If you follow politics it’s not uncommon to hear from some how other countries are better places to live than America or do things better. So one of the things I’ve wanted to do was to look at rankings of other countries and see how things shaped out. The fact is though when you look at rankings of the best countries to live in there clearly is a trend with those countries in regards to their ethnic makeup. Typically more monolithic regarding race, in other words not very diverse ethnically, and predominantly white or Asian. The other trend though is the population of those countries. Those countries also tend to have small populations, often very small populations. The other likely aspect to component to this would be immigration. It is fair to say that countries with small populations typically have more restrictive immigration policies. Logically you cannot have loose immigration laws and then also provide things like universal health coverage. What about the worst countries of the world to live in? As you research this you will find that the majority of the populations in these countries are non-white or Asain.
So what are the reasons for this? Obviously one would have to do an extensive study of history, politics, culture, geography, etc. I’m also certain that such studies will conclude that many factors have contributed to why those countries are in the condition they are in having nothing to do with race. Nonetheless facts can absolutely shape peoples views on race and or culture. Similar things have happened in the US for example and within the same race. It is not uncommon to hear white people from the coastal states speak negatively about white people from the south or Midwest.
So what are your thoughts on what the best countries in the world have in common, and how facts can shape peoples views on culture and race?
PS – To be fair there I don’t accept that there is truly an objective way to measure what country is the “best” to live in.
I didn’t make that claim: “from some how other countries are better places to live than America or do things better”. I also acknowleged that there is to some extant an inherent degree of subjectivity to these types of surveys. For example you can find different list that have different orders and different top tens.
One of the things I found interesting was the trend in population size. Most in the top ten lists have small populations and often very small populations.
I would assume that is because those doing these types of surveys don’t look at levels of taxation as an impact on personal freedom. All taxation impacts a person’s economic freedom. Depending upon one’s level of taxation, government is robbing that person’s economic freedom.
Not much need for extensive studies as you suggest, a study of colonialism would reveal much, and it has much to do with race, though not in the way you are talking about.
There is no “best country in the world”. No matter where you go it’s just another place to live and work. And no matter where you go, if you have enough money, you live well.
It all depends on what you want, how you define “living good”. Just like the states here.
I live in the poorest state in the union. Well we fight with Arkansas over that ranking but I digress.
But I’m happy here. I do ok and I’m satisfied with what I have.
Could I make more money somewhere else? Yeah I could. But then I’d be further away from my elderly grandparents that I’m trying to spend as much time with as possible. I would be less happy than I am here.
Most of these countries on these lists don’t have a colonial past Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Japan did but then they had to nuclear bombs dropped on them.
No but many of the countries that are the worst off are desperately trying to recover from colonialism. Not coincidentally they are also filled with dark skinned peoples.
