    the concept of the first world originated during the cold war, involving countries that were aligned with the united states and were identified as capitalist and democratic countries. these countries were largely market economies and generally democracies. during the cold war, relationships between the "first world" and the "second world" of communist states were typically competitive, ideological and hostile. relationships of both these "worlds" with "third world" countries (i.e. all the rest) were normally positive in theory, while some were quite negative in practice (such as with the practice of proxy war). present inter-world relationships are not so rigid, although there is a disparity in terms of first world countries having more influence, wealth, information and advancements than others. ==definition== after world war ii, the world split into two large geopolitical blocs, separating into spheres of communism and capitalism. this led to the cold war, during which the term first world was often used because of its political, social, and economic relevance. the term itself was first introduced in the late 1940s by the united nations. today, the first world is slightly outdated and has no official definition, however, it is generally thought of as the capitalist, industrial, wealthy and developed countries. this definition included most of the countries of north america, western europe, australia and japan. in contemporary society, the first world is viewed as countries that have the most advanced economies, the greatest influence, the highest standards of living, and the greatest technology. after the cold war, these countries of the first world included member states of nato, u.s.- aligned states, neutral countries that were developed and industrialized, and the former [[british empire|british coloni
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