Are we a first world country?

I had some conversations with a European acquaintance. I brought up that I didn't realize until Merkel mentioned it the largest BMW factory is in the U.S.

He said that'd because BMW and German industry considers the U.S. to be a cheap and stable labor source. Similar to the U.S. using third world countries to manufacture stuff, Germany uses the U.S. In Germany the benefits are too expensive, 2 month vacation, 50% worker council  factory management, very generous leave benefits, etc. Most Americans are happy to get jobs starting with two weeks vacation. 

Later I thought about it and asked him, you don't consider us to be a first world country? No, he said. He said the U.S. is very uneven with some parts being first world, other parts not. He said just because we have a great economy does not make us first world. He and others in Europe look at everything, not just the economy but healthcare, education, social benefits. Such as healthcare is considered a right, not an option.

He also said economic output can be misleading. For example, if a country A manufactures $700 of TV's and country B manufactures $1000, its assumed the country B has the greater industrial output. But country A created five TV's whereas country B created four. Can that assumption be valid?


Well, I think there is something to be said about comparing "monoculture" countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway) to us.

But, all things considered, I'd say we're 1B if some are 1. Our unbridled and conscience-free capitalism creates incredible economic disparity. Our idea of "individualism" is better expressed as "everyone-for-himself." 


...and that's on a good day, before the obscene Trump government took office.


BG9 said:
I had some conversations with a European acquaintance. I brought up that I didn't realize until Merkel mentioned it the largest BMW factory is in the U.S.
He said that'd because BMW and German industry considers the U.S. to be a cheap and stable labor source. 

The United States is also BMW's second largest market after China and Canada is #11.  It would make sense to have production in one of your largest markets.

I think the U.S. is included in "first world countries" but if we were to compare countries within that bucket the U.S. is definitely in the lower half.


Language of course changes, so while I wouldn't say the convention of "third world" to indicate poor or developing economies is wrong, I do think it's an interesting historical note that the term originally had a political rather than economic meaning, referring to the countries not aligned with either the US or USSR (the US bloc being the "first" world, the communist bloc the "second," and everyone else "third").

(for one citation, see Three-world model on wikipedia).



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