Editing Free World (section)

==History of the concept==

===Origins===
{{See also|Allies of World War II|Participants in World War II}}
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During [[World War II]], the [[Allies of World War II|Allied powers]] viewed themselves as opposing the oppression and [[fascism]] of the [[Axis powers]], thus making them "free". Following the end of World War II, the [[Cold War]] conception of the "Free World" included only anti-Soviet states as being "free", particularly democratically elected states with [[free speech]], a [[freedom of the press|free press]], [[freedom of assembly]] and [[freedom of association]].

During the Cold War, many neutral countries, either those in what is considered the [[Third World]], or those having no formal alliance with either the United States or the [[Soviet Union]], viewed the claim of "Free World" leadership by the United States as grandiose and illegitimate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wills |first=Garry |title=Bully of the Free World |journal=[[Foreign Affairs]] |volume=78 |issue=2 |date=March–April 1999 |pages=50–59 |doi=10.2307/20049208|jstor=20049208}}</ref>

One of the earliest uses of the term ''Free World'' as a politically significant term occurs in [[Frank Capra|Frank Capra's]] World War II [[propaganda film]] series ''[[Why We Fight]]''. In ''[[Prelude to War]]'', the first film of that series, the "free world" is portrayed as a white planet, directly contrasted with the black planet called the "slave world". The film depicts the free world as the Western Hemisphere, led by the United States and Western Europe, and the slave world as the Eastern Hemisphere, dominated by [[Nazi Germany]], [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]] and the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese Empire]].

===21st century usage===
While "Free World" had its origins in the [[Cold War]], the phrase is still used after the end of the Cold War and during the [[War on Terror|Global War on Terrorism]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Left Alone by Its Owner, Reddit Soars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/business/media/reddit-thrives-after-advance-publications-let-it-sink-or-swim.html | work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2012-09-02 |quote=If the leader of the free world stops by to answer questions from your users, you're probably doing O.K. |access-date=2012-09-02}}</ref> [[Samuel P. Huntington]] said the term has been replaced by the concept of the [[international community]], which, he argued, "has become the euphemistic collective noun (replacing "the Free World") to give global legitimacy to actions reflecting the interests of the United States and other Western powers."<ref>Huntington, Samuel P. "The Clash of Civilizations," 72 ''Foreign Aff.'' 22 (1992–1993)</ref>