Contrary to what many billionaires probably tell themselves, being wealthy doesn’t necessarily make you brilliant. And we should all be open to learning new ways of doing things, even if those methods have actually been around for centuries!
Reddit users have recently been discussing things that low-income nations do much better than affluent countries, so we’ve gathered some of their most insightful responses below. From working together as a community to minimizing waste, be sure to upvote the replies you agree with, and don’t hesitate to take a few notes from these clever countries!
#1
Reuse things.
So many things get fixed, recycled and repurposed.
106points
#4
Food, almost every 'poor' country (not a phrase i like) i've visited has had a far healthier relationship with their food, not just the quality of the food but also the way they treat meal times, even though many people have less food.
Its generalising but in poorer countries food is much more communual, the quality of the raw ingredients is far better, the time taken to prepare meals is different etc.
Obviously in some richer countries like France/Spain/Italy they also have a good food culture.
But if you look at places like the UK/US the quality of the food has deterioriated so badly over the last 50 years, people see eating meals as a chore to grind out and they want the least hassle highest fat/sugar/carb options they can get.
I've been to India, parts of the Middle East, parts of South America and their relationship with food is just completely different to how things are in the UK
71points
#5
Speaking as an American, healthcare.
My gf had to fly to a third world country to get dental care for a fraction of the cost and the same quality of care. Her dentist here even admitted the work was very well done. That’s pretty sad that people have to resort to these things.
Edit: Country was Ecuador.
62points
#6
Social contact. The first thing my relatives from India observe when they visit our suburban texas home is where are all the people?! Hundreds of massive homes and hardly any people seen outside.
Also, noise. Asked the visiting relative the next morning if they slept okay, they responded, "No." I asked why? And they said it was too eerily quiet! [:facepalm:]
59points
#7
Street food, street markets, and public spaces.
57points
#8
Family bonds.
The western world is so full of depressed, lonely people because it's so focused on 'the grind' and comparing oneself to everyone else.
Poorer people often have close family ties, probably out of necessity, and a much stronger sense of community.
48points
#9
People take care of each other
46points
#10
Problem solving capabilities with less resource. Creative work
43points
#11
Way more resourceful with what they have
38points
#12
cope.
live with less.
learn to make do.
and ultimately, survive.
rich countries are going to have it the hardest when the supply chains fail.
37points
#13
Flexibility and resilience.
People in rich countries like to plan and anticipate. They are organized. It's great when everything goes according to plan but all hell breaks loose when things go haywire.
People in poor countries are better at dealing with uncertainty.
People in rich countries like to plan and anticipate. They are organized. It's great when everything goes according to plan but all hell breaks loose when things go haywire.
People in poor countries are better at dealing with uncertainty.
36points
#15
Repairing cars. I’ve seen teenagers pull apart a engine on the side of the road and fix it, in America the whole car would have been thrown away
33points
#17
They seem to have a better sense of community
28points
#18
Care of the elderly and mentally ill. In poor countries families consider I a responsibility.
28points
#20
Ironically, a far lesser carbon footprint.
27points