Is Thailand still a 3rd world country?

[watgate]

I was wondering if folks think Thailand is still a 3rd world country or due to their growing prosperity they have jettisoned out of that position and are headed for eventual inclusion in the ranks of Korea, Japan to mention a couple of other countries who have grown and attained prosperity for many of their citizens?

[NCC1701A]

no their education system and totally corrupt society will prevent them from being on par with Japan, Korea. 

 

a total reboot is required. and 50 years to catch up.

[simoh1490]

The term "third world country" died with the end of the Cold War, Thailand is now classified as a developing economy whereas Japan is a developed economy, Table A explains: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2014wesp_country_classification.pdf

 

 

[AtoZ]

Look at government

Look at police

Look at education system

 

Actually just read the news sometimes

 

Yes, they are 3rd world country and it won't change anytime soon thanks to the elites who want it that way.

[canuckamuck]

Thailand has a mosaic of human development.

 

First world:

Some of the medical care and facilities

Some of the transportation systems

Some of the manufacturing facilities

Shopping malls

Some films and commercials

Assets of some corporations

 

Second World (cold war soviet block style):

Military government

 

Third world (Banana republic Style):

Police

Judicial

Education

Agriculture

Safety

Tourism

Television

Science

Natural resource conservation

Prostitution

Average wage

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by canuckamuck

[Spidey]

Thailand's biggest barrier to advancement is inertia. Resistance to change. They know what the problems are but can't bring themselves to effect the changes needed. Probably because the controlling elite are far too comfortable and far too wealthy to want to do anything about it.

[AGareth2]

14 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Thailand has a mosaic of human development.

 

First world:

Some of the medical care and facilities

Some of the transportation systems

Some of the manufacturing facilities

Shopping malls

Some films and commercials

Assets of some corporations

 

Second World (cold war soviet block style):

Military government

 

Third world (Banana republic Style):

Police

Judicial

Education

Agriculture

Safety

Tourism

Television

Science

Natural resource conservation

Prostitution

Average wage

 

don't know

would say some of their prostitution was 1st world

excellent soapies

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

The term "third world country" died with the end of the Cold War, Thailand is now classified as a developing economy whereas Japan is a developed economy, Table A explains: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2014wesp_country_classification.pdf

 

 

Interesting.  China is a "developing economy" yet is soon likely to overtake the USA?

[Esso49]

Just now, brewsterbudgen said:

Interesting.  China is a "developing economy" yet is soon likely to overtake the USA?

So when that happens then I guess factually USA becomes a declining economy ?

[canuckamuck]

13 minutes ago, AGareth2 said:

don't know

would say some of their prostitution was 1st world

excellent soapies

Maybe first world isn't necessarily the best?

[simoh1490]

3 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Interesting.  China is a "developing economy" yet is soon likely to overtake the USA?

the UN and the World bank have different labelling and criteria so it's important to look at both to determine why a country is ranked as it is and the factors that are considered.

[watgate]

I have come to the conclusion that their are some very funny and  hilarious folks living in Thailand who post on here. It is actually refreshing to read a lot of the comments that are posted. They can be quite funny while expressing an opinion or to lighten the dialogue. With all the crap currently going on with the retirement visa uncertainty it is great to read folks postings because, for one thing, it tells me you can't be too serious, especially in the land of smiles. I think folks who live here full-time or a great deal of the time have developed a mindset to not take things too serious and to enjoy your life and I say amen to that. 

[Esso49]

23 minutes ago, AGareth2 said:

don't know

would say some of their prostitution was 1st world

excellent soapies

You mean 1st class soapies surely ?  You don't have to be in a 1st world country to have a 1st class soapy. Due to age my memory is fading but I do recall that there is no prostitution here because it is illegal, but the way it is so easy to pay for the pleasure of some ladies time , is similarly 1st class.

[sirineou]

59 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Thailand has a mosaic of human development.

 

First world:

Some of the medical care and facilities

Some of the transportation systems

Some of the manufacturing facilities

Shopping malls

Some films and commercials

Assets of some corporations

 

Second World (cold war soviet block style):

Military government

 

Third world (Banana republic Style):

Police

Judicial

Education

Agriculture

Safety

Tourism

Television

Science

Natural resource conservation

Prostitution

Average wage

 

 A foot on each side, IMO opinion part of the charm of Thailand. 

33 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Interesting.  China is a "developing economy" yet is soon likely to overtake the USA?

 Only because China has a larger population.  The aggregate economy is overtaking, The per capita is not. 

31 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

So when that happens then I guess factually USA becomes a declining economy ?

No,  by that logic  the Swedish (to give an example)  economy would be declining because it has being overtaken by the US economy. 

[AlexRich]

I think of Thailand as a developing economy, but fear that due to culture and national characteristics, will never rival the likes of Singapore, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong ... I think that the next country to join that club will be Vietnam. They are young, ambitious, hard working and increasingly better educated.

[Airalee]

Second (and a half)*

 

*because their healthcare is good.

 

When I studied for my degree in economics (late 80s), the designations went all the way down to 5th world, which were considered to be ones without functioning governments such as Sudan.

[MekkOne]

I thought they were aiming to be 4.0...

[swissie]

There is the centralized governing body, located in BKK. Producing "laws".
As long as those "laws", manufactured in BKK can be interpreted at will by local "authorities", Thailand remains a third world country.
Ranging from the individual interpretation of land disputes, traffic violations, domestic violence all the way to the individual interpretation of Immigration Laws on a local level.
- Moving from one Amphoe/Province to the next appears like entering a different country as far as legal matters are concerned.
Under these circumstances, "Legal Certainty", encompassing a Nation as a whole, is an impossibility.

Countries, in witch "Legal Certainty" is not given used to be called "Banana-Republics". For sake of "political-correctness" we call them "aspiring 3rd world countries" these days.

Doesn't change a thing: If if walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck = It is a duck !
Cheers.

[Spidey]

 

12 hours ago, Airalee said:

Second (and a half)*

 

*because their healthcare is good.

 

When I studied for my degree in economics (late 80s), the designations went all the way down to 5th world, which were considered to be ones without functioning governments such as Sudan.

 

1 hour ago, swissie said:

There is the centralized governing body, located in BKK. Producing "laws".
As long as those "laws", manufactured in BKK can be interpreted at will by local "authorities", Thailand remains a third world country.
Ranging from the individual interpretation of land disputes, traffic violations, domestic violence all the way to the individual interpretation of Immigration Laws on a local level.
- Moving from one Amphoe/Province to the next appears like entering a different country as far as legal matters are concerned.
Under these circumstances, "Legal Certainty", encompassing a Nation as a whole, is an impossibility.

Countries, in witch "Legal Certainty" is not given used to be called "Banana-Republics". For sake of "political-correctness" we call them "aspiring 3rd world countries" these days.

Doesn't change a thing: If if walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck = It is a duck !
Cheers.

"Third World" isn't and never was, an economic classification. It's a political classification to denote those countries not aligned to either the Allies (first world) or the Eastern Block (second world). Rarely used now. The term "Fourth World" was briefly used to describe populations without a nation state, Rohingya being a possible example. No longer used. Fifth world was used to describe landlocked developing countries, now just referred to as LLDCs. Thailand's status is Developing Country.

 

Thailand is and has been a Banana Republic since the 1930s, before that, a true Kingdom.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic

 

"Typically, a banana republic has a society of extremely stratified social classes, usually a large impoverished working class and a ruling-class plutocracy, composed of the business, political and military elites of that society.^[1] Such a ruling-class oligarchy control the primary sector of the economy by way of the exploitation of labour;^[2] thus, the term banana republic is a pejorative descriptor for a servile dictatorship that abets and supports, for kickbacks, the exploitation of large-scale plantation agriculture,"

 

Thailand to a T.

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Spidey

[Deli]

Yes, but isn't this the reason why many of us live here ?

Prices, however, for many things are 1st world.

[manarak]

17 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

The term "third world country" died with the end of the Cold War, Thailand is now classified as a developing economy whereas Japan is a developed economy, Table A explains: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2014wesp_country_classification.pdf

 

yes... not only that, but Thailand being allied with the USA means it never was a third world country.

[Bundooman]

17 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

The term "third world country" died with the end of the Cold War, Thailand is now classified as a developing economy whereas Japan is a developed economy, Table A explains: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2014wesp_country_classification.pdf

 

 

You can dress a monkey in a suit, white shirt and a tie - but it is still a monkey.

[Pungdo]

An American friend and I were driving along one day and he said "I'm getting a little tired of this 3rd world country" to which I replied, How many 3rd world countries have the infrastructure that is here in Thailand, the motorways, the half decent Internet, the amount of manufacturing etc etc, long story short, in the end we agreed that Thailand as a country is knocking on the door of being a 1st world country, but has 3rd world inhabitants.

[simoh1490]

6 minutes ago, Bundooman said:

You can dress a monkey in a suit, white shirt and a tie - but it is still a monkey.

If you don't understand what the term "third world" means, why not just ask rather than showing your ignorance.

[lust]

3rd world country is used by uneducated foreigners from western countries who have been told that they are superior to other nations. Educate yourselves before posting.

[Time Traveller]

17 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Interesting.  China is a "developing economy" yet is soon likely to overtake the USA?

No China won't overtake US anytime soon. The definition of the ranking is: 

1st world: Countries that develop their own technologies

2nd world: Countries that steal technologies off of 1st world countries

3rd world: Countries that can't comprehend technology or understand how to use it for their benefit.

 

 

[TKDfella]

18 hours ago, watgate said:

I have come to the conclusion that their are some very funny and  hilarious folks living in Thailand who post on here. It is actually refreshing to read a lot of the comments that are posted. They can be quite funny while expressing an opinion or to lighten the dialogue. With all the crap currently going on with the retirement visa uncertainty it is great to read folks postings because, for one thing, it tells me you can't be too serious, especially in the land of smiles. I think folks who live here full-time or a great deal of the time have developed a mindset to not take things too serious and to enjoy your life and I say amen to that. 

Nice post. But I wonder how many, like me, live in Thailand for years realize that while there are problems there is very little we can do about it. Sometimes a shake of the head and a smile then move on.

[smotherb]

19 hours ago, Esso49 said:

So when that happens then I guess factually USA becomes a declining economy ?

Yes, some may say you are correct. The US economy is strong, but China's economy is growing faster. When and if China's economy surpasses the USs, some may consider the US a declining economy, or a surpassed economy. Like the UK, which used to be the number one economic power in the world is now, what, the number two economic power in Europe? That same Europe which does not have a single country in the top three economies in the world. However, terms like developing or developed economy are relative and dynamic. Just because your country's economy is no longer as strong as it was, does not necessarily mean your country is no longer a developed economy.

Edited October 29, 2018 by smotherb

[Rockhopper]

Thailand is a First World country with a Third World mentality.

 

 

[Snig27]

1 hour ago, Time Traveller said:

No China won't overtake US anytime soon. The definition of the ranking is: 

1st world: Countries that develop their own technologies

2nd world: Countries that steal technologies off of 1st world countries

3rd world: Countries that can't comprehend technology or understand how to use it for their benefit.

 

 

In a great many technologies China is vastly outspending the US in R&D and creating patents that lead the world - green tech for example. It also has much better transport systems and general infrastructure, at least in the places I've been in my times in China (maybe 40 times now for work). Three years back the average lifespan of a child born in Shanghai was five years longer than a child born in NYC, or so the media was saying. Better healthcare and tertiary as a rule and accessible.  

China has problems but in many ways, it's caught up to the USA and is inching ahead. (it also has a bigger navy now according to the US press which really surprised me).