Short Answer Question #1
What comes to mind when you here the term “Third World”? Most of the people in the United States find it hard to come to terms with the life style and struggles that are associated with this term. The term, “Third World” was first introduced during the Cold War. During this time, the “First World” referred to the United States and its’ allies, “Second World” consisted of the Soviet Union and its allies and the “Third World” was associated with the non-allied and neutral countries. After the second world war, these countries, who were mostly new to independence, were left trying to keep up with the fast growing world economy. The countries that couldn’t keep up were in dyer need of foreign involvement to help them develop. Thus, the term Third World ‘development’ was introduced. These underdeveloped countries were categorized by their low per-capita incomes, high illiteracy rates, limited development of industry, agriculture based economies, short life expectancy, and were often unstable politically (class notes). Plans to help promote development in these “Third World” countries were first conceived at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944. Representatives of 44 countries met in Bretton Woods, N.H to talk about postwar financial arrangements. It was at this meeting that the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and International Monetary Fund were developed. The World Bank consisted of five divisions the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD; its main component), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) (answers.com/topic/worldbank). The two main divisions associated with development were the IFC and IDA. The IFC did its part by lending money to private business in developing