This post is inspired by something written by 
There is actually a lot I want to say about the Hive ecosystem and how to keep the price up that was inspired by his post but first I feel I need to build some consensus around how to start to discuss such issues because much of our user base comes from countries that have widespread economic instability. I think we should be treating each other with respect regardless of where we live, where we are from and our economic situation. (and there is no guarantee that some 1st world nations won’t find themselves in similar situations where employment starts to dry up or cost of living goes up).
This article will undoubtably have the bias of someone who grew up in America and moved to Japan, so please bear with me.
I don’t want to beat around the bush with this, we all know that some countries have more wealth floating around than others. It’s not always an easy topic to discuss because we have our own experiences of the world which are not always easy to imagine. Nobody wants to be poor, or at least most people don’t. Many feel shame if others view them as poor. I do not because I think quality of character, intentions, thoughts and ability are what define someone, but poverty and economic difficulty are not things people aspire to and so they are no things people feel pride about.
No one needs to feel pressure to share their economic situation, but I don’t think they should be discouraged from having discussions about the disparity between rich and poor and life in one country versus another, regardless of where they are coming from. The best solution to problems will come from a variety of perspectives.
Quality of life is not equal to monetary wealth either, as the cost of living and the cost of luxury can vary greatly. I know people who make lots of money and live in shitty apartments and others who make very little and have their own land where they live peacefully.
I think this is a topic that we shouldn’t just discuss more openly but actively seek out once we build a rapport because we have a unique opportunity to learn from such a wide range of geographic, ethnic and economic backgrounds here, building a culture together. There will also be other benefits to our diversity as well and we stand the most to gain by discussing things honestly, not shying away from difficult topics, but being eager to listen as much as we are eager to speak.
It becomes complicated and uncomfortable if people start asking for money sometimes so this is not something I think we should encourage much of, but if we can look all good people as equals and swallow our pride a little, we can talk more openly about the situations of our neighborhoods and hometowns.
For someone from the US or Japan(where I’m from and where I live) these are just words we use to describe a country with certain situation but there are stereotypes and images that people make in connection.
This word is a little uncomfortable for me because I don’t want to create a hierarchy of ideas that places me or my country above the person I am talking to, especially if they think deep thoughts and feel empathy for others. I don’t want to give them any impression that they are below me. I also don’t want to focus on the problems these countries have unless they are relevant to the conversation. I don’t want to pity anyone. I want to respect them.
The framing feels a little strange at times. Japan has had the highest rate of suicide in the world and I haven’t checked but US is up there when it comes to gun violence and has huge problems of homelessness, education and healthcare but it is always hailed as the top because it’s economic and military power. Meanwhile the other two most powerful countries in the world have huge problems with freedom of speech and human rights. Why then do we always use a term with a negative connotation to refer to many of the countries in Africa, South America, the Middle East and South East Asia?
I guess it’s because economics influence a lot of other parts of life, including the overall lifestyle and the divide between rich and poor. (I believe that one of the nicest things about Japan is that the gap between rich and poor is far smaller than in most of the world, that’s not to say it’s without problems though!).
I am not the type to hide my opinions behind politically correctness, so I still may say “third world”, but make no mistake, this is not derogatory. This is just a way to talk about the overall economic situation and things like water systems, electric grids and transportation. I do not wish to shame you. If there is a better word please let me know and if it feels right I’ll probably start using it.
So I want to talk about economic disparity openly, but the thing I do not want to do is to impose certain ideals on others because certain things are common sense where I come from. There is a kind of mental or cultural colonialism that I think is quite prevalent, where we think that every country should be emulating the ones that have higher GDP’s and more widely spread pop culture. I don’t want to say that a “western education” or “western medicine” is better just because it is more widely adopted and integrated into more economically abundant nations. It CAN be better but not necessarily. Let us discuss whether it is or not and not feel the need to impose our view on others.
I also want to detach myself from my own biases as much as possible when talking about cultural practices. “You should get married by (insert age).” Or “You should go to college if you want to be successful.” These are very blanket statements, and I think it really depends on the kind of life you want to live, where you want to live it, and how willing you are to go against what is considered the norm.
So “first world, third world” it feels like a very “western” centric way to view the world. How do you view it?
Perhaps it’s just a messy topic and that’s why people avoid it and perhaps I’m more willing to talk about it because I came from an economically secure place, took many risks, lived life on my terms and ended up rather low on the scale of economic security. But wait a second...shouldn’t that make me more ashamed of my economic status since I only have myself to blame for my economic situation? I think it’s the variety of lifestyles that I have seen and the variety of friends I have that makes it something I am so willing to talk about. I can have homeless friends and friends who are CEO’s and everything in between.
I don’t think we should be getting overly awkward or embarrassed about this topic, as long as the person we are talking to wants to listen and as long as we aren’t saying anything that might sound like begging, as long as no one manipulated their relationships for economic gain, that’s not an honest relationship.
Some shallow people will define you by how much you have in the bank or what kind of car you drive but many others will define you by the kind of relationships you build or what you choose to do with your life, and I think we’ll all be happier if we can try and tackle this uncomfortable topic together.
I’m curious, and I hope people respond:
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