rapid. These countries, along with Europe itself, are known as the First World, and most have democratic forms of government. The centrally planned Communist societies of Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia were until recently referred to as the Second World, but since the fall of Communism this term is obsolete. The Third World refers to those areas in which European colonists never become the majority population (most of Latin America, Africa, and Asia).

For much of the twentieth century the world was poised on the brink of disaster, with the countries of the First and Second Worlds engaged in a Cold War of permanent armed confrontation and constant skirmishes in the countries of the Third World. Today the formerly Communist countries are moving toward a free-market economy and some sort of democratic government. Today the fortunes of any one country in the world are linked closely with those of all other countries. The big losers in the Cold War years were the relatively poor and powerless former colonies. Women and children fared especially badly, and today conditions in the poorest countries are getting even worse, largely as a result of the globalization of social inequalities that favor the First World countries. A few Third World countries are growing economically at a rate far greater than that of the First World. South Korea, for example, is now a major steel producer and shipbuilder, Singapore is a financial and commercial center, and Taiwan has a large electronics industry.

Imperialism refers to the drive to conquer and subjugate other peoples. This is related to European colonialism of the current Third World societies. Since almost all the Third World society have become independent nation-states, imperialism in and of itself does not explain global inequality. There are three theories that attempt to explain the phenomenon of uneven global development. Neoimperialism refers to a newer form of imperialism in which Western dominance is not exercised directly but indirectly through economic means, for instance, through control over terms of international trade. Dependency theory attempts to explain global inequality by stressing the ways in which Third World countries are dependent on First World societies.

II. In this exercise you have to fill the blanks using the words in the box

Global economy / Newly industrializing countries / First World /

Third World / Globalization / Industrialization / Colonialism / Cold War/ Second World / Pastoral / Agrarian / Hunting and gathering / Nation-states

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