What is the Fourth World?
Let me explain the Fourth World to you directly: it's an outdated term that describes the most underdeveloped, poverty-stricken, and marginalized regions of the world.
You'll find that many inhabitants in these nations lack any political ties and are often hunter-gatherers living in nomadic communities, or they belong to tribes. They might be fully functional and self-surviving, but during the Cold War, they were labeled as Fourth World based on their economic performance.
Key Takeaways
- Fourth World refers to the most underdeveloped, poverty-stricken, and marginalized regions and populations of the world.
- Many inhabitants of these nations do not have any political ties and are often hunter-gatherers that live in nomadic communities, or are part of tribes.
- The outdated and offensive term Fourth World is often linked to indigenous people.
Understanding Fourth World
During the Cold War, countries were classified into different 'worlds,' and these labels have evolved over time. The First World described countries aligned with NATO and capitalism, the Second World referred to those supporting communism and the Soviet Union, and the Third World covered nations not aligned with either side, including impoverished former European colonies and all countries in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.
The term Fourth World emerged later as an extension of the developing Third World, specifically to describe places and populations with extremely low income per capita and limited natural resources.
Fourth World nations include those excluded from mainstream society. For instance, Aboriginal tribes in South America or Australia are entirely self-sufficient but don't participate in the global economy. These tribes function without assistance from others, but from a global perspective, they're considered Fourth World. They don't contribute to or consume anything on a global scale and remain unaffected by global events.
Political borders don't define Fourth World areas. Often, they're seen as nations without sovereign status, focusing on the non-recognition and exclusion of ethnically and religiously defined peoples from the politico-economic world system, such as First Nations groups throughout North, Central, and South America.
History of the Fourth World Term
The term Fourth World is believed to have been first used in Canada by Mbuto Milando, the first secretary of the Tanzanian High Commission, during a conversation with George Manuel, Chief of the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations). Milando said, 'When native peoples come into their own, on the basis of their own cultures and traditions, that will be the Fourth World.'
It became synonymous with stateless, poor, and marginal nations after the publication of Manuel's book The Fourth World: An Indian Reality in 1974. Since 1979, think tanks like the Center for World Indigenous Studies have used the term to define relationships between ancient, tribal, and non-industrial nations and modern political nation-states.
In 2007, the United Nations introduced the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to promote minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of indigenous peoples worldwide. Since then, communications and organizing among Fourth World peoples have accelerated through international treaties for trade, travel, and security.
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