At 03:04 PM 9/29/99 -0400, Barkley Rosser wrote: >Wojtek, > Minor point. You grew up in the Second World, >even if it is no more. Hey, without a Second World >there can be no Third World. Technically true. Although imho the second/third world distinction is more racist than Blaut & Co. make of the first world. Although Soviet block countries are on a par with many developing countries of Latin America and Asia, as far as GDP-related measures are concerned - Eastern European intellectuals do not want to be put in the same category as "banana republics" and they highly resent being considered 'third world' (that was even noted by Janine Wedell in her _Collision and Collusion: The Strange Case of Western Aid to Eastern Europe_). So calling them third world gives me a pleasure usually associated with profanation of nationalistic altars. wojtek
