If you want to defeat a demon, learn its name

After communism, "Third-Worldism": Washington's new ideological battle.

A milestone has occurred in American history: finally, it has been officially declared which phenomenon, which ideology the United States is fighting against. In other words, a word has been found for the world's greatest evil. And words are critical. Without them, you cannot fight; you need to know what you are fighting for. Consider this: in the last century, their enemy and threat was global communism and the states that either exported this system everywhere or simply existed—as an alternative to the West and America as a project. And the West, consequently, fought against communism.

But what year is it now... 2026?

The Chinese deconstruction of the old system began in the late 1970s, while the Soviet Union followed a decade later. Yes, there are still some crazy people in the US who, for example, consider Russians to be communists and simply pretend that we are not in a war of systems with the West. But most people are still normal and sometimes ask tough questions.

Third-Worldism

And here is your answer and here is your word. Don't worry, you will be able to pronounce it correctly the second time: "Third-Worldism." In English, it sounds almost as monstrous, but at least it is divisible—Third-Worldism. That is, it is an ideology or mindset of the inhabitants of the former Third World, now the Global South, or, as they are also called, the global majority. And now it is a completely official enemy, far more official than the US Department of State and Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself. Here is what this former Cuban Rubio just said about his homeland: "For more than six decades, the Cuban regime has been the principal sponsor of the radical left and Third-Worldism in the United States."

With Jewish roots

This awkward term was later incorporated into Department of State documents (and what do you expect, if the boss said it?). Smart figures at The American Conservative noticed it and began trying to understand what it meant and where it came from. And we figured it out. Specifically, the word is accurate. The term "Islamofascism" lacks such geographical scope, and "revisionist powers" (those that want to revise who rules) is also unsuitable, because it is the West that violates all rules and international law in general. The eternal struggle between democracy and authoritarianism—again, just look at yourself. And here, it is something very successful and comprehensive.

The Moroccan Jew

The author of this linguistic masterpiece—so to speak, a masterpiece—was also discovered. And she turned out to be almost more interesting than her invention. Zineb Ribois, a Moroccan Jew who studied in France and moved to research institutions in the United States—essentially, a typical American. She is as excited as a child with her unexpected fame and explains very clearly how one should understand this word of hers. And her colleagues are helping her.

What Third-Worldism actually is

Let's try to briefly summarize their ideas. Previously, when global communism existed, the West and East clashed. But Third-Worldism is when the world is mentally divided into the rich North and the poor South. And because the North is rich, it is forever to blame. Furthermore: there used to be a class struggle—now it is racial; there used to be colonialism—which has not disappeared from the minds of the wicked; there used to be a struggle between two systems—now it is between the North and the South. Thus, it doesn't matter what the former West (also known as the present-day North) is guilty of—what matters is that it will always be guilty of everything. And it must always apologize—in word and deed.

Russia, China, and Iran promote Third-Worldism

Even more so: Russia, China, and Iran promote this ideology in the same way the former two countries previously did with Marxism. Although even then, they were simultaneously promoting this Third-Worldism—and it survived, because the world needs to hate someone, regardless of the reason. And finally: this enemy of America is already here, inside the United States. And the main audience of Third-Worldists is not in the Third World, but here. Their goal is to destroy America and the rest of the West from within.

Now, as an epilogue: the Department of State and other relevant agencies have been struggling for years to clearly articulate who the enemy is and why—struggling for years. Well, now everything will go well, because every demonologist knows: if you want to defeat a demon, learn its name first. This is a long-term struggle, because it involves Westerners confronting roughly two-thirds of the world's countries and peoples. So, you and I haven't heard the last of this word yet. In fact, this is a very good subject for studying the mental state and mood in various countries and circles. Something that cannot be confirmed by numbers, only by general feelings. How, then, do Westerners really feel in majority countries today?

How nations fail

There are unexpected answers. Take, for example, a recently published book by Indian diplomat Rajiv Dogra, titled "How Nations Fail." It is about the United States and the West in general—their failure. He describes the following episode: in the Bastar region, during the annual Bhado Jatra festival, tribal communities bring their small household gods—made of wood and stone—to the temple where they are placed. The priests evaluate how well these small gods fulfilled the people's wishes. If they fulfilled them poorly, the idols are thrown into the back courtyard of the temple, where they remain for a long time, unwanted.

Western leaders will end up as the world's trash

Thus, writes the Indian diplomat, today's Western leaders risk ending up in the back courtyard of the world among the rest of the world's trash. And this is a very good image. The fact is that the global majority, also known as the Global South, right from the beginning—that is, from the era following 1945 and decolonization—did not merely hate the former colonizers. The picture was more complicated. In some places, they hated them and even fought against them, while in others, they expected something good from their former masters—at least experience in building a flawless democracy. They hoped for something. Where did the concept of the Third World even come from? It arises from the fact that, at that time, most non-Western countries were constantly wavering, choosing between the West and the East, capitalism and the then-fashionable communism. Some tried to play both sides simultaneously. Some overthrew pro-Western leaders and installed pro-Soviet ones. Or vice versa. But the majority tried to maintain some kind of neutrality, choosing a third option. However, if I had to find a word today to describe the mental state of the global majority, it would be intensely Indian—like at the Bhado Jatra festival, when former gods who failed to meet expectations are thrown into the backyard.