Is "Latin America" part of the "west"?

[Platypus]

I'd agree with Chile, Argentina and Uruguay being set aside from the rest of Latin America.

For me, the 'West' is more or less rich christianity-leading nations, preferably with a history of liberal democracy. This includes New Zeraland, Australia, the USA, Canada, Western Europe, Greece, Scandinavia, maybe a couple of Eastern European Countries, maybe the Southern Cone, and *possibly* South Africa and Israel.

[Platypus]

I'd agree with Chile, Argentina and Uruguay being set aside from the rest of Latin America.

For me, the 'West' is more or less rich christianity-leading nations, preferably with a history of liberal democracy. This includes New Zeraland, Australia, the USA, Canada, Western Europe, Greece, Scandinavia, maybe a couple of Eastern European Countries, maybe the Southern Cone, and *possibly* South Africa and Israel.

Argentina WAS rich, but isn't anymore. Its GDP per capita is pretty much equal to that of Mexico (a bit smaller without PPP adjustment, probably a tad higher w/ PPP adjustment, but, basically, statistically indistinguishable). Same is actually true of Uruguay - it's not any different from Mexico wealthwise. Even Chile isn't that much richer. Argentina has very little to boast about as far as liberal democracy is concerned - its democracy is very intermittent and rarely liberal. Uruguay and Chile are a bit better in this respect, but they both did have major interruptions, as we all know. Christianity is dominant throughout the continent. So, what makes Argentina any different from, say, Mexico - except for the skin color of the average guy on the street, of course?

BTW, OECD - the economic club of rich nations - includes only 2 Latin American countries: Mexico (joined in 1994) and Chile (joined in 2010)

For me, the difference with Argentina, besides the huge Italian influence (and so, in a roundabout way that isn't shared so much with Chile, skin tone), was that Argentinians (and Uruguayos and particularly Chileans) consider themselves to be westerners. Buenos Aires had all the hautiness of Paris; Santiago was more American than Nashville. The southern cone also have more sporting links with the rest of the west, there is a greater history of interaction with non-Iberian European nations (I think, anyway), and the terrain is more Europeany.

Plus Bariloche.

[Platypus]

There are some common criteria among modern "Western" countries:
* Membership of NATO and/or European trading blocs.

Australia and NZ?

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Should be amended to "more often supports US foreign policy to that of it's rivals" or something similar.

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Obviously pretty problematic - goodbye North America, Australasia and Northern Europe.

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I'd change the last one to "good health and sanitation infrastructure"; rural areas and whatnot.

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Australia/NZL, but also others, make this not true.

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California has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, so...no.

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Iceland? Arizona?

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East Germany? Czech Republic? Italy?

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I get that, but the criteria are still a bit off.

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The last line is the most important. Every western country sees itself as western; and almost every country that sees itself as western is.

[Platypus]

A place is Western if the West accepts it as such.

Pretty much. We can all basically agree that the west includes:

USA
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Scandinavia
United Kingdom
Ireland
France
Benelux
Germany
Switzerland
Leichtenstein
Austria
Iberia
Monaco
Italy
San Marino

...anywhere I forgot?

Then there are a few nations that are almost always agreed upon (Greece, Israel, Malta, etc). But I think it would be a fair way of working it out; if 4/5ths of the 'universally agreed west' regard a nation as western, it is. The problem is that the question isn't important enough for the west to put its neck out and define itself.

[Platypus]

A place is Western if the West accepts it as such.

Pretty much. We can all basically agree that the west includes:

USA
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Scandinavia
United Kingdom
Ireland
France
Benelux
Germany
Switzerland
Leichtenstein
Austria
Iberia
Monaco
Italy
San Marino

...anywhere I forgot?

Then there are a few nations that are almost always agreed upon (Greece, Israel, Malta, etc). But I think it would be a fair way of working it out; if 4/5ths of the 'universally agreed west' regard a nation as western, it is. The problem is that the question isn't important enough for the west to put its neck out and define itself.

While the West's culture owes much to the ancient Greeks, Greece is not really a Western country.  I'd include the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, and Malta as part of the West.  The Baltic States, Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia are part of the Western periphery in Europe.  They aren't fully Western, but they are more Western than Eastern.

I'd also include with that, i'm just trying to work out a list of the ones that absolutyely everyone can agree is the west.

Turkey should most certainly not be on that list if Australia and NZ aren't, btw.

[Platypus]

A place is Western if the West accepts it as such.

Pretty much. We can all basically agree that the west includes:

USA
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Scandinavia
United Kingdom
Ireland
France
Benelux
Germany
Switzerland
Leichtenstein
Austria
Iberia
Monaco
Italy
San Marino

...anywhere I forgot?

Then there are a few nations that are almost always agreed upon (Greece, Israel, Malta, etc). But I think it would be a fair way of working it out; if 4/5ths of the 'universally agreed west' regard a nation as western, it is. The problem is that the question isn't important enough for the west to put its neck out and define itself.

While the West's culture owes much to the ancient Greeks, Greece is not really a Western country.  I'd include the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, and Malta as part of the West.  The Baltic States, Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia are part of the Western periphery in Europe.  They aren't fully Western, but they are more Western than Eastern.

I'd also include with that, i'm just trying to work out a list of the ones that absolutyely everyone can agree is the west.

Turkey should most certainly not be on that list if Australia and NZ aren't, btw.

Which one is partially in Europe, in NATO, has been a major power in Europe, and is actually west of India?

Which two aren't majority Muslim, are primarily ethnically European, speak a European language, and have the second and third highest standards of living in the world?

Australia and New Zealand might not be part of the universally agreed West, which is what I was trying to create in my list.  I find it remarkable that it isn't agreed that they aren't western, but apparently it isn't. What is certain, however, is that Turkey isn't part of the universally agreed upon west. Considering most of Turkey's history pre- WWI was that of the nation most likely to attack the West, and the greatest threat to the spread of ideals we consider Western throughout Europe, claiming that is deserves to be considered a core member of the grouping is ridiculous.

Turkey may be Western, but it isn't more so than Australia and New Zealand, for better or worse.