Fourth World

The **Fourth World** is a concept extending the “three-world” model. It is used in different ways to describe:
1. Groups of people excluded from mainstream global society, such as uncontacted peoples
1. Peoples who live by subsistence methods (hunter-gatherers, nomads, pastoralists) outside modern industrial norms
1. Populations within a First World country whose living standards are more like those in a Third World nation

Because of this, the term does not necessarily refer to a single place or state.

## Etymology

The term “Fourth World” comes after First World, Second World, and Third World classifications. But unlike those, Fourth World is not tied to a specific geographic or political boundary. It often describes peoples or nations without recognized statehood or those excluded from global systems.

It is frequently used to refer to indigenous peoples and ethnic groups who lack full recognition or are marginalized.

Manuel Castells and others have used “Fourth World” in analyses of globalization, identity, and exclusion.

## Coinage

The term was first used (in this sense) in 1969 by Father Joseph Wresinski, who renamed his charity to ATD Fourth World.

In the 1970s, Mbuto Milando and George Manuel developed the idea further:
> “When Native peoples come into their own, on the basis of their own cultures and traditions, that will be the Fourth World.”

George Manuel’s 1974 book *The Fourth World: An Indian Reality* helped make this concept more widely known.

Since then, various think tanks and organizations (like the Center for World Indigenous Studies) have used “Fourth World” to discuss the relationships between tribal, nonindustrial nations and modern states.

## Definitions and usage

There is no single accepted definition. The term is used in different but related ways:
- To highlight stateless peoples — those who belong to ethnic, cultural or indigenous communities not fully recognized by states
- To emphasize marginalization and exclusion from political, economic, and cultural systems
- To contrast these groups with “Third World” nations by focusing on internal inequality, invisibility, or dispossession even within wealthy states

The Fourth World concept often intersects with studies of indigenous rights, postcolonial theory, globalization, and identity politics.

## Criticism and challenges

Because “Fourth World” is vague and applied in many contexts, it faces some criticisms:
- It can blur different experiences — combining very different groups under one term
- It may romanticize “traditional” or “non-modern” lifestyles
- It risks being used in a way that reinforces “us vs them” binaries
- Some argue it is less useful than more specific terms (e.g. “indigenous peoples,” “marginalized communities”)

## Related Entity: ATD Fourth World

The nonprofit International Movement ATD Fourth World works to end chronic poverty, drawing on the ideas behind the Fourth World concept.

### History

- Founded in 1957 by Joseph Wresinski in Noisy-le-Grand, France, with families living in extreme poverty.
- It chose the name “Fourth World” to evoke a hope for new recognition and rights for marginalized people.
- Over time it has helped gain recognition of poverty as a human rights issue and worked through social, cultural, and political channels.

### Activities

ATD Fourth World works globally with these main strategies:
- Co-designing projects with people living in extreme poverty, rather than imposing top-down solutions
- Elevating voices of people in poverty so policy makers hear them directly
- Running educational, cultural, and social inclusion programs
- Advocating at international institutions (UN, EU) for policies that treat poverty as a rights violation

The organization also played a role in establishing 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, linked to Wresinski’s work.

## Other websites

- Fourth World Journal
- International Movement ATD Fourth World
- Fourth World Center for the Study of Indigenous Law and Politics at University of Colorado at Denver (on archive.org)
- Fourth World: Nations without a State - Nadesan Satyendra
- Fourth World Eye
- Fourth World Documentation Program