More confusion is coming

[Coaster]

Is "first world problems" the only use of the term "first world" these days? I've been 'taught' for a long time that we've moved on from such rank terminology. (Although developed/developing doesn't do much to avoid the banner-waving "we're better than you" perspective either.)

Not a ranking:

 

In 1952, the French demographer Alfred Sauvy coined the term Third World in reference to the three estates in pre-revolutionary France.^[14] The first two estates being the nobility and clergy and everybody else comprising the third estate.^[14] He compared the capitalist world (i.e., First World) to the nobility and the communist world (i.e., Second World) to the clergy. Just as the third estate comprised everybody else, Sauvy called the Third World all the countries that were not in this Cold War division, i.e., the unaligned and uninvolved states in the "East-West Conflict."^[14][15] With the coining of the term Third World directly, the first two groups came to be known as the "First World" and "Second World," respectively. Here the three-world system emerged.^[12]

[thelerner]

I think the term really is a bit elitist (or perhaps a hell of a lot of elitist). There are people living in developing countries who have "first-world" problems. Does anyone ever refer to a well-to-do Guyanese as having a first-world problem when he whines about the SD card on his phone being full and the electronics store is closed Sundays? I don't know, but I doubt it.

 

In Germany, we call it a "luxury problem", btw.

I assume if someone gave the Guyana guy the 'first world problem' to his whining, a light bulb goes on in his head, and they (like me) sheepishly admit, it's not so bad. 

 

Imo the phrase is a great use of satiric humor; a little whack of insight to reset our sense of entitlement. 

[scribe]

Not a ranking:

Thanks for the quote and links - fascinating stuff, had never looked into it before. IMHO a ranking is still implied - partially because the third world/state seems to have always been conceived as lacking in power compared to the "first two worlds", and secondly because I'd guess that most people using the term these days (including myself) aren't aware of its origins. There's an argument that the ranking is based on proximity, so the term might be relative and depend on which world you live in...

 

"Luxury problem" definitely sounds less self-aggrandizing, although a lot of "problems" seem to do with use of IT, and maybe are more just technocapitalist progress problems. Not as catchy a hashtag though.

 

Anyway. Just musing out loud. I have a sad love of unpicking terminology ;-)