This reminds me of when I was a kid growing up (in developing nations), and people would show up from the US demanding all the same services that they had back home.
Depending on where they are and how much they want to pay, they can get it.
(Also US banks are about 15 years behind the rest of the world. I was in Korea 20 years ago and the farm stands in the countryside took electronic payments and I could spend dollars.)
I wonder what people in this thread think the third world is, and what they imagine living there is like.
It’s not like there’s a clear answer. I guess technically Sweden is a third world county, while North Korea and Slovenia are both second world. America is as first world as it gets, and it’s a fucking mess.
If I could choose my own third world country I’d be quite alright. If they sent me to the worst first world country they could find, well, Alabama.
The phrase has been corrupted from its cold war origins to mean (putting it politely) the “developing world”. Whereas I’ve moved countries seven times, I’ve seen a lot of places, and I can say from experience that outside of specific prejudicial circumstances (being a woman in Iran, Uyghur Muslim in China, being anyone in North Korea, for example) there are paths to success everywhere.
Yeah, in general if you have a good starting point anywhare not affected by tyranny, war, or genocide you’ll be alright. Behind a veil of ignorance there’s a whole lot of developing countries I’d go to before I’d risk being poor in the United States.
Compounding that is the notion of privilege, which exists. I’m a cisgendered white male with a university degree and I speak English natively, I don’t have a persistent mental illness or a chronic disease, and I don’t have a physical handicap. The deck is stacked in my favor no matter where I am in the world. Taking away enforced regulations on housing, employment, and banking makes things easier for me, not harder. It’s way, way, way different if you belong to a group with less social power.
I guess this is where the insight that you should judge a society by how it treats its weakest comes from. That’s a problem with OP’s scenario, as you’d be thrown into a completely foreign context without access to the more family and community-based security nets that are essential in poorer parts of the world.
I have travelled to some not very wealthy regions to small communities that can only be accessed by a 4x4, horse, or motorcycle (or by foot, as I prefer), and seen severely handicapped people in such places live what at least appears from the outside to be highly dignified and decent lives as the community works together to take care of them. It’s not at all obvious that they would be happier in a western city. Once anyone needs professional medical care or expensive treatments it of course becomes more clear-cut, and if you’re an outsider (or just unlucky) you’re of course out of luck.
Taking away enforced regulations on housing, employment, and banking makes things easier for me, not harder
In the short run, maybe, but sawing off the branch one is sitting on is dangerous business. :)
Spend my dollars on an apartment and a house cleaner, start networking with other folks, get a job. It’s not hard.
It’s cute you think you’d still have access to dollars in this scenario
It’s cute that you assume I wouldn’t. OP never said anything about that.
You had a bit of access issue tho.
Like… do you have it as cash on you at all times?
Your, now-former, country’s border agents could just seize it as you’re exiting.
If its in a bank, they have an even easier time seizing it.
You should have said that. If I can’t access banks, it’s a way different picture.
This reminds me of when I was a kid growing up (in developing nations), and people would show up from the US demanding all the same services that they had back home.
Depending on where they are and how much they want to pay, they can get it.
(Also US banks are about 15 years behind the rest of the world. I was in Korea 20 years ago and the farm stands in the countryside took electronic payments and I could spend dollars.)
lel OK ya got me. Hey, you should post on !chadmctruthstruth@lemmy.world I kinda miss that place.
e.g. check this out for comparison: https://lemmy.world/post/35529168
I wonder what people in this thread think the third world is, and what they imagine living there is like.
It’s not like there’s a clear answer. I guess technically Sweden is a third world county, while North Korea and Slovenia are both second world. America is as first world as it gets, and it’s a fucking mess.
If I could choose my own third world country I’d be quite alright. If they sent me to the worst first world country they could find, well, Alabama.
The phrase has been corrupted from its cold war origins to mean (putting it politely) the “developing world”. Whereas I’ve moved countries seven times, I’ve seen a lot of places, and I can say from experience that outside of specific prejudicial circumstances (being a woman in Iran, Uyghur Muslim in China, being anyone in North Korea, for example) there are paths to success everywhere.
Yeah, in general if you have a good starting point anywhare not affected by tyranny, war, or genocide you’ll be alright. Behind a veil of ignorance there’s a whole lot of developing countries I’d go to before I’d risk being poor in the United States.
Compounding that is the notion of privilege, which exists. I’m a cisgendered white male with a university degree and I speak English natively, I don’t have a persistent mental illness or a chronic disease, and I don’t have a physical handicap. The deck is stacked in my favor no matter where I am in the world. Taking away enforced regulations on housing, employment, and banking makes things easier for me, not harder. It’s way, way, way different if you belong to a group with less social power.
I guess this is where the insight that you should judge a society by how it treats its weakest comes from. That’s a problem with OP’s scenario, as you’d be thrown into a completely foreign context without access to the more family and community-based security nets that are essential in poorer parts of the world.
I have travelled to some not very wealthy regions to small communities that can only be accessed by a 4x4, horse, or motorcycle (or by foot, as I prefer), and seen severely handicapped people in such places live what at least appears from the outside to be highly dignified and decent lives as the community works together to take care of them. It’s not at all obvious that they would be happier in a western city. Once anyone needs professional medical care or expensive treatments it of course becomes more clear-cut, and if you’re an outsider (or just unlucky) you’re of course out of luck.
In the short run, maybe, but sawing off the branch one is sitting on is dangerous business. :)