Document 1: Policy Brie ng: Critical Analysis of Development

Terminology and the Evolution of Global Poverty Labelling

Document Type: Policy Strategy Memorandum, Department of
Development Studies (Simulated .doc le)
Date: October 2023
Subject: The Enduring In uence of Nomenclature on Development
Practice: From "Underdeveloped Areas" to the "Global South"
1. Introduction: The Normative Discipline
International development is inherently a normative discipline, concerned
with promoting the speci c outcome of economic and human development,
even while that outcome remains contested. The history of development
concepts, formalized in the post–World War II period, demonstrates that the
terms used to describe people, places, and processes re ect and reinforce
evolving ideas about wealth and poverty. Critical theorists emphasize that
the use of labels plays two key roles: they make existing development
practices appear legitimate, and they powerfully shape future policy-
making. Understanding this history is essential for tracking the progression
of concepts and approaches.
2. The Legacy of Early Cold War Terminology
The modern concept of development is often traced to US President Harry
Truman’s 1949 Inaugural Address, in which he spoke of “underdeveloped
areas”. The simple use of this term implied a single, overarching scale for
comparing nations' success or progress relative to one another.
Furthermore, "underdeveloped areas" suggested the necessity of outside
intervention by those who deemed themselves successful, on behalf of
those who lacked the necessary conditions for progress. This idea of
“trusteeship” (acting for others) is considered a key element of the modern
idea of development, with origins dating back to the colonial period.
President Truman outlined this foreign policy goal, known as his “Point 4,”
by stating that humanity possesses the knowledge and skill to relieve the
suffering of more than half the world's population living in conditions
approaching misery, explicitly noting that the “old imperialism—exploitation
for foreign pro t—has no place in our plans”.
The term “Third World” (tiers monde) was coined in 1952 by French
demographer Alfred Sauvy. Sauvy intended to draw a parallel with the
Third Estate (tiers état) in pre-revolutionary France, which referred to the
bottom layer of the social hierarchy, excluded from the clergy and nobility.
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 The original "Third World" grouping included countries with diverse
economic, social, and political histories, united by their existence outside
the two major power blocs (the West and the Soviet Union). While the "First
World" and "Second World" designations became irrelevant after the fall of
the Berlin Wall in 1989, "Third World" persisted, taking on connotations
primarily related to national-level poverty. However, this designation is often
viewed as a pejorative and patronizing term that implies a world hierarchy
and a single path to development success, similar to the critique leveled
against “underdeveloped areas”.
3. Current Strati cations and Emerging Markets
The most widely accepted term today is “developing countries”. Due to
the lack of speci city in this label, international organizations like the World
Bank and the OECD stratify these countries by national income levels. This
strati cation partitions developing countries into low-, lower-middle-, upper-
middle-, and high-income economies, which determines a country’s
eligibility for speci c loan programs. The UN also utilizes the category of
“least developed countries (LDCs)” for nations with extremely low
incomes and signi cant “structural impediments” to growth, making them
eligible for special international support.
Other terms re ect economic transitions:
• Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs): Emerged in the 1970s and
included countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan.
• Emerging Markets/Emerging Economies: Countries like China, India,
Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa are identi ed this way, implying economic
dynamism and optimism for the future, as they are perceived as potential
markets for global capitalist enterprises.
• Fourth World: This term has been used in two distinct ways: rst, to
denote the poorest "failed states" experiencing setbacks in governance and
well-being due to protracted con ict (e.g., Somalia and Afghanistan);
second, and earlier, it was used by Canadian Indigenous leader George
Manuel to refer to the internal colonization of Indigenous peoples who
have suffered dispossession and abrogation of rights within developed
countries. This second usage is a reminder that poverty and exclusion are
also problems faced within developed nations.
4. The Shift to the Global South
Growing discontent with the patronizing connotations of "underdeveloped,"
"Third World," and "developing" has prompted the adoption of alternatives
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such as “two-thirds world” and “majority world”, terms that attempt to
appropriate ownership of development to poor countries. For similar
reasons, the term “Global South” has gained favour within the
development community.
The "Global South" is better able to incorporate the centrality of historical
and contemporary patterns of wealth and power into a loosely
geographically de ned concept. By using the modi er “global,” the term
acknowledges the fact that poverty and social conditions formerly identi ed
exclusively with the Third World are found throughout the world—including
within otherwise "rich" countries—and are not con ned to a single
geographical region.
Examining this language helps illuminate the deeper ideas and beliefs
underlying development policies and practices, forcing us to examine how
seemingly non-political labels might mask practices of control, regulation,
and the reproduction of particular power con gurations. However, it is
crucial to recognize the agency exercised by those who have reacted to
and resisted being merely the objects of development.

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