Would it be bigoted to ask if the Economist's new rankings of the world's best countries to live in included factors like raging alcoholism and, uh, rain? Oh, I'm just being a sore loser... (via Norman Geras)
Ireland is easily the best country in the world to inhabit, according to a quality of life survey which relegates the United Kingdom to a second-division ranking.
The ambitious attempt to compare happiness around the world is based on the principle that wealth is not the only measure of human satisfaction.
The index of 111 states, produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit and released yesterday, combines data on incomes, health, unemployment, climate, political stability, job security, gender equality as well as what the magazine calls "freedom, family and community life"...
"Although rising incomes and expanded individual choices are highly valued," the report says, "some of the factors associated with modernisation - such as the breakdown of traditional institutions and the erosion of family values - in part offset its positive impact. "Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new (the fourth highest gross domestic product per head in the world in 2005, low unemployment, political liberties) with the preservation of certain cosy elements of the old, such as stable family and community life."
Fair enough, I guess. But what about cultural and ethnic diversity - if they're going to include the conservative cultural pluses of 'the old', why not count the progressive cultural pluses of 'the new' [ed -ecause they're too hard to quantify? shut up, Kaus!]? What about countries that give their citizens the opportunity to interact with the widest variety of perspectives and lifestyles, what about countries in which you have the opportunity to choose from the fullest range of both 'old' and 'new'? WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKING U.S.A.!? is what I'm saying. They say we're #13, but I still say we are #1, I was in Dublin for a couple of days once and it was NOT that cool.
TOP 10+:
1 Ireland2 Switzerland3 Norway4 Luxembourg5 Sweden6 Australia7 Iceland8 Italy9 Denmark10 Spain...13 United States...25 France26 Germany29 UK (that's gotta hurt!)...60 China...105 Russia...111 Zimbabwe (duh)