Would Thailand be better off if it was colonized by a Western power?

[realenglish1]

[Cyclist]

I suspect if Thailand had been colonized it would be filled with Europeans acting superior to the Thais. In short no real difference.

[sustento]

But we English taught folk the way to go way back, I remember..................

[hanno]

Hmm, I grow up in a country that was colonized. Things are soooo much better there because of that. Not!

What a troll post.

[brain150]

Well, if you can show me ANY Western Country that actually works today ?

America is broke and falling apart.

GB is not better and social gaps are getting bigger and bigger.

Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal .... broke

Germany - education on it's lowest level in probably 500 years !!! Social problems all over the place.

Just because you don't read any of this in the newspapers does not mean it's not happening.

NONE of the western democracies is working ... as a fact no western country has a democracy [maybe a corporate one at best]

Thailand will have to find it's own way.

There is way too much western influence in this country already.

Western style of business is breaking society apart.

Fast food culture and depth based business [typical for Western countries nowadays] is doing it's magic here.

So, NO ... Thailand would be way better off without all this western influence !!!

All that Thailand needs is some honest men to guide the country. [... just like the western countries]

Sadly enough I cannot see too many running around these days.

It's amazing in what illusion western people are living, thinking it's all so good in their countries and

the whole world should be like this.

Open your eyes and think again !!!

Edited June 10, 2014 by brain150

[Suradit69]

Having lived for nearly a quarter century in a country once colonized by the British in Africa, I can think of no worse fate than having some greedy, exploitative, arrogant colonial presence. Anyone trying to claim the local populations benefited at any time from the colonial presence, whether in Asia or Africa or Australia or for that matter in the Americas, is just regurgitating the propaganda spewed by the colonial powers.

Much of the history of colonialism could better be described as genocide, often quite literally and in every case by destroying the lives of those of the indigenous populations who managed to only survive physically.

The only people who gained from colonialism were those in Europe who profited from it.

Leopold's "rubber terror" raised a lot of hairs in Britain, America and continental Europe (particularly between the years 1900-1908). But while they were condemning Leopold's barbarity, his accusers were committing much the same atrocities against Africans elsewhere on the continent.

Hochschild tells it better: "True, with a population loss estimated at 10 million people, what happened in the Congo could reasonably be called the most murderous part of the European Scramble for Africa. But that is so only if you look at sub-Saharan Africa as the arbitrary checkerboard formed by colonial boundaries.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/35/181.html

[transam]

Well, if you can show me ANY Western Country that actually works today ?

America is broke and falling apart.

GB is not better and social gaps are getting bigger and bigger.

Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal .... broke

Germany - education on it's lowest level in probably 500 years !!! Social problems all over the place.

Just because you don't read any of this in the newspapers does not mean it's not happening.

NONE of the western democracies is working ... as a fact no western country has a democracy [maybe a corporate one at best]

Thailand will have to find it's own way.

There is way too much western influence in this country already.

Western style of business is breaking society apart.

Fast food culture and depth based business [typical for Western countries] is doing it's magic here.

So, NO ... Thailand would be way better off without all this western influence !!!

All that Thailand needs is some honest men to guide the country. [... just like the western countries]

Sadly enough I cannot see too many running around these days.

I am really

Perhaps western countries giving HUGE amounts of cash to others "might" be a weeee problem.......

UK is to stop aid to India next year, dee ma, why should UK tax payers pay for their Nuclear weapons and space exploration when the cash is to help them improve life for the masses..

[Berkshire]

like laos, cambodia, burma and vietnam??

....and the Philippines? The OP must be living in cuckoo land.

[stickylies]

Do you think the people and the country as a whole would be better off if they had gone through 50-100 years of Western colonization?

No.

Look at Laos, Burma, Cambodia... not what i would call "post-colonial bliss".

note too that Thailand may have never been "properly" colonised by a foreign western state - however, they did have to listen/subordinate to the English (and the French) nevertheless - it has been colonised economically by the Chinese who were back then (and still are) in charge in big cities like BKK, Chiang Mai, etc.

(these people are now Sino-Thai and are genuine Thai basically).

Thai economy between 1950-80 was virtually built on drug (opium/heroin) money. Many well respected bonafide Sino-Thai businesses in BKK and Chiang Mai had non-legal activities connected with Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau and USA underworld ... Ironically many people in Thailand were better off with this illicit business since these criminal cartels invested a lot back into local communities and Thailand in general.

[PattayaPhom]

A brief history lesson will show that invading nations to Thailand definately left a positive effect...yes its a shame the invasions didnt run to full colonisation as we may be living in a more organised environment.

[rotary]

Have a good look at the USA, that will answer your question. Yea that's what I thought too.

[kieran2698]

What are the prospering countries now that were colonized before, by the West?

Canada?

[stickylies]

What are the prospering countries now that were colonized before, by the West?

What are the prospering Western countries that used to colonize?

[Phuketboy]

No way, have a look at the mess in western countries. At least by progressing slower, Thailand with the right leader and government, could have a closer look at the rest of the world and learn from their mistakes. They could take the best ideas from around the globe and implement them all here in one country. Some countries such as Australia could have done the same, being a relatively new country but they didn't. They choice to follow the rest of the world's mistakes and repeat them. I think under the right government and leadership Thailand could do quite well on it's own without any colonisation from the west.

[transam]

What are the prospering countries now that were colonized before, by the West?

What are the prospering Western countries that used to colonize?

Weeeeeeell, there is one that has free health care and an excellent social security system for it's natives...........

[stickylies]

What are the prospering countries now that were colonized before, by the West?

What are the prospering Western countries that used to colonize?

Weeeeeeell, there is one that has free health care and an excellent social security system for it's natives...........

1. FREE doesn't exist, it's tax money = money you work(ed) for and which gets collected by the state ...

2. its natives, its natives (honest, friendly correction)

[Thaiready]

Maybe....just as long as it wasn't the English.

[thailiketoo]

Tis a good ting me Sainted Irish ma has passed on.

[freebyrd]

Yes,they may also have some decent railway's.

Probably the best thing us Brits left in Malaysia was the drainage system. Thailand would certainly benefit from a good drainage system, that said the UK is itself suffering these days with climate change throwing a spanner into everyone's works.

[samran]

Look at India to see what a mess was left behind by a colonizing power (yes, I'm a Brit and not proud of what we did there), 60 years on and it's still broken in so many ways

the Brits brought something very important and positive to the countries they colonised and that is a unifying language. that they introduced a paralysing bureaucrazy, which the natives expanded, is a real pity.

to me it's an enigma how the Thais developed their bureaucrazy without the help of the Brits.

they modelled it on the French...thats how.

[transam]

@ sticky.

It's free for a non tax payer too.................

[techboy]

Absurd question since no power has the right to even consider such an action.

[stickylies]

@ sticky.

It's free for a non tax payer too.................

so an adult, who has never worked (not paid taxes), and does not intend to work (which is perfectly ok for me btw!), and who is not physically disabled or mentally ill, can get free healthcare in that country u are refering to. i don't believe that.

and if it is true, tell me the name of the country so i can marry a woman there ASAP and start my new cheapo life....

[transam]

@ sticky.

It's free for a non tax payer too.................

so an adult, who has never worked (not paid taxes), and does not intend to work (which is perfectly ok for me btw!), and who is not physically disabled or mentally ill, can get free healthcare in that country u are refering to. i don't believe that.

and if it is true, tell me the name of the country so i can marry a woman there ASAP and start my new cheapo life....

England......................

[Thaijack2014]

like laos, cambodia, burma and vietnam??

I would say Malaysia and Singapore did benefit in some way, because of the British there is a high level of English proficiency there and there is also respect for the constitution and the rule of law to some extent.

Malaysia and Singapore did not benefit from the colonization, but from the Chinese who were brought as labourers there. Thanks to the working spirit of the Chinese immigrants, these countries gained wealth. See Hong Kong as well. In most cases colonization was only to take as much benefit and profit of the colonized countries as possible. I doubt that Thailand would have been better off. It might have been worse. Look at all the colonized countries. How well are they doing? What suffering had the population of these countries to go through, to get rid of the colonialists...?

And if you think that countries like the US, Canada, and many countries in South America benefited from colonization, then you're wrong too. The local population has been murdered and decimized and now the "locals" are all descendents from Europe.

[kieran2698]

Well, if you can show me ANY Western Country that actually works today ?

America is broke and falling apart.

GB is not better and social gaps are getting bigger and bigger.

Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal .... broke

Germany - education on it's lowest level in probably 500 years !!! Social problems all over the place.

Just because you don't read any of this in the newspapers does not mean it's not happening.

NONE of the western democracies is working ... as a fact no western country has a democracy [maybe a corporate one at best]

Thailand will have to find it's own way.

There is way too much western influence in this country already.

Western style of business is breaking society apart.

Fast food culture and depth based business [typical for Western countries] is doing it's magic here.

So, NO ... Thailand would be way better off without all this western influence !!!

All that Thailand needs is some honest men to guide the country. [... just like the western countries]

Sadly enough I cannot see too many running around these days.

I am really

Perhaps western countries giving HUGE amounts of cash to others "might" be a weeee problem.......

UK is to stop aid to India next year, dee ma, why should UK tax payers pay for their Nuclear weapons and space exploration when the cash is to help them improve life for the masses..

India's social welfare budget is 70 billion. We have been giving 227 million which is 0.3% of the total spending. The combined budget for defense and space is 3 billion. Not so long ago India made a statement that the funding from the UK was so little that it was embarrassing and should stop. The UK rags have been telling us how India take our money but spend on defense and space programs, disregarding the fact that India spend 23 times more on welfare than defense.

[Hrkurtjensen]

Hell no.

I came out here to get away from the western grumpy people, that newer get enough and always looks at them selfs as a rock star and a hero.

Asia is asia and I hope this continues this way. Look at Cambodia. Laos, Vietnam. Do they look happy and better??

No they don't and Thailand would be about the same. If you miss those things you write about you should go to the west and stay there and let Thailand develope the way it goes.

[Glumpy]

We, the British, 'managed' many countries before leaving them to their own devices. Leaving because they thought they were up to running the show on their own or better. Look at Kenya, Zimbabwe, India...the list goes on. When the British were in 'charge' the people had a sense of order........now look at them. Thailand would have had a far better rail service around the country that's for sure.

[lcp0761]

By no way is Thailand perfect but that's the beauty of Thailand. You can either like the Thai way of doing things or not, but it has a great appeal.

Contrary to the popular phrase, "if it's not broke don't fix it", let the Thai people figure out what's needed based on their culture and style.

I am a proud American but by NO way is America any where close to being perfect; even good. The US has a lot of issues of which we can't handle ourselves; starting at the top.

ACTION: Allow the current Thai military commander to slowly review each sector and make his own assessment of what's needed.

Note --- corrupt prior PM and high Govt officials took down the country over the last past 5-8 years. Allow the process to work it's way without red shirt/yellow shirt influence. Also, I like the media ban as they are half the problem as they are funded by the party who has the largest wallet.

[transam]

Well, if you can show me ANY Western Country that actually works today ?

America is broke and falling apart.

GB is not better and social gaps are getting bigger and bigger.

Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal .... broke

Germany - education on it's lowest level in probably 500 years !!! Social problems all over the place.

Just because you don't read any of this in the newspapers does not mean it's not happening.

NONE of the western democracies is working ... as a fact no western country has a democracy [maybe a corporate one at best]

Thailand will have to find it's own way.

There is way too much western influence in this country already.

Western style of business is breaking society apart.

Fast food culture and depth based business [typical for Western countries] is doing it's magic here.

So, NO ... Thailand would be way better off without all this western influence !!!

All that Thailand needs is some honest men to guide the country. [... just like the western countries]

Sadly enough I cannot see too many running around these days.

I am really

Perhaps western countries giving HUGE amounts of cash to others "might" be a weeee problem.......

UK is to stop aid to India next year, dee ma, why should UK tax payers pay for their Nuclear weapons and space exploration when the cash is to help them improve life for the masses..

India's social welfare budget is 70 billion. We have been giving 227 million which is 0.3% of the total spending. The combined budget for defense and space is 3 billion. Not so long ago India made a statement that the funding from the UK was so little that it was embarrassing and should stop. The UK rags have been telling us how India take our money but spend on defense and space programs, disregarding the fact that India spend 23 times more on welfare than defense.

Well great. Can build a hospital with staff in the UK with that figure saved...............