The notion of “poverty” is a key word of a modern society. Many countries suffer from “lack” and “deficiency”. What are the main reasons of poverty of many countries? There is a wide range of reasons which emphasize on the recognition of the chronic conditions of poverty and social unrest of poor countries and the threat they pose to more developed countries.
It is quite unprofitable for more developed countries if the countries of the Third World were economically developed. These countries believed in the colonial time that their economic development is pointless. Such beliefs were fueled by racist and ethnocentric positions. The United States were convinced in their superiority and their rights to intervene politically in weaker, darker and poor countries. It looked like a help for the countries of the Third World but in fact it was the exploitation of labor forces and natural resources. The USA supported the European countries to maintain control of the colonies only because of its personal interest of Middle East Oil.
Massive poverty in the modern world appeared because of the development of the market economy which broke down community ties and deprived millions people of the access to land, water and other resources. Despite the strategic programs of the development of the countries of the Third World, many factors hampered their development: of the anticolonial struggles in Africa and Asia, growing nationalism in Latin America, the cold war, the need to find new markets, the fear of communism, overpopulation and the faith in science and technology.
It should be pointed out that the development of the country depends primarily on the following factors, such as,the knowledge first, and then the exploitation of all its natural resources. As far as the countries of the Third World are deprived of these possibilities, their development is hampered and the problem of poverty has become a chronic disease of the society.
The world is more eager to move towards the further development when it is motivated by the progress. Development was the response to the issue of poverty which appeared in the years following World War ll and was rooted in modern society.
What does development mean for the countries of the Third World? In fact, the notion of development is influenced by the Western thought. The image of ideal society is assumed to look like West, and particularly the USA. Western colonialism also affected the notion of development not only by the changing the history of many nations but also leaving the institutions which continue influencing the development of these countries. Many new states still have close relations with their previous colonial rulers.
The notion of development is also defined as the process when the income per citizen is increasing during a certain period of time. Development presupposes not only economic growth but certain social changes. It implies qualitative changes in the economy, the improvement of the techniques of production, the sustainability and scientific development. As far as such development were suppressed in the countries of the Third World, it is quite difficult for their economy to follow the European standards. The USA and European countries will always be over the countries of the Third World in economic and scientific development. As the result, the problem of poverty is unsolvable for the world economy. Rich countries make a profit out of poor countries and become richer.