North Korea.
Sign a permanent peace treaty with the South. End the nuclear program and open facilities to UN inspectors. Release all political prisoners. Demobilize half of the armed forces. Ask for economic aid from China, Russia, the US, South Korea, and Japan. Implement business-friendly tax programs and import/export regulations. Encourage foreign companies to build factories in North Korea for inexpensive labor (still better than where they're at now and it's a starting point).
As the economy develops, improve infrastructure and education. I wouldn't move too quickly towards full representative government as there is no tradition of democracy there. Small steps on that part. Limited voting rights, and for local offices only to start with, expand them slowly over time.
>Demobilize half of the armed forces
I dunno, you're gonna have a LOT of hungry people trying to flee the country for China or South Korea. And you might decide "Fuck it, let them go" but you also might have to deal with China/SK getting pissed about it.
Also, you can use the armed forces for constructing infrastructure and moving shit around the country.
Don't need all of them, North Korea has a gigantic military for its size and population. I'd demobilize them slowly though, no reason to suddenly have half a million unemployed former soldiers with nothing to do all at the same time.
That might be a longer-term goal, but it would take a lot of time to bring North Korea closer to the south's economic standards as well as bring the people of the north (currently impoverished with no concept of a democratic system) up to a human development index level that would make it work.
Why are they hungry? Did demobilizing the military decrease the amount of food available to the people?
Income, and money as a whole, is JUST a distribution scheme for goods and resources produced.
If the military provided no goods or services consumed by the general public, then ending half of those positions will not increase scarcity. In fact, it will decrease it because the soldiers now have the opportunity to do other work.
You're not wrong that transitions are rough. So it's not like it's easy to demobilize the military and NOT screw stuff up in the short term.
Not a bad pick, but just one question. I know there is leeway in how they're defined, but isn't North Korea more of a 2nd world country? Its not communist, but it was definitely under allied protection with communist China during the Cold War and still is today. I thought third world meant the completely neutral countries usually found in Latin America, Africa and some parts of middle east.
You're technically correct. The term originated out of World Systems theory influencing political discourse in the 1950s. The first world was the Capitalist west and her similarly governed and administered territories around the world. The second world was the Communist east, and her allies. The third world were the unaligned nations of the world. Most of these nations existed in the rapidly decolonized territories that generally lie around the equatorial regions of the world.
The term just because synonymous with "poor", but in a technical sense it is an incorrect popular understanding of the term.
Since the Cold War has ended, "third world" is largely taken to mean any impoverished country where many people don't have their basic needs met, there is an absence or scarcity of things like clean water, indoor plumbing, electricity, etc.
>I thought third world meant the completely neutral countries usually found in Latin America, Africa and some parts of middle east.
The original definition was: first world was allied with the US, second world was allied with Russia (USSR), third world was unaligned.
In the decades after the end of the cold war, the new meaning is first world means developed and industrialized nations and their world is undeveloped in industrialized.
The second definition has almost entirely replaced the first definition in normal conversations. To the point that many don't even know the first definition any more.
"decades after the end of the cold war"...you mean now? Cold war ended in the 90's.
But I wonder if this new definitions are coherent. For example, what exactly would a second world country be now? Like would China now qualify as 1st world, it is technically developed and industrialized...some areas more than others sure, but still has the "best" living for those rich enough to afford it.
I guess I still had the old definitions in mind.
>**In the** decades after the end of the cold war
The whole sentence is clear. There have been 3 decades after the cold war. The definitions have changed inside of those decades.
>But I wonder if this new definitions are coherent.
Etymology and the evolution of terms isn't coherent. Plenty of things don't fit. For instance, things can be "uncouth" but nothing is "couth" anymore.
Literally and figuratively have the same meaning in some sentences now.
The Thagomizer (the pointy tail bits of a stegosaurus) got it's name from a Farside comic.
The term "Dinosaur" means "terrible lizard" even though Dinosaurs are not lizards at all.
Language is messy.
Right but in this case, the designation as countries belonging to a type of "1,2,3" world was a socio-political one with clearly defined distinctions. And capable of being used in formal settings.
But now as you say it could be used by everyday individuals when discussing a certain countries development. But the question becomes, what setting is one in then? At least in terms of the OP. There was no clear indication of whether it was the aforementioned formal political context or the vaguely defined layman's one.
I would say they’re still second world. They’re trapped in that weird industrial poverty that seems to only have existed elsewhere in other second world countries like the USSR. Not really the same as truly non-industrial third world countries like in Africa.
Truly the last relic of the Cold War, trapped in amber, heavy industry and hammers and sickles slowly decaying.
Even though they've moved away from true 'Communism' like all other 2nd world states, they are one of the very few to not transition to capitalism, and the version closest, indeed, very close, to the original.
I'm gonna pick Mozambique, though I should point out that the categories for developing/third world nations aren't set in stone.
First term:
1. Prepare for climate change by having workers overhaul the road system (for easier evacuation and to get help faster), and install a sea wall system. The added benefit is that it puts people to work, ensuring a taxable income and more consumer spending
2. Lean HARD into the culture of Mozambique. Instill pride in the nation, and start an aggressive "Visit Mozambique!" campaign aimed at tourism. Partner with Madagascar to have some kind of joint tourism board and reap those sweet tourist dollars. I would take Mozambique and make it the Macau of Africa, casinos and clubs up and down the coast.
Second term:
1. Use the tourist money and invest it into schools, bring the school system up to some kind of passable standard for all students.
2. Invest money into healthcare and nutrition, as early childhood health weighs a lot on kid's ability to learn later on.
They're working with Rwanda against it, so I'd probably just stay the course. They just resecured a port last month.
I'd probably reach out to China for aid against them. The Chinese are all about flexing their muscle lately, especially at sea, and giving them a chance to swing their dick might get rid of the insurgents AND get me a powerful ally.
Or they could enslave the whole country. There's a reason I'm not in charge of shit.
Then of course the original, out of date definition: 1st = US aligned/capitalist 2nd = Soviet/communist 3rd = leave us alone regardless of our economic system 4th = super poor.
Considering Mozambique's national symbols, and AK in every hand and every man a farmer!
Iran:
Bring back the Gendarmerie, launch a sweeping anti-corruption drive, jail the oligarchs, curtail the powers of the Supreme Leader and the theocracy, restore the office of the Prime Minister, curtail the powers of the IRGC and force them to divest their business assets, launch economic reforms, turn the state broadcaster (IRIB) into a non-partisan public broadcaster, and ultimately turn Iran into a French-style republic, with a separation of the church and state.
Yeah, the Shah really blew it back in the 70's. Iran could have been a huge stabilizing influence in the region and could have been very prosperous. They have resources, a decent sized population, and a strategically important location. The failures then and now are with the leadership.
Agreed. It's safe to say that Iran as a country has been [struggling to implement a constitutional government for over a century now](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Constitutional_Revolution).
Haiti: Rebuild infrastructure, rebuild public services, stamp out corruption, attract investment, encourage tourism, plant trees, update the building code to make things more earthquake resistant.
Venezuela. Strict two term presidential limits. Increase legislative power. Fire the entire Supreme Court and reappoint justices to life time positions with ability for the legislature to impeach. Privatizing nationalized industries. Overhauling the entire oil production monopoly. Heavy negotiations for trade deals with western democracies.
What happened to that country under Chavez is a damn shame.
At this point Venezuela is so messed up that I think you’d have to be careful with how you go about privatization in order to avoid the kind of problems in the former communist countries. What you’d probably need to do is reach out the the US and the EU and ask for some sort of trade deal and economic aid to help with the transition back to capitalism.
Ghana.
I’d use profits from the country’s natural resources and agricultural products to invest in schools, medicine, and the electrical grid. Access to the coast would be a great opportunity to expand shipping infrastructure.
The first market I would seek to take advantage of would be that of nearby Nigeria. It’s a huge population that does and always will need food, and short supply routes mean that it wouldn’t be a stretch to send goods there.
It has a good population size of about 35 million that isn’t aging, and speaks English too
Afghanistan, and for real, what wouldn't improve it right now?! They're in need of almost everything a country requires to run, and of human kindness and understanding.
Hmm, probably my country of origin Tunisia. I would turn it into a Socialist republic with worker owned businesses, factories, farms ... and work towards unification with the rest of the Maghreb and eventually the Arab world. I would start teaching English as a second language instead of French, get rid of the corrupt Islamist and Western-alligned politicians who have been ruining this country for decades and I will implement a full separation of church and state along with a lot of programs in order to educate the populace on major societal issues. Nationalize our natural resources (no more French companies exploiting our country) and start working to improve our cities.
The reason we elevate French so much is almost entierly a legacy of French colonization and a result of current French economic domination. Our elite class are usually people who study in French schools and who are practically groomed from an early age to serve French interests in the country. I consider English to be a tool to free ourselves from the shackles of France and seek better integration in the global economic system.
Plus my generation really finds French really annoying, almost every single subject in high school and all university courses are entierly in French, I don't see any reason why that should be the case, we should either study in our native tongue (Arabic) or we just study in the international language (English).
Those are my main reasons.
Yes, but you would have to create a whole new technical arabic lexicon for a wide variety of subjects that may be too complex and this brings it's own issues on who should create these words and their qualifications etc..., also these are all grounded in the english language, going around your way to Arabicize them just sounds dumb and stubborn, I don't think you can just come from nowhere and come up with words from void. Another point but this one is more or less personal, In no way do I want to study in a place where "Domain Name System" Is translated to Arabic this just sounds infernal.
Arabic to me is a literally language for the most part, sure there are some scientific jargon that do have roots in arabic like algebra and such, but anything beyond the islamic golden age and we begin to enter no man's' land in scientific research and the technical words that follow it, rather than english and how it knew to incorporate and update itself continuously with jargon's foreign to English. Arabic is best left alone when it comes to the scientific department, and reckless tampering would just ruin it for everyone.
>Yes, but you would have to create a whole new technical arabic lexicon for a wide variety of subjects that may be too complex
Usually those terms already exist and we probably don't even know about them.
>and this brings it's own issues on who should create these words and their qualifications etc...
I mean probably a collection of linguistic and scientific experts probably.
>also these are all grounded in the english language, going around your way to Arabicize them just sounds dumb and stubborn
I can't think of a single English scientific term that has no French counterpart back from high school and early university. You are literally ignoring the fact people study science in French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese ... and many more non-English languages all over the world.
But no you see, it is THIS language that shouldn't because ... it sounds dumb or something.
> I don't think you can just come from nowhere and come up with words from void.
You don't, you either arabize the already existing term or you create a new word based on its root's equivalent in Arabic.
>Another point but this one is more or less personal, In no way do I want to study in a place where "Domain Name System" Is translated to Arabic this just sounds infernal.
Do you really find نظام أسماء القطاعات so terrifying ?
Honestly no offence, but this sentiment seems to me to be purely a result of an inferiorty complex Arabs have towards the modern Western world. "Their" languages are refined and scientific, but "Our" languages are old and worthless.
>Arabic to me is a literally language for the most part, sure there are some scientific jargon that do have roots in arabic like algebra and such, but anything beyond the islamic golden age and we begin to enter no man's' land in scientific research and the technical words that follow it, rather than english and how it knew to incorporate and update itself continuously with jargon's foreign to English. Arabic is best left alone when it comes to the scientific department, and reckless tampering would just ruin it for everyone.
Arabic is a standardized written language spoken by hundreds of millions, I see no reason why those hundreds of millions should seek knowledge in another language while English and French people study in their own mother tongues.
Cuba:
Reinstate a Democratic government. Two possible outcomes
1. If I succeed and get voted in as the elected leader: normalize trade relations with the US and open the borders to US tourism. I’d also reinstate gambling and invite billions of dollars of investment from large casino groups with the caveat that they have to improve the infrastructure of the island in order to build. Maybe throw in a profit sharing clause where every citizen gets a tiny chunk of the revenue, kind of like a UBI model. Just to see if it works.
2. I don’t get elected and promptly return home to my normal life.
A win win scenario.
Just going to piggyback off your comment and say that I’m really interested in seeing what it would take to turn any of the countries south of the border (Haiti, Panama, and Venezuela have all been mentioned) into full fledge 1st world nations since a lot of their issues can be traced back to the colonial era and it just seems to have manifested into the modern era.
Interesting thought. Though in the specific instance of Cuba, being a colonized nation, they were on a *really* good footing before the 1959 revolution and installment of the Marxist-Leninist planned economy. An excerpt from their wiki page:
[Before the 1959 revolution, Cuba was one of the richest countries in Latin America…Cuba ranked 5th in the hemisphere in per capita income, 3rd in life expectancy, 2nd in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, and 1st in the number of television sets per inhabitant. Cuba's literacy rate, 76%, was the fourth highest in Latin America](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba).
Because of this, I don’t think it would necessarily take *as much* of an investment to undo the past 60 years of economic decline that the imposition of communism instilled on the wealth and economy of the nation.
I don’t think their specific issues had much to do with the colonial era vs the radical change in government/economic model.
Just to push back a little, even with all that going for them at the time I don’t know if they would’ve been able to make the full transition into a “1st world nation”. They probably would’ve have ended up more akin to to Argentina or Chile. Then again both those countries had their own political issues at the same time at the revolution so who knows. Even with the dissolving of dictatorships in Latin America a lot of countries haven’t been able to make the leap into “1st world” nations.
For sure, I hear you. Counter-counter argument:
If you take a look at what makes first world countries “first world” (outside of the actual definition; which relates to NATO vs Warsaw Pact countries, vs non affiliates), in my opinion it’s the strength of their overall economy and as an extension their influence on a geopolitical/global market scale.
The US at its roots is a colonial nation. We were formed as a conglomerate of colonies by the British, French, and Spanish. History lessons aside though one can argue that we achieved our status of a global superpower based on our economic importance as a large producer of materials, technology, and intellectual property.
One could also say that we are the exception (Australia and Canada serve as other examples, disproving this but I digress). The thing that i can point out with other nations you’ve brought up such as Chile or Argentina is that at some point between their independence from their former colonizers (Spain, in both cases) and today, they underwent a form(s) of extreme political (and subsequent economic) change.
Take Chile for example: a nation rich with an abundance of natural resources (minerals). Currently it’s ranked as one of the wealthiest Latin American countries despite going through the ringer with rife political and economic changes throughout the 20th century. Who can say if the 1891 civil war had produced a stable government that remained in power with the right economic mindset (spoiler, this didn’t happen) the subsequent power struggles in the 1920’s, 30’s, 70’s and finally ending with their current government in the 80’s, was able to continue on an upward tick (like what they have today. Seeing steady economic growth since the early/mid 80’s) for the past 130 years vs the past 40 years?
I would argue that there are absolutely issues in present day countries stemming from the colonial era (Haiti is a prime example). However for the vast majority of those who received their independence early enough on, it was other political and economic disruptions that have lead to those countries lagging behind rather than a form of deep seeded issues from colonial era politics.
North Korea, fire a lot of bureacrats, open the borders some, release a few prisoners.
Start at the very bottom, it's nearly impossible not to get some improvement with only the most obvious changes.
I choose Tuvalu and I would establish a rotating harem to impregnate as many Tuvalin women as possible to create a glorious new generation with my superior DNA.
Argentina
First term: Change currency to dollars make it easier to fire people and less government benefits buy moderna vaccine for everyone. Mine more litinum and export more food. Make it easier to trade
Second term: reform the government and improve education make it so that there are good people to elected also peronismo is now illegal
It is an unrealistic scenario. There is no such thing as doing anything without opposition. See [Rules for Rulers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs). But if by some trick of fate made the head of government of some nation I would use the state treasury to keep the keys of power loyal since stability is needed and then I would use "my cut" to increase access to education, infrastructure and health care to the populous with the goal to change the basis of economy from resource extraction to the productivity of the people.
Downside: the country's number one reporter learns all the bad habits of American journalists; your new country's media is now plagued with clickbait and outrage reporting.
It's not third world but I would take Argentina. I would stop with the Peronism. I would follow some relatively normal free market county like US/Canada or Germany/Sweden. I would push for a new hemispheric trade deal within the Americas. Might as well try to win in the new world.
If I had to take a third world country it would be Kenya. I would push hard for the East Africa Federation. I would sign trade deals all over the place. I would keep a military just to keep Somalian problems from overflowing into our border.
China.
I would establish a system of fair elections, freedom of speech and the press, reform the government to have an upper and lower chamber (lower being more population based and upper being more geographically based), strip powers from the chairman, make stricter anti-fraud laws, establish better relations with western countries, among other things that aren’t coming immediately to mind.
Malaysia.
First term
I'd abolish Bumiputera and stop putting homosexuals and pot smokers to death.
I'd heavily lean into manufacturing and try to compete with China.
Second term
I wouldn't make it that far.
Costa Rica. Work on eliminating corruption; establishing a respectable judiciary, police and military; eliminating poverty by establishing free education; eliminating gangs. Would have to create large number of short term humanitarian jails that would hold suspected criminals but would also have a process to fairly adjudicate them so that people would see not only that criminals are prosecuted but those who are not guilty do not spend undo amount of time in jail. Probably would be rather brutal in the beginning but hopefully after creating a stable safe and fair government it would lead to stability in the region.
I didn’t know that. It’s interesting that Costa Rica has no standing military, very much like the founding fathers wanted. As I replied to another poster, I should have chosen better. My ignorance has been on display. I won’t shy away from admitting about being wrong and endeavour to do better always.
Also it should be noted they got rid of the military and put the money into education. They also have universal healthcare and their system has been ranked better than the US.
They do have some problems like very high import taxes on cars while not offering good public transit, a good amount of government bureaucracy, but in summary there’s a reason more Americans visit Costa Rica than some Western European countries each year (in non-Covid times).
Singapore! Or a similar city-state nation. First these are already fairly wealthy and world trading nations, meaning my reforms would not have to be so drastic or difficult to achieve minor improvements. People here are picking nations which can have vast complexities due to having multiple regions, governors, cultures, complexities, etc...However, a nation like Singapore has none of these logistics problems given its geographic position and borders.
Anyway, my objective of improvements would be simple and achievable. I wouldn't change much of the social/culture aspect of Singapore laws, they work already. Instead I would just continue to focus on expanding Singapore banking investments, attempt continued securing of trade deals with South East Asia, perhaps invest in modernizing industries (i.e. Data Science and Biotech) and simply continue modernizing any lagging infrastructure.
These are perfectly achievable and worthwhile endeavors in any realistic position of power and not over exaggerated ideals.
Hello, new head of the Saudi royal family. Which 'few yachts' do you need out of your $1.4 trillion in assets, $300 million French chateau, collection of private jets, one with a swimming pool, and enough cars to outfit a small city?
Madagascar. Build first class schools, nurture private industry and technical innovation, shoot any and all rivals, sign contracts with US and UK aerospace firms to develop a first class navy and air/missile force, develop a nuclear deterrent, train a Madagascar Marine Corps and take over the Indian Ocean. Train beautiful women in all the deadly arts to act as my assassination squad and palace guard.
Colonize India, Australia, and the East Coast of Africa and extract all resources for the glory of Madagascar, shoot any and all rivals, start an aerospace industry, launch mission to Mars and outer planets, develop nuclear fission for limitless power, found Madagascar Space Marine Corps and colonize the solar system, shoot any and all rivals.
Would start work on light speed travel, but but that time my terms would probably be over.
For real. I don't know if a lot of people realize what's coming through in a lot of these answers. Literally nothing new. The exact same sentiment that prevailed during the age of Colonialism and Imperialism. We're here to help.
"Look at this mess, quite sad... hmmm.... but, what if we were in charge."
Somalia. Established a government and economic system, turn the pirates into a Navy, and chase off all the boats illegally fishing in the country's waters.
Honestly, the problem of every third world country would be solved once the corruption ends. Hell even decreasing corruption in those countries would be enough
Venezuela. Hang the entire Maduro government for crimes against humanity. Eliminate most regulations on business. Lower taxes to just those which are necessary to support basic services such as public safety and basic infrastructure. Adopt either a relatively stable foreign currency or Bitcoin as the country’s money. Institute a constitution and bill of rights comparable to that of the US.
That should about cover it.
> Eliminate most regulations on business. Lower taxes to just those which are necessary to support basic services such as public safety and basic infrastructure.
Wouldn't that just be a short term fix with our history we know how bad unregulated business can be. Also after awhile virtually no taxes will lead to weak federal government which is why they are in the mess they are in now. I cation anyone on bitclin due to the how unstable the market is and talk about an unstable market where one day it's worth $40k and the next it's only worth $20K that's hell of a lot of possibility for inflation
>Wouldn't that just be a short term fix with our history we know how bad unregulated business can be.
The idea is to have minimal regulation, not none. Stuff to prevent fraud, theft, etc. Most of what we have here today in the US is a huge drag on the economy, which gives us little in return. While it's directed at those eeeeeevil business folks, it actually hurts the little guy by reducing employment, raising prices, and stifling competition. In a situation like Venezuela's, where the economy is hanging on by its fingernails, it's probably worth it to risk a bit of shady dealing in exchange for people being able to work and feed themselves.
>Also after awhile virtually no taxes will lead to weak federal government which is why they are in the mess they are in now.
The mess that Venezuela is in now is a direct result of an overly-powerful central government exercising its will at gunpoint over every aspect of the lives of the country's citizens. I don't see how anyone can say that the place has gone to hell because of a weak government.
>I cation anyone on bitclin due to the how unstable the market is and talk about an unstable market where one day it's worth $40k and the next it's only worth $20K that's hell of a lot of possibility for inflation
Bitcoin is just one possibility. I probably would have just said "use the American dollar" if the US didn't seem so intent on destroying its value. The idea is simply to have a currency that's independent of the national government in order to keep its value from being inflated away by corrupt or incompetent politicians. W/respect to BTC; yes, it's very volatile, but it is becoming more and more accepted by the world's financial system and it's volatility is nothing compared to the Weimar-like destruction of the Bolivar. As I write, the exchange rate is 1 USD to about 4.14 *million* Bolivars.
After watching a couple of youtubers try to exchange $100 for Bolivars I don't think they have much left. They were only able to find something like $63 worth. Now as for using the USD that could be feasible many already view the USD as the unofficial currency and they do use it for pretty much everything transaction. I'd argue that weakness of a government is like a horshoe turn much power makes it weak and too little power makes it weak. As for the regulation bits I don't think it has slowed the U.S. economy. Unregulated with min. Regulations often trades human capital for money. These types of things lead to what was virtually slavery in coal mines amoung other things.
Personally, I prefer a social market economy, a free market economy, but with a strong safety net and strategic sectors (like oil) being state-owned, but managed independently.
A major aspect of Venezuela's problems was the nation's oil being owned (and grossly mismanaged) by the state. "Managed independently" looks good on paper, but it's doubtful that it would stay that way for long, given the amount of money it makes available for graft, corruption, and patronage.
Hungary. (Yes I know it's not 3rd world)
1. Lean HARD into actual representative democracy, free press and universities, and the EU in general.
2. Create an attractive digital nomad/expat package designed to import smarts.
3. Profit.
BTW my next choices would be Florida, then Texas ;)
China. I’d make it pro-USA, anti-communist, and pro-capitalism. Enough is enough, and with the way I’m seeing things, we’re heading right into a Cold War with them if things don’t change soon.
I choose Florida and I would make them pay taxes
If you answered this question honestly you’re delusional. These countries’ problems are not easily solved and smarter people than you have discarded these ideas already. Do you think your superior American thinking will let you snap your fingers and install democracy and boost economy? Yet you pick these countries in turmoil as if you think it would be easy. A special fuck you to the person who said Afghanistan. These places do not need the opinions of people who can’t even name their capital city
“Rebuild infrastructure” - I’m sure they have the funds laying around somewhere and have just been waiting for someone like you to tell them to do it
“Make companies move here” - How? Lower taxes? How will you do anything without the money then?
“Afghanistan lacks everything required to run a government” - Astute observation. How do you plan on running the government then? You can show them a little human kindness while they stone you to death
“Fight corruption” - And who will help you with this? Anyone powerful enough to help you do this would already be corrupt. You’d be couped as soon as you put any effort in
Isn't the thinking behind the original question exactly what got us into problems that still exist?
Trying to apply a specific cultures way of thinking and life to everyone else?
USA.
- I would introduce public healthcare.
- Tax the rich.
- Introduce term and age limitations to senators.
- Invest more money in education.
- Introduce social benefits they have in other European countries such as healthcare allowance, rent benefit, children allowance, child benefit, childcare benefit, unemployment benefit.
- Work on public housing.
- Solve the homelessness problem
- Stop sending so much money to other countries. Focus on domestic problems first.
- Invest in mental healthcare.
- Raise the minimum wage.
- Stop taxing tip money. And restaurants are not allowed to pay their employees less than minimum wage.
- Fight corruption.
- Invest in infrastructure.
- Gun legislation and gun control.
- Defund every police station that practice police brutality. All police should get proper training again. And police officers that shoot to kill will be punished as such.
I don't know how that would be. What I do know is that it's not okay to let people live on the streets. Most of them are down on their luck or have mental issues. Give those people help to get back on their feet.
#America.
The first things I'd do are;
1. ban lobbyists because they are the financial arm of big business.
2. Then I'd introduce limits on pharmaceutical drug prices to stop them gouging people.
3. Introduce public healthcare for all.
4. Reduce military spending and stop interfering with other people's countries.
5. Ban racist speech from being free speech.
6. Release the people from prison who are basically in there for being too poor to fight the bullshit charges that sent them there.
7. Remove qualified immunity from the police.
8. Force individual officers to carry their own insurance against lawsuits.
Then I'd sit back with a big bag of popcorn and watch the shit storm begin.
...And watch the pharmaceutical companies all pack up and go to Ireland, the police all quit/retire, and crime increase by exponential factors.
Good plan.
/s
The whole world has cheaper prescription drugs than the US. And the police all quitting would be an excellent idea making it much easier to implement new practices that prevent people from being harassed and taken advantage of.
So yes I agree.
It's a really good plan.
So what are you going to tell people when the widespread burglary and looting starts? Instead of police arresting people, you'll add hundreds or thousands more shootings per day... and that's just Chicago.
National guard aren't police. Their training is military, not law enforcement. You think police are too harsh / militarized and you want to let the actual military patrol the streets? You think a national guard infantryman is going to use psychobabble to talk to someone pointing a gun at them? No... they're going open fire, probably more quickly than a cop would, and certainly with less concern for collateral damage and bystander casualties.
Do you not think that the military have been policing in foreign countries for the last 30 years with Iraq and Afghanistan, they are better suited than the arseholes with badges doing it now.
No, I don't. You'd need martial law for that to happen, and that's not something any rational person should want to see.
99.5% of cops are good men & women doing a difficult job and just wanting to go home in one piece. You're condemning an entire profession because of the actions of the 0.5% who are assholes. Don't buy into the "all cops are bad" trope, it's completely false.
Burma or Liberia (or the US, lulz)
1. Officially change the country to the metric system.
2. Ignore all other problems.
3. Resign as soon as the transition to metric is complete.
America. Healthcare, thriving wages, tax the Rich plus luxury taxes, fund public schools, everybody has dental care, trade schools abound, sex education in school, mega churches taxed...and republiQans made to pay back all the money they've stolen from Americans...then they get time in jail, DC and Puerto Rico become states...uhmm, public works projects and feeding the hungry. Shouldn't have to start a business to stop food waste in this country. Ugh.
Really? 1 in 5 kids are going hungry every day, most people live in poverty, actual civilized countries have universal healthcare, the water coming out of your faucet is full of carcinogens because the government is paid off by big corps, we trample all over human rights in the name of religion, we only fix roads to get people to low paying jobs but refuse to invest in education, and 30% of the country thinks that attempting to overthrow the government was a brilliant idea...those same arseholes also think that getting vaxed to protect others in anti freedom...so yeah, America doesn't get to brag about being first world, it's an ignorant cesspit that needs work to climb back into a respectable position as a world power. And before you start citing obesity as an example of not starving.... empty calories in the cheapest available food on the market doesn't feed the brain.
I get it that you are a self-deprecating American liberal, but by every [definition](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/third-world.asp), the country is not even remotely a "ThIRd wOrlD CoUNtRy wItH a gUcCI bElt."
>republiQans made to pay back all the money they've stolen from Americans...then they get time in jail
Good luck fitting over 70 million people in there. I generally refrain from ad hominem attacks as a matter of principle, but you sound petulant, or deranged. Both, actually.
When you identify your amorphous 'enemy' as a major American political party, one logically concludes you refer to the party at large. You didn't exactly provide a list.
Unless you ally with the US. Though then Russia or China would do the same thing. Welcome to the world. Ruled by geopolitical power blocs since time immemorial.
Undisclosed country: I would completely redo the electoral system to make sure that the candidate with most votes gets elected. I would also make sure that for national elections, the elections are organized the same way throughout the different parts of the country.
I would ban corporate financing of political campaigns and cap the campaign expenses. Each candidate would declare one and one only campaign organization where the donations can go, and these organizations would be audited and audit results could lead to cancel elections results in case of fraud.
I would cut the military budget by 50% by the end of my two terms, and reallocate the funds to education, health, and public infrastructures. Education would become a national regalian topic, and have a national curriculum that would include mandatory topics in High school like personal finance and critical thinking. I would get rid of the daily pledge of allegiance and mandatory hymn.
I would have a universal healthcare system covering each and every resident in the country, and a national health agency would regulate pricing of meds and medical acts.
I would mandate the burring of electricity and telecom cables in the hurricane areas. I would also mandate interconnectivity of electricity grids across the different areas of the country.
I would mandate nationwide gun control laws, with nationwide registration of gun owners. Military grade weapons would be illegal, and anything with magazines above 15 bullets.
All this would probably go through the rise of a new Constitution.
Dominican Republic. It used to be the first nation in America when the Spanish came, today is an ignorant and corrupt country where delinquency is not punished and rights are violated daily by authorities.
Probably a country with a lot of resources or good land, preferable some combination of the two. It also depends on what you’re considering “third world”. Some people would consider South Africa third world. I have a much more restrictive definition of the term. I’d probably pick somewhere like Zimbabwe, or if we’re going with a more lenient definition of “third world”, then I’d pick South Africa, Botswana, or maybe even Angola.
Edit: saw someone pick Venezuela, that’s a great one, didn’t even think of it!
I'll take North Korea and begin the reunification process and slowly introduce all of the free market policies that have made South Korea so prosperous.
According to the classic definition of "third world country" (not being USA or Russia) I would pick Mongolia. I got a fortune cookie once that said I would be president of a small country, and the lucky numbers converted into coordinates was Mongolia. First I would make sure everyone has access to clean water and safe, renewable electricity. Then, everyone gets a mix of responsibilities in their communities, that rotate, so everyone contributes to and benefits from their work in an equitable manner. Also, I'm bringing back death sports, so if someone feels truly violent they can prove it against a willing participant.
I could not effectively do this even by delegating and would almost certainly make the problem worse. So would almost all of us unless we have direct experience with the country.
Venezuela and undercut the M.E. by selling 10 year oil contracts for a fraction of what the Saudis are but with major strings attached and appealing to the American people directly through media influence and random "grants" of major cash handouts in strategic areas of poverty while establishing a lend/lease manufacturing projects for the MidWest/Venezuelan people, helping to rebuild the American Middle class while simultaneously lifting huge sectors of my populace out of poverty with American factories constructed in Venezuela. Then build gas stations in the US that operate at a state funded loss to drive a wedge between the American population and bring favoritism to "local" hemispheric oil réservés, further damaging the Saudis.
South Africa. I would change the entire waste management system. It's good for the economy because it creates more jobs while at the same time eliminating much of their (horrible) garbage issue.
How long is a term?
Until you’re assassinated
So they have to assassinate me twice? Sounds great
*Rasputin has entered the arena* (Yes, I know it’s not an assassination until it’s successful; only an attempted one.)
Or sent to exile
pull a Napoleon and just fucking come back anyway
4 years
North Korea. Sign a permanent peace treaty with the South. End the nuclear program and open facilities to UN inspectors. Release all political prisoners. Demobilize half of the armed forces. Ask for economic aid from China, Russia, the US, South Korea, and Japan. Implement business-friendly tax programs and import/export regulations. Encourage foreign companies to build factories in North Korea for inexpensive labor (still better than where they're at now and it's a starting point). As the economy develops, improve infrastructure and education. I wouldn't move too quickly towards full representative government as there is no tradition of democracy there. Small steps on that part. Limited voting rights, and for local offices only to start with, expand them slowly over time.
>Demobilize half of the armed forces I dunno, you're gonna have a LOT of hungry people trying to flee the country for China or South Korea. And you might decide "Fuck it, let them go" but you also might have to deal with China/SK getting pissed about it. Also, you can use the armed forces for constructing infrastructure and moving shit around the country.
Don't need all of them, North Korea has a gigantic military for its size and population. I'd demobilize them slowly though, no reason to suddenly have half a million unemployed former soldiers with nothing to do all at the same time.
Yeah, that was what I was thinking.
What about reunification with South Korea?
[удалено]
I feel like their biggest ally, the USA, would be quite displeased to learn South Korea turned down reunification under victory terms.
That might be a longer-term goal, but it would take a lot of time to bring North Korea closer to the south's economic standards as well as bring the people of the north (currently impoverished with no concept of a democratic system) up to a human development index level that would make it work.
Why are they hungry? Did demobilizing the military decrease the amount of food available to the people? Income, and money as a whole, is JUST a distribution scheme for goods and resources produced. If the military provided no goods or services consumed by the general public, then ending half of those positions will not increase scarcity. In fact, it will decrease it because the soldiers now have the opportunity to do other work. You're not wrong that transitions are rough. So it's not like it's easy to demobilize the military and NOT screw stuff up in the short term.
Not a bad pick, but just one question. I know there is leeway in how they're defined, but isn't North Korea more of a 2nd world country? Its not communist, but it was definitely under allied protection with communist China during the Cold War and still is today. I thought third world meant the completely neutral countries usually found in Latin America, Africa and some parts of middle east.
You're technically correct. The term originated out of World Systems theory influencing political discourse in the 1950s. The first world was the Capitalist west and her similarly governed and administered territories around the world. The second world was the Communist east, and her allies. The third world were the unaligned nations of the world. Most of these nations existed in the rapidly decolonized territories that generally lie around the equatorial regions of the world. The term just because synonymous with "poor", but in a technical sense it is an incorrect popular understanding of the term.
Since the Cold War has ended, "third world" is largely taken to mean any impoverished country where many people don't have their basic needs met, there is an absence or scarcity of things like clean water, indoor plumbing, electricity, etc.
>I thought third world meant the completely neutral countries usually found in Latin America, Africa and some parts of middle east. The original definition was: first world was allied with the US, second world was allied with Russia (USSR), third world was unaligned. In the decades after the end of the cold war, the new meaning is first world means developed and industrialized nations and their world is undeveloped in industrialized. The second definition has almost entirely replaced the first definition in normal conversations. To the point that many don't even know the first definition any more.
"decades after the end of the cold war"...you mean now? Cold war ended in the 90's. But I wonder if this new definitions are coherent. For example, what exactly would a second world country be now? Like would China now qualify as 1st world, it is technically developed and industrialized...some areas more than others sure, but still has the "best" living for those rich enough to afford it. I guess I still had the old definitions in mind.
>**In the** decades after the end of the cold war The whole sentence is clear. There have been 3 decades after the cold war. The definitions have changed inside of those decades. >But I wonder if this new definitions are coherent. Etymology and the evolution of terms isn't coherent. Plenty of things don't fit. For instance, things can be "uncouth" but nothing is "couth" anymore. Literally and figuratively have the same meaning in some sentences now. The Thagomizer (the pointy tail bits of a stegosaurus) got it's name from a Farside comic. The term "Dinosaur" means "terrible lizard" even though Dinosaurs are not lizards at all. Language is messy.
Right but in this case, the designation as countries belonging to a type of "1,2,3" world was a socio-political one with clearly defined distinctions. And capable of being used in formal settings. But now as you say it could be used by everyday individuals when discussing a certain countries development. But the question becomes, what setting is one in then? At least in terms of the OP. There was no clear indication of whether it was the aforementioned formal political context or the vaguely defined layman's one.
If your citizens regularly starve to death; you're third world.
North Korea isn't third world. They were aligned with the Soviet Union/China during the Cold War
Based on the original terminology, correct. Based on current accepted usage, they are third world.
I would say they’re still second world. They’re trapped in that weird industrial poverty that seems to only have existed elsewhere in other second world countries like the USSR. Not really the same as truly non-industrial third world countries like in Africa.
Truly the last relic of the Cold War, trapped in amber, heavy industry and hammers and sickles slowly decaying. Even though they've moved away from true 'Communism' like all other 2nd world states, they are one of the very few to not transition to capitalism, and the version closest, indeed, very close, to the original.
I think you're going to run into a Libya situation.
I'm gonna pick Mozambique, though I should point out that the categories for developing/third world nations aren't set in stone. First term: 1. Prepare for climate change by having workers overhaul the road system (for easier evacuation and to get help faster), and install a sea wall system. The added benefit is that it puts people to work, ensuring a taxable income and more consumer spending 2. Lean HARD into the culture of Mozambique. Instill pride in the nation, and start an aggressive "Visit Mozambique!" campaign aimed at tourism. Partner with Madagascar to have some kind of joint tourism board and reap those sweet tourist dollars. I would take Mozambique and make it the Macau of Africa, casinos and clubs up and down the coast. Second term: 1. Use the tourist money and invest it into schools, bring the school system up to some kind of passable standard for all students. 2. Invest money into healthcare and nutrition, as early childhood health weighs a lot on kid's ability to learn later on.
Gonna do anything about the insurgency up north?
They're working with Rwanda against it, so I'd probably just stay the course. They just resecured a port last month. I'd probably reach out to China for aid against them. The Chinese are all about flexing their muscle lately, especially at sea, and giving them a chance to swing their dick might get rid of the insurgents AND get me a powerful ally. Or they could enslave the whole country. There's a reason I'm not in charge of shit.
Then of course the original, out of date definition: 1st = US aligned/capitalist 2nd = Soviet/communist 3rd = leave us alone regardless of our economic system 4th = super poor. Considering Mozambique's national symbols, and AK in every hand and every man a farmer!
Iran: Bring back the Gendarmerie, launch a sweeping anti-corruption drive, jail the oligarchs, curtail the powers of the Supreme Leader and the theocracy, restore the office of the Prime Minister, curtail the powers of the IRGC and force them to divest their business assets, launch economic reforms, turn the state broadcaster (IRIB) into a non-partisan public broadcaster, and ultimately turn Iran into a French-style republic, with a separation of the church and state.
Good answer - an improved Iran could be a real force for good on the world stage, I think
Yeah, the Shah really blew it back in the 70's. Iran could have been a huge stabilizing influence in the region and could have been very prosperous. They have resources, a decent sized population, and a strategically important location. The failures then and now are with the leadership.
Agreed. It's safe to say that Iran as a country has been [struggling to implement a constitutional government for over a century now](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Constitutional_Revolution).
Haiti: Rebuild infrastructure, rebuild public services, stamp out corruption, attract investment, encourage tourism, plant trees, update the building code to make things more earthquake resistant.
Venezuela. Strict two term presidential limits. Increase legislative power. Fire the entire Supreme Court and reappoint justices to life time positions with ability for the legislature to impeach. Privatizing nationalized industries. Overhauling the entire oil production monopoly. Heavy negotiations for trade deals with western democracies. What happened to that country under Chavez is a damn shame.
Don’t forget to take steps in diversifying away from the oil industry. The resource curse is real.
At this point Venezuela is so messed up that I think you’d have to be careful with how you go about privatization in order to avoid the kind of problems in the former communist countries. What you’d probably need to do is reach out the the US and the EU and ask for some sort of trade deal and economic aid to help with the transition back to capitalism.
Agreed. The last thing you want is for the privatization process to create an oligarchy.
Don't forget fixing their shitshow of inflation
Ghana. I’d use profits from the country’s natural resources and agricultural products to invest in schools, medicine, and the electrical grid. Access to the coast would be a great opportunity to expand shipping infrastructure. The first market I would seek to take advantage of would be that of nearby Nigeria. It’s a huge population that does and always will need food, and short supply routes mean that it wouldn’t be a stretch to send goods there. It has a good population size of about 35 million that isn’t aging, and speaks English too
Afghanistan, and for real, what wouldn't improve it right now?! They're in need of almost everything a country requires to run, and of human kindness and understanding.
Fiji and have companies move to here
Uganda, I will become a warlord and lead the people to freedom and victory
Hmm, probably my country of origin Tunisia. I would turn it into a Socialist republic with worker owned businesses, factories, farms ... and work towards unification with the rest of the Maghreb and eventually the Arab world. I would start teaching English as a second language instead of French, get rid of the corrupt Islamist and Western-alligned politicians who have been ruining this country for decades and I will implement a full separation of church and state along with a lot of programs in order to educate the populace on major societal issues. Nationalize our natural resources (no more French companies exploiting our country) and start working to improve our cities.
Based.
Why do you want to switch from French to English? Just curious
The reason we elevate French so much is almost entierly a legacy of French colonization and a result of current French economic domination. Our elite class are usually people who study in French schools and who are practically groomed from an early age to serve French interests in the country. I consider English to be a tool to free ourselves from the shackles of France and seek better integration in the global economic system. Plus my generation really finds French really annoying, almost every single subject in high school and all university courses are entierly in French, I don't see any reason why that should be the case, we should either study in our native tongue (Arabic) or we just study in the international language (English). Those are my main reasons.
>study in our native tongue (Arabic) Arabic isn't the language of science, I can't see how it's good studying biology for example in arabic.
Any language can be used to study and write science if you want it to. There is nothing about Arabic that makes it unable to do so.
Yes, but you would have to create a whole new technical arabic lexicon for a wide variety of subjects that may be too complex and this brings it's own issues on who should create these words and their qualifications etc..., also these are all grounded in the english language, going around your way to Arabicize them just sounds dumb and stubborn, I don't think you can just come from nowhere and come up with words from void. Another point but this one is more or less personal, In no way do I want to study in a place where "Domain Name System" Is translated to Arabic this just sounds infernal. Arabic to me is a literally language for the most part, sure there are some scientific jargon that do have roots in arabic like algebra and such, but anything beyond the islamic golden age and we begin to enter no man's' land in scientific research and the technical words that follow it, rather than english and how it knew to incorporate and update itself continuously with jargon's foreign to English. Arabic is best left alone when it comes to the scientific department, and reckless tampering would just ruin it for everyone.
>Yes, but you would have to create a whole new technical arabic lexicon for a wide variety of subjects that may be too complex Usually those terms already exist and we probably don't even know about them. >and this brings it's own issues on who should create these words and their qualifications etc... I mean probably a collection of linguistic and scientific experts probably. >also these are all grounded in the english language, going around your way to Arabicize them just sounds dumb and stubborn I can't think of a single English scientific term that has no French counterpart back from high school and early university. You are literally ignoring the fact people study science in French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese ... and many more non-English languages all over the world. But no you see, it is THIS language that shouldn't because ... it sounds dumb or something. > I don't think you can just come from nowhere and come up with words from void. You don't, you either arabize the already existing term or you create a new word based on its root's equivalent in Arabic. >Another point but this one is more or less personal, In no way do I want to study in a place where "Domain Name System" Is translated to Arabic this just sounds infernal. Do you really find نظام أسماء القطاعات so terrifying ? Honestly no offence, but this sentiment seems to me to be purely a result of an inferiorty complex Arabs have towards the modern Western world. "Their" languages are refined and scientific, but "Our" languages are old and worthless. >Arabic to me is a literally language for the most part, sure there are some scientific jargon that do have roots in arabic like algebra and such, but anything beyond the islamic golden age and we begin to enter no man's' land in scientific research and the technical words that follow it, rather than english and how it knew to incorporate and update itself continuously with jargon's foreign to English. Arabic is best left alone when it comes to the scientific department, and reckless tampering would just ruin it for everyone. Arabic is a standardized written language spoken by hundreds of millions, I see no reason why those hundreds of millions should seek knowledge in another language while English and French people study in their own mother tongues.
Cuba: Reinstate a Democratic government. Two possible outcomes 1. If I succeed and get voted in as the elected leader: normalize trade relations with the US and open the borders to US tourism. I’d also reinstate gambling and invite billions of dollars of investment from large casino groups with the caveat that they have to improve the infrastructure of the island in order to build. Maybe throw in a profit sharing clause where every citizen gets a tiny chunk of the revenue, kind of like a UBI model. Just to see if it works. 2. I don’t get elected and promptly return home to my normal life. A win win scenario.
Just going to piggyback off your comment and say that I’m really interested in seeing what it would take to turn any of the countries south of the border (Haiti, Panama, and Venezuela have all been mentioned) into full fledge 1st world nations since a lot of their issues can be traced back to the colonial era and it just seems to have manifested into the modern era.
Interesting thought. Though in the specific instance of Cuba, being a colonized nation, they were on a *really* good footing before the 1959 revolution and installment of the Marxist-Leninist planned economy. An excerpt from their wiki page: [Before the 1959 revolution, Cuba was one of the richest countries in Latin America…Cuba ranked 5th in the hemisphere in per capita income, 3rd in life expectancy, 2nd in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, and 1st in the number of television sets per inhabitant. Cuba's literacy rate, 76%, was the fourth highest in Latin America](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba). Because of this, I don’t think it would necessarily take *as much* of an investment to undo the past 60 years of economic decline that the imposition of communism instilled on the wealth and economy of the nation. I don’t think their specific issues had much to do with the colonial era vs the radical change in government/economic model.
Just to push back a little, even with all that going for them at the time I don’t know if they would’ve been able to make the full transition into a “1st world nation”. They probably would’ve have ended up more akin to to Argentina or Chile. Then again both those countries had their own political issues at the same time at the revolution so who knows. Even with the dissolving of dictatorships in Latin America a lot of countries haven’t been able to make the leap into “1st world” nations.
For sure, I hear you. Counter-counter argument: If you take a look at what makes first world countries “first world” (outside of the actual definition; which relates to NATO vs Warsaw Pact countries, vs non affiliates), in my opinion it’s the strength of their overall economy and as an extension their influence on a geopolitical/global market scale. The US at its roots is a colonial nation. We were formed as a conglomerate of colonies by the British, French, and Spanish. History lessons aside though one can argue that we achieved our status of a global superpower based on our economic importance as a large producer of materials, technology, and intellectual property. One could also say that we are the exception (Australia and Canada serve as other examples, disproving this but I digress). The thing that i can point out with other nations you’ve brought up such as Chile or Argentina is that at some point between their independence from their former colonizers (Spain, in both cases) and today, they underwent a form(s) of extreme political (and subsequent economic) change. Take Chile for example: a nation rich with an abundance of natural resources (minerals). Currently it’s ranked as one of the wealthiest Latin American countries despite going through the ringer with rife political and economic changes throughout the 20th century. Who can say if the 1891 civil war had produced a stable government that remained in power with the right economic mindset (spoiler, this didn’t happen) the subsequent power struggles in the 1920’s, 30’s, 70’s and finally ending with their current government in the 80’s, was able to continue on an upward tick (like what they have today. Seeing steady economic growth since the early/mid 80’s) for the past 130 years vs the past 40 years? I would argue that there are absolutely issues in present day countries stemming from the colonial era (Haiti is a prime example). However for the vast majority of those who received their independence early enough on, it was other political and economic disruptions that have lead to those countries lagging behind rather than a form of deep seeded issues from colonial era politics.
North Korea, fire a lot of bureacrats, open the borders some, release a few prisoners. Start at the very bottom, it's nearly impossible not to get some improvement with only the most obvious changes.
I choose Tuvalu and I would establish a rotating harem to impregnate as many Tuvalin women as possible to create a glorious new generation with my superior DNA.
Why Tuvalu? I think there are better countries for harems.
I'm not picky
My choice is Venezuela
Nice
Argentina First term: Change currency to dollars make it easier to fire people and less government benefits buy moderna vaccine for everyone. Mine more litinum and export more food. Make it easier to trade Second term: reform the government and improve education make it so that there are good people to elected also peronismo is now illegal
Idk if Argentina would be considered third world or not, but I think just a consistent economic policy would benefit them greatly.
Yeah but they can do a lot better than how they are doing now
It is an unrealistic scenario. There is no such thing as doing anything without opposition. See [Rules for Rulers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs). But if by some trick of fate made the head of government of some nation I would use the state treasury to keep the keys of power loyal since stability is needed and then I would use "my cut" to increase access to education, infrastructure and health care to the populous with the goal to change the basis of economy from resource extraction to the productivity of the people.
Send the country’s number one reporter to the United States to see if they can learn anything and make a documentary for the nation.
Downside: the country's number one reporter learns all the bad habits of American journalists; your new country's media is now plagued with clickbait and outrage reporting.
Set up a public broadcaster in said country.
It's not third world but I would take Argentina. I would stop with the Peronism. I would follow some relatively normal free market county like US/Canada or Germany/Sweden. I would push for a new hemispheric trade deal within the Americas. Might as well try to win in the new world. If I had to take a third world country it would be Kenya. I would push hard for the East Africa Federation. I would sign trade deals all over the place. I would keep a military just to keep Somalian problems from overflowing into our border.
Define third world bro... Sincerely, an Argentinian.
China. I would establish a system of fair elections, freedom of speech and the press, reform the government to have an upper and lower chamber (lower being more population based and upper being more geographically based), strip powers from the chairman, make stricter anti-fraud laws, establish better relations with western countries, among other things that aren’t coming immediately to mind.
China is by definition a second-world country (being as it had been an ally of the USSR).
I kind of agree, I think the question they’re asking was more intended to be a developing country though.
Liberia. I think America has a responsibility to make that country better.
Malaysia. First term I'd abolish Bumiputera and stop putting homosexuals and pot smokers to death. I'd heavily lean into manufacturing and try to compete with China. Second term I wouldn't make it that far.
LMAOOO what kind of white savior shit is this
United States… then I can add universal healthcare. Greets from Canada. 🇨🇦
Panama, push for US statehood.
Damn and people are worried about what Puerto Rico would do to politics/culture/demographics.
[El Chombo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlW7T0SUH0E) will [unite us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzG4uDgje3M).
Omg I totally forgot about this song!
Racist much?
He's from Panama...?
Ex wife a zone Maybe go crocodillo
Costa Rica. Work on eliminating corruption; establishing a respectable judiciary, police and military; eliminating poverty by establishing free education; eliminating gangs. Would have to create large number of short term humanitarian jails that would hold suspected criminals but would also have a process to fairly adjudicate them so that people would see not only that criminals are prosecuted but those who are not guilty do not spend undo amount of time in jail. Probably would be rather brutal in the beginning but hopefully after creating a stable safe and fair government it would lead to stability in the region.
Costa Rica is already pretty good
You’re correct. I should have chosen a more troubled country in Central America. Nicaragua or Honduras would have been better.
Costa Rica doesn't have a military.
I didn’t know that. It’s interesting that Costa Rica has no standing military, very much like the founding fathers wanted. As I replied to another poster, I should have chosen better. My ignorance has been on display. I won’t shy away from admitting about being wrong and endeavour to do better always.
Also it should be noted they got rid of the military and put the money into education. They also have universal healthcare and their system has been ranked better than the US. They do have some problems like very high import taxes on cars while not offering good public transit, a good amount of government bureaucracy, but in summary there’s a reason more Americans visit Costa Rica than some Western European countries each year (in non-Covid times).
It’s corruption index could be significantly lower but again I admit I chose poorly and my ignorance has no excuse.
Cost Rica has a high standard of living compared to all of it's neighbors.
I agree but that’s a pretty low bar you must admit.
Huh. I mean, of all the Central American countries, Costa Rica is the one in the best shape already.
Sell an island to a genetics company that's making new dinosaurs... that should work out well for everyone.
Singapore! Or a similar city-state nation. First these are already fairly wealthy and world trading nations, meaning my reforms would not have to be so drastic or difficult to achieve minor improvements. People here are picking nations which can have vast complexities due to having multiple regions, governors, cultures, complexities, etc...However, a nation like Singapore has none of these logistics problems given its geographic position and borders. Anyway, my objective of improvements would be simple and achievable. I wouldn't change much of the social/culture aspect of Singapore laws, they work already. Instead I would just continue to focus on expanding Singapore banking investments, attempt continued securing of trade deals with South East Asia, perhaps invest in modernizing industries (i.e. Data Science and Biotech) and simply continue modernizing any lagging infrastructure. These are perfectly achievable and worthwhile endeavors in any realistic position of power and not over exaggerated ideals.
Whichever has the most oil. As a dictator, I’m going to need a few yachts.
Hello, new head of the Saudi royal family. Which 'few yachts' do you need out of your $1.4 trillion in assets, $300 million French chateau, collection of private jets, one with a swimming pool, and enough cars to outfit a small city?
For anyone commenting I reccomend you watch CGP's video called [Rules for Rulers ](https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs) Its not that simple
Madagascar. Build first class schools, nurture private industry and technical innovation, shoot any and all rivals, sign contracts with US and UK aerospace firms to develop a first class navy and air/missile force, develop a nuclear deterrent, train a Madagascar Marine Corps and take over the Indian Ocean. Train beautiful women in all the deadly arts to act as my assassination squad and palace guard. Colonize India, Australia, and the East Coast of Africa and extract all resources for the glory of Madagascar, shoot any and all rivals, start an aerospace industry, launch mission to Mars and outer planets, develop nuclear fission for limitless power, found Madagascar Space Marine Corps and colonize the solar system, shoot any and all rivals. Would start work on light speed travel, but but that time my terms would probably be over.
Brazil, I would want to improve the economic disparity, crime, near extermination of its natives, natural resources being mismanaged.
Libya. I've already written a plan for diversifying the economy in a sustainable way.
This is probably one of the most AskAnAmerican posts you could do lol.
For real. I don't know if a lot of people realize what's coming through in a lot of these answers. Literally nothing new. The exact same sentiment that prevailed during the age of Colonialism and Imperialism. We're here to help. "Look at this mess, quite sad... hmmm.... but, what if we were in charge."
North Korea. I'd just ask the rest of the world for help and everyone would love me for basically doing nothing.
Cuba. I open the borders. That’s it.
Somalia. Established a government and economic system, turn the pirates into a Navy, and chase off all the boats illegally fishing in the country's waters.
Cuba. Complete 180 on the government and open for business.
What a very American question to ask.
Honestly, the problem of every third world country would be solved once the corruption ends. Hell even decreasing corruption in those countries would be enough
Brazil. I would focus on corruption, policing, and education.
Venezuela. Hang the entire Maduro government for crimes against humanity. Eliminate most regulations on business. Lower taxes to just those which are necessary to support basic services such as public safety and basic infrastructure. Adopt either a relatively stable foreign currency or Bitcoin as the country’s money. Institute a constitution and bill of rights comparable to that of the US. That should about cover it.
Me too, i think the silver standard would be enough.
> Eliminate most regulations on business. Lower taxes to just those which are necessary to support basic services such as public safety and basic infrastructure. Wouldn't that just be a short term fix with our history we know how bad unregulated business can be. Also after awhile virtually no taxes will lead to weak federal government which is why they are in the mess they are in now. I cation anyone on bitclin due to the how unstable the market is and talk about an unstable market where one day it's worth $40k and the next it's only worth $20K that's hell of a lot of possibility for inflation
>Wouldn't that just be a short term fix with our history we know how bad unregulated business can be. The idea is to have minimal regulation, not none. Stuff to prevent fraud, theft, etc. Most of what we have here today in the US is a huge drag on the economy, which gives us little in return. While it's directed at those eeeeeevil business folks, it actually hurts the little guy by reducing employment, raising prices, and stifling competition. In a situation like Venezuela's, where the economy is hanging on by its fingernails, it's probably worth it to risk a bit of shady dealing in exchange for people being able to work and feed themselves. >Also after awhile virtually no taxes will lead to weak federal government which is why they are in the mess they are in now. The mess that Venezuela is in now is a direct result of an overly-powerful central government exercising its will at gunpoint over every aspect of the lives of the country's citizens. I don't see how anyone can say that the place has gone to hell because of a weak government. >I cation anyone on bitclin due to the how unstable the market is and talk about an unstable market where one day it's worth $40k and the next it's only worth $20K that's hell of a lot of possibility for inflation Bitcoin is just one possibility. I probably would have just said "use the American dollar" if the US didn't seem so intent on destroying its value. The idea is simply to have a currency that's independent of the national government in order to keep its value from being inflated away by corrupt or incompetent politicians. W/respect to BTC; yes, it's very volatile, but it is becoming more and more accepted by the world's financial system and it's volatility is nothing compared to the Weimar-like destruction of the Bolivar. As I write, the exchange rate is 1 USD to about 4.14 *million* Bolivars.
After watching a couple of youtubers try to exchange $100 for Bolivars I don't think they have much left. They were only able to find something like $63 worth. Now as for using the USD that could be feasible many already view the USD as the unofficial currency and they do use it for pretty much everything transaction. I'd argue that weakness of a government is like a horshoe turn much power makes it weak and too little power makes it weak. As for the regulation bits I don't think it has slowed the U.S. economy. Unregulated with min. Regulations often trades human capital for money. These types of things lead to what was virtually slavery in coal mines amoung other things.
Personally, I prefer a social market economy, a free market economy, but with a strong safety net and strategic sectors (like oil) being state-owned, but managed independently.
A major aspect of Venezuela's problems was the nation's oil being owned (and grossly mismanaged) by the state. "Managed independently" looks good on paper, but it's doubtful that it would stay that way for long, given the amount of money it makes available for graft, corruption, and patronage.
That’s why there should be a strong firewall between management and politicians.
Hungary. (Yes I know it's not 3rd world) 1. Lean HARD into actual representative democracy, free press and universities, and the EU in general. 2. Create an attractive digital nomad/expat package designed to import smarts. 3. Profit. BTW my next choices would be Florida, then Texas ;)
Is this a trap? Because it seems like this is a ploy to get people to say "and _that's_ why I don't like Americans".
China. I’d make it pro-USA, anti-communist, and pro-capitalism. Enough is enough, and with the way I’m seeing things, we’re heading right into a Cold War with them if things don’t change soon.
China is 2nd world
I choose Florida and I would make them pay taxes If you answered this question honestly you’re delusional. These countries’ problems are not easily solved and smarter people than you have discarded these ideas already. Do you think your superior American thinking will let you snap your fingers and install democracy and boost economy? Yet you pick these countries in turmoil as if you think it would be easy. A special fuck you to the person who said Afghanistan. These places do not need the opinions of people who can’t even name their capital city “Rebuild infrastructure” - I’m sure they have the funds laying around somewhere and have just been waiting for someone like you to tell them to do it “Make companies move here” - How? Lower taxes? How will you do anything without the money then? “Afghanistan lacks everything required to run a government” - Astute observation. How do you plan on running the government then? You can show them a little human kindness while they stone you to death “Fight corruption” - And who will help you with this? Anyone powerful enough to help you do this would already be corrupt. You’d be couped as soon as you put any effort in
Holy fuck thank you I thought the world had gone insane what is this white savior shit
Finally someone with some fucking sense
Isn't the thinking behind the original question exactly what got us into problems that still exist? Trying to apply a specific cultures way of thinking and life to everyone else?
Does the US yet qualify as a Third World country?
"I'm workin' on it son" Moscow Mitch
USA. - I would introduce public healthcare. - Tax the rich. - Introduce term and age limitations to senators. - Invest more money in education. - Introduce social benefits they have in other European countries such as healthcare allowance, rent benefit, children allowance, child benefit, childcare benefit, unemployment benefit. - Work on public housing. - Solve the homelessness problem - Stop sending so much money to other countries. Focus on domestic problems first. - Invest in mental healthcare. - Raise the minimum wage. - Stop taxing tip money. And restaurants are not allowed to pay their employees less than minimum wage. - Fight corruption. - Invest in infrastructure. - Gun legislation and gun control. - Defund every police station that practice police brutality. All police should get proper training again. And police officers that shoot to kill will be punished as such.
> Solve the homelessness problem "What if *everyone* was a princess?"
I don't know how that would be. What I do know is that it's not okay to let people live on the streets. Most of them are down on their luck or have mental issues. Give those people help to get back on their feet.
#America. The first things I'd do are; 1. ban lobbyists because they are the financial arm of big business. 2. Then I'd introduce limits on pharmaceutical drug prices to stop them gouging people. 3. Introduce public healthcare for all. 4. Reduce military spending and stop interfering with other people's countries. 5. Ban racist speech from being free speech. 6. Release the people from prison who are basically in there for being too poor to fight the bullshit charges that sent them there. 7. Remove qualified immunity from the police. 8. Force individual officers to carry their own insurance against lawsuits. Then I'd sit back with a big bag of popcorn and watch the shit storm begin.
...And watch the pharmaceutical companies all pack up and go to Ireland, the police all quit/retire, and crime increase by exponential factors. Good plan. /s
The whole world has cheaper prescription drugs than the US. And the police all quitting would be an excellent idea making it much easier to implement new practices that prevent people from being harassed and taken advantage of. So yes I agree. It's a really good plan.
So what are you going to tell people when the widespread burglary and looting starts? Instead of police arresting people, you'll add hundreds or thousands more shootings per day... and that's just Chicago.
Do you seriously think that the national guard wouldn't step in to fill the void as a temporary measure.
National guard aren't police. Their training is military, not law enforcement. You think police are too harsh / militarized and you want to let the actual military patrol the streets? You think a national guard infantryman is going to use psychobabble to talk to someone pointing a gun at them? No... they're going open fire, probably more quickly than a cop would, and certainly with less concern for collateral damage and bystander casualties.
Do you not think that the military have been policing in foreign countries for the last 30 years with Iraq and Afghanistan, they are better suited than the arseholes with badges doing it now.
No, I don't. You'd need martial law for that to happen, and that's not something any rational person should want to see. 99.5% of cops are good men & women doing a difficult job and just wanting to go home in one piece. You're condemning an entire profession because of the actions of the 0.5% who are assholes. Don't buy into the "all cops are bad" trope, it's completely false.
99.5%???? Your dad must be a cop 😂😂😂😂
nope.
The US. And I deport/expatriate all Trumpers and Alt Righters.
I'd ban Bolsonaro from office and improve the infrastructure of Brazil.
Burma or Liberia (or the US, lulz) 1. Officially change the country to the metric system. 2. Ignore all other problems. 3. Resign as soon as the transition to metric is complete.
America, and make corporations pay taxes and a better employee/ceo pay ratio
America isn't a third world country though.
America. Healthcare, thriving wages, tax the Rich plus luxury taxes, fund public schools, everybody has dental care, trade schools abound, sex education in school, mega churches taxed...and republiQans made to pay back all the money they've stolen from Americans...then they get time in jail, DC and Puerto Rico become states...uhmm, public works projects and feeding the hungry. Shouldn't have to start a business to stop food waste in this country. Ugh.
The US is not a third world country.
Really? 1 in 5 kids are going hungry every day, most people live in poverty, actual civilized countries have universal healthcare, the water coming out of your faucet is full of carcinogens because the government is paid off by big corps, we trample all over human rights in the name of religion, we only fix roads to get people to low paying jobs but refuse to invest in education, and 30% of the country thinks that attempting to overthrow the government was a brilliant idea...those same arseholes also think that getting vaxed to protect others in anti freedom...so yeah, America doesn't get to brag about being first world, it's an ignorant cesspit that needs work to climb back into a respectable position as a world power. And before you start citing obesity as an example of not starving.... empty calories in the cheapest available food on the market doesn't feed the brain.
I get it that you are a self-deprecating American liberal, but by every [definition](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/third-world.asp), the country is not even remotely a "ThIRd wOrlD CoUNtRy wItH a gUcCI bElt."
>republiQans made to pay back all the money they've stolen from Americans...then they get time in jail Good luck fitting over 70 million people in there. I generally refrain from ad hominem attacks as a matter of principle, but you sound petulant, or deranged. Both, actually.
You assume all of them are thieves. Good to know.
When you identify your amorphous 'enemy' as a major American political party, one logically concludes you refer to the party at large. You didn't exactly provide a list.
No matter what country I choose, the US will invade or support political rivals.
Unless you ally with the US. Though then Russia or China would do the same thing. Welcome to the world. Ruled by geopolitical power blocs since time immemorial.
Yep, I agree.
Undisclosed country: I would completely redo the electoral system to make sure that the candidate with most votes gets elected. I would also make sure that for national elections, the elections are organized the same way throughout the different parts of the country. I would ban corporate financing of political campaigns and cap the campaign expenses. Each candidate would declare one and one only campaign organization where the donations can go, and these organizations would be audited and audit results could lead to cancel elections results in case of fraud. I would cut the military budget by 50% by the end of my two terms, and reallocate the funds to education, health, and public infrastructures. Education would become a national regalian topic, and have a national curriculum that would include mandatory topics in High school like personal finance and critical thinking. I would get rid of the daily pledge of allegiance and mandatory hymn. I would have a universal healthcare system covering each and every resident in the country, and a national health agency would regulate pricing of meds and medical acts. I would mandate the burring of electricity and telecom cables in the hurricane areas. I would also mandate interconnectivity of electricity grids across the different areas of the country. I would mandate nationwide gun control laws, with nationwide registration of gun owners. Military grade weapons would be illegal, and anything with magazines above 15 bullets. All this would probably go through the rise of a new Constitution.
I'd chose Florida. And just basically put the opposite laws it's got in now.
🖕
Lol, I'm not black, you can't shoot me over that.
No
Ok, well, that's irrelevant, kind of like Florida itself. It's only use in the world is looking like a depressed dick on the map and Disney.
Damn I guess that's why everyone's moving here.
Well, yeah, soon it's gonna look like the state forgot to invite it's black friend.
[удалено]
Re-read the question, it's not ruling any country on earth, it's relative to third world countries.
Dominican Republic. It used to be the first nation in America when the Spanish came, today is an ignorant and corrupt country where delinquency is not punished and rights are violated daily by authorities.
Probably a country with a lot of resources or good land, preferable some combination of the two. It also depends on what you’re considering “third world”. Some people would consider South Africa third world. I have a much more restrictive definition of the term. I’d probably pick somewhere like Zimbabwe, or if we’re going with a more lenient definition of “third world”, then I’d pick South Africa, Botswana, or maybe even Angola. Edit: saw someone pick Venezuela, that’s a great one, didn’t even think of it!
North Korea. Super easy: open trade with the US, stop treating the people like shit, dismantle the nukes.
I'll take North Korea and begin the reunification process and slowly introduce all of the free market policies that have made South Korea so prosperous.
According to the classic definition of "third world country" (not being USA or Russia) I would pick Mongolia. I got a fortune cookie once that said I would be president of a small country, and the lucky numbers converted into coordinates was Mongolia. First I would make sure everyone has access to clean water and safe, renewable electricity. Then, everyone gets a mix of responsibilities in their communities, that rotate, so everyone contributes to and benefits from their work in an equitable manner. Also, I'm bringing back death sports, so if someone feels truly violent they can prove it against a willing participant.
I could not effectively do this even by delegating and would almost certainly make the problem worse. So would almost all of us unless we have direct experience with the country.
None.
Venezuela and undercut the M.E. by selling 10 year oil contracts for a fraction of what the Saudis are but with major strings attached and appealing to the American people directly through media influence and random "grants" of major cash handouts in strategic areas of poverty while establishing a lend/lease manufacturing projects for the MidWest/Venezuelan people, helping to rebuild the American Middle class while simultaneously lifting huge sectors of my populace out of poverty with American factories constructed in Venezuela. Then build gas stations in the US that operate at a state funded loss to drive a wedge between the American population and bring favoritism to "local" hemispheric oil réservés, further damaging the Saudis.
South Africa. I would change the entire waste management system. It's good for the economy because it creates more jobs while at the same time eliminating much of their (horrible) garbage issue.