of the sites hosting the files for GG&S is Google. That makes sense to me.

Both sites (and perhaps Google also) provide a link for you to purchase the series.

I know that ever since the YouTube fracas, Google will promptly remove any content which the owner of the content objects to.

If PBS did not want these files available on Google, I’m quite sure they would have notified them by now :)

Since streaming is different from downloading, it’s a symbiotic type of arrangement. PBS gets free exposure for old Docs, (and possibly some DVD sales) without incurring hosting costs and Google gets the site traffic and ad revenues.

That’s my best guess. I could be totally wrong but my hunch is I’m not far off the mark :)

PS

I agree with you that just watching the vids is no substitute for the book. The history of civilization can hardly be summed up in 3 hrs. It would be unwise to leave off reading the book in addition.

The video version hits the major points but leaves one with lots of Qs as to how Diamond came to the conclusions he did.

I didn’t know about the book prior to watching the program in its initial airing. But I’m kind of glad for that since it provided a good basic “road map” for the book and made tackling the book less drier.

So I agree that one will gain significant insights from the book.

What do you mean by white. Are Arabs white? The standard of living of most Middle Eastern countries makes them third world.