Your World Facts Are Outdated
If you live long enough, every fact you stored about the world will become wrong. A most relevant case in point is the facts about the "democratic socialist" wonder-states of Scandenavia.
Who here has seen the 2015 Forbes list of most business-friendly countries?
The days of Hong Kong and Singapore on top are sadly gone, and today Denmark tops the list. Good old New Zealand holds its traditional spot among the top tier, but then Norway is third, Sweden at five, Finland (a fairly gun-friendly place, by-the-way) at six, and the Netherlands at nine.
I don't know the Forbes methodology, and I can guess their definition of "business-friendly" might not completely mesh with a good conception of free-market capitalism, but it is easy to find plenty of anecdotes about northern Europe roaring back toward capitalism, and as the famous economist said, the plural of anecdote is data.
This is important stuff. The stated ideal of the American progressive movement is the system that they believe is working in the Scandenavian countries. They are right that these countries are working and thriving, but the facts they know about the region's economic system are now decades out of date. I am happy to report that Sweden even refused a bailout of Saab at a time when America established a social safety net for corporations.
I do hope our world facts soon become up-to-date. I'd love to hear a different kind of talk about embracing the Swedish model.
Who here has seen the 2015 Forbes list of most business-friendly countries?
The days of Hong Kong and Singapore on top are sadly gone, and today Denmark tops the list. Good old New Zealand holds its traditional spot among the top tier, but then Norway is third, Sweden at five, Finland (a fairly gun-friendly place, by-the-way) at six, and the Netherlands at nine.
I don't know the Forbes methodology, and I can guess their definition of "business-friendly" might not completely mesh with a good conception of free-market capitalism, but it is easy to find plenty of anecdotes about northern Europe roaring back toward capitalism, and as the famous economist said, the plural of anecdote is data.
This is important stuff. The stated ideal of the American progressive movement is the system that they believe is working in the Scandenavian countries. They are right that these countries are working and thriving, but the facts they know about the region's economic system are now decades out of date. I am happy to report that Sweden even refused a bailout of Saab at a time when America established a social safety net for corporations.
I do hope our world facts soon become up-to-date. I'd love to hear a different kind of talk about embracing the Swedish model.