NZ and 'third world' lessons for politicians and businesspeople

South Korea was once 'third world'. (Image: Getty)

Mon, 09 Oct 2023

New Zealand’s sense of self-worth largely consists of us convincing ourselves we are better than countries we have traditionally looked down on. Every election, politicians in government try to tell us we are well on the way to becoming a South Pacific Scandinavia, while opposition parties warn us we are a whisker away from losing our first world food basket status and becoming a “third world” basket case. Yet sometimes the terms of this comparison can shift even while we are looking down our noses at our neighbour...

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