Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
Since the end of World War II, nations have been characterized according to membership in various international power blocs, the Western World being used for capitalist countries and the Iron Curtain for socialist ones. Within these categories countries are also characterized according to level of economic (and sometimes political) development. The capitalist world recognizes two types of nations, the developed and the underdeveloped. In contrast, the socialist world presents a single development model characterized by centralized planning and homogeneous development.