The Free World is a Cold War-era term often used to describe countries not under the communist rule of the Soviet Union, its Eastern European allies, the People's Republic of China and other communist nations which restricted personal freedoms. The term often referred to countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and Western Europe. In addition, the term sometimes was used as a spin to include anti-communist countries that were not free or democratic, including Spain under Franco, Greece under the Junta, Chile under Pinochet, and Taiwan under Chiang Kai-Shek (see also "Free China").

Because of the United States' prominent role in the Cold War, the president of the United States was often dubbed the "Leader of the Free World". The term implies that the United States president, as leader of the principal democratic superpower, was, by extension, the leader of the world's all democratic nations. Although it had a Cold War origin, it is still sometimes used to describe the United States president today.^[1]

[edit] See also

• Leader of the Free World
• Free Country (politics)
• Western World
• Western Bloc
• First World

[edit] References