Job Discussion Forums

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Cheers Ben. I wonder what the criteria is.

thelmadatter · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 3:16 pm Post subject: soviet

The second world was the old Soviet Union and allies (whether they wanted to be or not). First, second and third world (third world being unaligned) is a product of the Cold War, maybe it really doesnt apply anymore, eh?

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Distiller: Your errors are starting to become a habit; it's "making more money than HE" (as in he is), not HIM.

dajiang · Joined: 13 May 2004 Posts: 663 Location: Guilin!

Aren't the criteria for 1st 2nd and 3rd world qualifications that:

3rd world countries have an agrarian society, with a few unprocessed export products like oil and coffee. often economically dependent on these products and so on industrialised nations. Other characteristics: high birthrates, poverty, rural and traditional social structure.
http://webclass.lakeland.cc.il.us/his153/new_page_13.htm

2nd world countries are industrialised, taking care of manufacturing, and processing, with heavy industries. They're countries with lots of development, in the transition from rural to urban society. So, with lesser birthrates and a pull to the cities. Hmm, I just read that it used to refer to communist countries as well.
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm

And 1st world countries reap all the profits of the 2nd and 3rd world products. Most people are in working in the service sector, only 2% of the population is in agriculture, and industries are outsourced to countries that don't care, or aren't included in the Kyoto agreements.

The following is from:
http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2003/09/05.html

"At the beginning of 2002, a Ugandan farmer received 14 cents (US) for 1kg of [coffee]beans. The local middleman who transported it to the mill took 5 cents profit as did the miller, and the cost of transport to Kampala added a further 2 cents, making the cost of the coffee when it arrived at the exporter's warehouse 26 cents. The exporter, operating on a tiny margin, added 19 cents to the kilo, taking the total value of a kilo up to 45 cents. Freight, and the importer's cost and margins took the price to $1.64 by the time it reached the factory of one of the giant roasting companies. But by the time the same kilo was sold in the shops in the form of instant coffee it is was worth $26.40, 7,000% more than the farmer got for it."

Food for thought eh?

regards,
Da Jiang

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Wow.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

And here is what the Colombia Guide to standard American English has to say (I have put the salient points in bold).

Teacher in Rome · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286

Many thanks for that explanation, Stephen.

I couldn't work out why "... richer than him" sounded correct to me. I think I might invest in "University Grammar of English"!

distiller · Joined: 31 May 2004 Posts: 249

Wow, I've been demonized and redeemed in one weekend. Thanks for the grammar points, guys. I think the overall message here is that we need to speak to the issues at hand and not get distracted, as juststeven and moonraven did, with inconsequential nitpicking. It does not clarify anything but rather waters down the topic. I know the motives are personal dislike stemming from various disagreements and the aftermath of a sound thrashing concerning personal income issues, but let�s just stick to the issues and leave the pettiness to children, shall we?