The French always give lessons on freedom & democracy -- so how come they're #48 in the world (behind Panama, Belize, South Africa, etc)? Oh well, must be an Anglo-Saxon plot, yes, Pepe?
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Freedom rings
The French always give lessons on freedom & democracy -- so how come they're #48 in the world (behind Panama, Belize, South Africa, etc)? Oh well, must be an Anglo-Saxon plot, yes, Pepe?
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Interesting map, AI. Is there a direct link for the methodology used in determining criteria for "free" vs. "non-free"?
From the map, it also looks like Mongolia has been resisting the temptations of totalitarianism, at least on the Asian front.
Click on the title ("Freedom rings"), then click on "FAQ".
#1 country accordong to these guys: Estonia. To think that only 17 years ago it was towards the bottom of the pile -- to make a grown Frenchman cry.
As for Mongolia, yes, it's in the same ballpark as France, just 7 notches behind.
After seeing we were below slovenia and cape verde, it seemed appropriate to read the faq from which:
Is this report biased?
Obviously, the Index takes a pro-individual freedom, pro-economic freedom and pro-limited government stance. The data included came from reputable sources that also share our stances on such issues.
We're fine at 48, or 148 for that matter.
pro-individual freedom, pro-economic freedom and pro-limited government stance
Yes, all these are anathema to pinko-lefty Frenchies, who of course are all for Big Brother, Karl Marxian, nanny state approach to human affairs. Figures.
Frenchies who of course are all for Big Brother, Karl Marxian, nanny state approach to human affairs
no
Well, then, if the opposite of Marx, etc is what ranks the list (with newly liberated Estonia at #1, andf arch-commie NK at the very bottom), how come the French are below Botswana? Just stop diggin'.
For some reason, Classical Liberalism -- throughout history -- just doesn't work in France. There have been movements here and there, but when the French start grouping and moving in a particular direction, Great Terrors or Total Capitulation (could dien bien phu symbolize both?) are the results. And ever since De Gaul (perhaps prior), it seems as France has wanted to not quite be U.S.S.R., and not quite U.S.A., but somewhere out there in an alternative dimension. It's worked pretty well for philosophy, and cuisine, and even architecture, but, well, yeah: we can see how it's worked for politics.
If economic liberty was one of the criteria for "Free," then what the hell are Norway and Sweden doing up there? Anyone ever try to order a beer in Scandinavia? It ain't cheap thanks to massive state taxation.
Yeah, there are some oddities in this list -- no perfect way to do it, of course, and there will always be some subjective factors involved. Hey, how about we have our own FCP list? With the understanding that the U. S. of A. should be #1 (of c ourse), and North Korea #666, where is France? Pepe seems to like #48 -- I'll go with that.
I thought Pepe was for #148?
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