Heh... I just now saw Kent Davis' interesting little straw man argument for the first time in his 14 Nov 07 - 12:36 AM post.

Mr. Davis, most Third World countries don't fit the description in your post. Your post is a straw man argument because you are using a definition of 'Third World country' that you have created in your own mind, and you are saying that since the US doesn't fit your description, it therefore cannot be a Third World country.

One of the criteria for Third World status is dependence upon exportation of primary products to other countries in return for finished products. Since we have almost no manufacturing base, and since most of the products we buy are manufactured in other countries, I'd say we certainly fit that criteria. Another criteria is the degree of disparity between rich and poor. As I said in the post that you quoted, we are behind India on that criteria. India is regarded as a Third World country. So we certainly fit that criteria as well.

Another attribute that is common with Third World countries is enormous debt. When a massive amount of a country's GDP is devoted to servicing its debt, that country is generally to be found in the Third World.

The main difference between most Third World countries and the US is that they are still developing, while we are in decline.