Thread by @Noahpinion

🇮🇳: We're going to skip industry and go directly to services!

🇧🇩: We make shirts

🇮🇳: We're going to ban physical money!

🇧🇩: Buy our shirts

🇮🇳: Here's an incredibly complicated tax plan!

🇧🇩: Would you like a shirt?

🇮🇳: Education? Who needs it!!

🇧🇩: Shirts

🇵🇰: We will smash India and retake Kashmir

🇧🇩: We also make pants

🇵🇰: Down with Islamophobia (unless it's in China)!

🇧🇩: Buy our pants

🇵🇰: Let's prop up our exchange rate and get bailed out by the IMF!

🇧🇩: Pants

🇵🇰: We have nuclear bombs!!!

🇧🇩: These pants are the bomb

🇻🇳: Psst, guys, you should make electronics too

🇧🇩: ?? We make shirts. And pants.

🇻🇳: Electronics are higher value-added, and help you move up the value chain

🇧🇩: Can people wear them?

🇻🇳: And electronics facilitate idea spillovers...

🇧🇩: But...shirts...pants...

🇻🇳: ...

🇮🇩: We used to make shirts and pants and electronics, but then we stopped

🇻🇳,🇧🇩: Why?

🇮🇩: Because we realized it's easier to chop down trees and dig up rocks instead

🇻🇳,🇧🇩: But how will you advance beyond lower middle income?

🇮🇩: That's tomorrow. Today is today!

🇻🇳,🇧🇩: ...

🇪🇹: We make shirt and pants too!

🇧🇩: Welcome, brother!!

🇪🇹: But we're taking a quick break to shoot some minorities

🇧🇩: Wait, why??

🇪🇹: Well, you know...you can't have them mininority-ing all over the place.

🇲🇲: Welcome, brother!!

🇲🇾: Keep at it, folks! Keep making electronics and you can get rich like me?

🇧🇩,🇻🇳,🇮🇩,🇪🇹: 😍

🇰🇷: Oh yeah, why don't you tell them how to build a domestic car industry

🇲🇾: Hush, you!

🇹🇷,🇵🇱: You could just make cars for 🇩🇪 like us!

🇮🇩: Hey 🇵🇱, you're just us but upside down 😀

🇳🇬: Guys, how do you do this "development" thing?

🇻🇳: Well, first you should have political unity.

🇧🇩: And it helps not to have much oil, avoid the Resource Curse.

🇮🇩: And you should integrate Islamists peacefully into your political process.

🇳🇬: ... ...OK, what is plan B?

🇵🇭: Question: Does it help if I have highly unequal land ownership?

🇧🇷: No.

🇵🇭: What if I elect a right-wing crazy man who promises to kill all the bad people?

🇧🇷: Nope, don't do that either.

🇵🇭: How about deforestation? Is that good?

🇧🇷: Wait, are you *taking notes*???

🇨🇳: Buahaha, I am the CHAMPION! Y'all are amateurs!

🇮🇳,🇮🇩,🇻🇳,🇧🇩: 😍 What's your secret?

🇨🇳: OK first, terrorize the populace with hunger and political chaos for 30 years so they embrace growth at any cost...

🇮🇳,🇮🇩,🇻🇳,🇧🇩: ...

🇨🇳: Yes?

🇧🇩: ...Can we just make some shirts?

🇺🇸: No no, you're doing it all wrong

🇮🇳,🇮🇩,🇻🇳,🇧🇩: Wait, what?

🇺🇸: Stop subsidizing exports, stop picking winners, just deregulate, cut taxes, and float your exchange rate!

🇮🇳,🇮🇩,🇻🇳,🇧🇩: You mean, like you did back when you were developing?

🇺🇸: ...uhh...um...well...😅

🇬🇧: Why are you all trying to develop? Growth will just kill the planet! Degrowth is the answer

🇮🇳🇧🇩🇵🇰🇲🇾🇲🇲🇳🇬: Oh God, not YOU again...

🇬🇧: Forget about GDP. Useless metric. What you should really care about is --

🇮🇳🇧🇩🇵🇰🇲🇾🇲🇲🇳🇬: SHUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUP

🇯🇵: Gather round, children, and I will tell you the secret to development!

🇮🇳,🇧🇩,🇻🇳,🇮🇩: Yes, gramps? What is it?

🇯🇵: It's, uh...hold on, let me remember..

🇮🇳,🇧🇩,🇻🇳,🇮🇩: Yes? Yes???

🇯🇵: 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, and...no wait, that's something else...

🇮🇳,🇧🇩,🇻🇳,🇮🇩: Noooo 😭

🇳🇬: OK, what if you're dependent on natural resources?

🇧🇼: Just save money and invest in education and health.

🇳🇬: ...

🇧🇼: And keep your currency cheap.

🇳🇬: ...

🇧🇼: And do a hostile takeover of the foreign company that owns your resources.

🇳🇬: ...OK, what is plan C?

🇲🇾: You know this thread has to end by acknowledging that 🇰🇷 is best.

🇧🇩: 🇰🇷 is best!

🇻🇳: 🇰🇷 is best!

🇮🇩: 🇰🇷 is best!

🇵🇭: 🇰🇷 is best!

🇮🇳: 🇰🇷 is best!

🇰🇵: 🇰🇷 is an impoverished hellhole full of beggars

🇨🇳: 🇰🇷 is 2nd best!

🇺🇸: 🇰🇷 is best!

(end)