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Common Dreams reports
Nordic countries with strong social welfare structures fared best, as they have in previous years, on the United Nation's annual accounting of global happiness--while the United States finished in 18th place, down four spots from 2017.
Finland was ranked number one on the World Happiness Report, compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The country was joined by other Scandinavian nations--Norway, Denmark, and Iceland--in the top four, followed by Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia.
[...] the United States finished in 18th place, down four spots from 2017.
[...] The drop followed President Donald Trump's first year in office, during which the majority of Americans reported disapproval of the country's top elected official, and hundreds of thousands protested his regressive policies on immigration, women's reproductive rights, and gun control--as well as widespread concerns that the president is blatantly profiting off his position in public office.
The past year also saw reports of America's widening wealth gap, with the average upper middle-class household holding 75 times more wealth than low-income families.
Trump's tax law, pushed through Congress despite the disapproval of 53 percent of Americans, only heightened the perception of many people that the government is intent on transferring wealth to the richest Americans while the majority live paycheck to paycheck.
The World Happiness Report ranks countries according to per capita GDP, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and corruption levels.
Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped for the second year in a row in 2017, with researchers suggesting that the opioid addiction epidemic and inequality are related to the decline.
Reigning political ideologies in the highest-ranking nations contrast sharply with that of the U.S., noted the researchers.
The countries in the top 10 tend to "believe that what makes people happy is solid social support systems, good public services, and even paying a significant amount in taxes for that", said [Jeffrey D. Sachs, editor of the World Happiness Report].
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @11:28AM (23 children)
A correlation that I notice is that happy places with successful societies don't piss away 54 percent of their tax base on militaristic aggression.
Several among the top 10 also experience extreme cold.
Getting through a hard winter is easier when you have everyone pulling in the same direction and don't have a bunch of bigots whose primary occupation is trying to find scapegoats.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Phoenix666 on Monday March 19 2018, @12:40PM (8 children)
Scandinavia is coasting along in the security envelope created by the US and NATO. Their relative national security is higher than what it ought to be, given their level of defense spending. That is a happy historical accident for them. It won't last, because such things never do.
So while it's nice for them, and they should enjoy it, the rest of us should not infer that they are wiser or more enlightened than the rest of us.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Monday March 19 2018, @02:57PM (4 children)
There are good reasons to doubt that European's safety depends on the US. If you treat the EU as a single military (not unreasonable, because there are mutual defense pacts and such), they have:
- The third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Many of those nukes are French and British, not American.
- 4 carrier groups, 21 nuclear submarines, and plenty of other naval vessels.
- 2000 fighters and bombers, and all the other elements of a modern air force.
- 7400 tanks, 9000 artillery pieces, 780 helicopters, and 400,000 active ground troops.
All of this makes them a pretty formidable fighting force if it ever came down it. Europe isn't protected by the US as much as it's protected by France, the UK, Germany, and Italy.
And as far as the history goes, the Finns managed to beat the Soviets back in the Winter War. They're quite proud of that.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Monday March 19 2018, @04:41PM (3 children)
Europe isn't protected by the US as much as it's protected by France, the UK, Germany, and Italy.
And as far as the history goes, the Finns managed to beat the Soviets back in the Winter War. They're quite proud of that.
Yeah, and don't forget what happens when Germany gets into a warlike mood and cranks up its war machine. They're currently one of the biggest manufacturing nations on the planet, unlike "some" countries which have been busy outsourcing all their high-tech manufacturing overseas... They already build world-class tanks and (between them and the French) fighter planes; if they really wanted to, they could probably easily ramp up production of this stuff, unlike the US which seems to have no end of trouble getting their defense contractors to build working aircraft these days. Oh yeah, which countries produce the best rifles for infantry use? That would be Germany (H&K), and Belgium (FN Herstal) (I'd also say Switzerland with SIG but they're not part of the EU and are neutral.) The US isn't even buying US guns any more, they're moving the US military over to European ones because the US ones suck.
(Score: 1) by nekomata on Monday March 19 2018, @07:35PM (2 children)
Two things, SIG belongs to the Germans now. And you give the AR15 platform too little credit. It's a rock solid battle proven gun. If other guns improve upon it, we are talking very small gains (for very high costs).
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday March 19 2018, @08:06PM (1 child)
The M1 Garand was a good gun at one time too, but it's obsolete. The AR15 platform is being abandoned by the US military now, as they're moving to European guns that are decades more modern. The European militaries of course don't use AR15s, nor does almost anyone else. Even the Pakistanis have more modern rifles than the US now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @11:16PM
US has a long and sad history of non-working rifles. The M16 used in Vietnam got a reputation for being a piece of shit with all the jamming while the opponents used the ever reliable AK-47.
(Score: 4, Informative) by tangomargarine on Monday March 19 2018, @04:16PM (1 child)
You're obviously not aware of the history of Finland. And Sweden isn't in NATO, either.
So...no.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Phoenix666 on Monday March 19 2018, @07:42PM
Scandinavians have been enjoying their principled neutrality because the US and its European allies in NATO have been bearing the costs of keeping the Russians and others at bay. They are floating along in the security envelope projected by that alliance while not having to contribute to it themselves. They've taken all the resources and political and diplomatic capital they would otherwise have had to spend and used it on domestic issues instead. That is a happy historical accident they have taken advantage of, and good for them for having enjoyed their time as free riders. But it will not last forever. Neither does it mean that they are wiser or more enlightened than others lower down on the list of happy nations.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @07:11PM
But, they're PROGRESSIVE! That makes them better than us, correct? That's what the left is constantly telling us.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Monday March 19 2018, @04:13PM (12 children)
I think it's time that we start rubbing the noses of the Republicans in the fact that: the happiest countries on Earth are strongly socialist.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @04:27PM
What do you mean, "start"? I've been doing that for years!
Sadly, Republicans tend to not believe in polls, data, or facts in general, so the nose-rubbing is of limited effectiveness.
(Score: 4, Informative) by FatPhil on Monday March 19 2018, @05:29PM (2 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday March 19 2018, @06:53PM
Hmm. Well, the Republicans are against Socialized...ation, too. Except Social Security, ironically.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @08:46PM
At the same time, their labor unions haven't knuckled under.
Their unions have managed to keep the Capitalists from clawing back every gain they have ever made in the legislature and in the courts (unlike USA).
Back in the early 1980s, Sweden voted on a pseudo-socialist thing WRT "workplace ownership"
It was more like an ESOP than a worker-owned cooperative.
They recognized that for the sham it was and defeated it at the polls.
They are strongly *socialised*
Yeah. Another way to say it is that those places are "socially conscious".
They haven't let greed and concentrated wealth completely take over.
Now, I wonder how much better it would be there if they had a Maracora law [google.com] as Italy does.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @05:34PM (2 children)
If everything is going great, you can spare a bit for others. You're trying to put the horse before the cart, thinking that socialism is the cause of happiness.
Those countries aren't even that strongly socialist. Sure, they have a bit of a welfare state addiction, but they don't have the blurred lines between corporations and government that you'd find in a place like China, Venezuela, or Nazi Germany.
When you have happiness to spare, the inherent misery of a little bit of socialism is quite tolerable.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by captain normal on Monday March 19 2018, @06:24PM
"...blurred lines between corporations and government..."
Why did you leave out the U.S. of A.?
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @08:44PM
If you're going to mention that place, you should have included Alaska.
As with Venezuela, the petroleum beneath their feet is considered part of "the commonwealth".
Alaska Permanent Fund [wikipedia.org]
Oh, and don't forget to mention the "communist" governor who oversaw that.
Y'know, Sarah Palin.
China
That was a place you picked??
In a comment where you used the word "socialism"??
While the gov't is Authoritarian[1], China is extremely Capitalist.
The way gov't and business are intertwined is almost to the level of USA.
...with concentration of wealth being the goal in both cases.
[1] ...especially with Xi having just effectively declared himself Dictator for Life.
Nazi Germany
Fascism, where the Oligarchs completely own the gov't, is where USA (and much of the world) is headed.
Studying the post-WWI decades should be something everyone is doing.
We are getting a repeat of that and many are not noticing the similarities.
Russia, having followed USA's Neoliberal/Oligarchical boilerplate after Drunky Yeltsin then Spineless Gorbachev allowed things to collapse, would be a better example.
N.B. After WWII, under the USAian occupation, West Germany followed the Nordic model (strong unions; a strong social safety net) and today Germany is VERY successful.
...while in 1947, via a GOP-majority Congress, the Oligarchs gutted USA's unions via Taft-Hartley.
...and the "pro-labor" Dumbocrats have never clawed that back.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by i286NiNJA on Monday March 19 2018, @09:48PM (1 child)
If you do this they'll simply say that those countries aren't socialist.
Then you'll say "OK I don't care what they are!! Let's be more like them!"
Then they will make a few weak attempts to explain why we're not like those countries and it won't work here. Expect them to get racial here.
Then they will keep going about socialism.
I
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @10:36PM
Here's Socialism:
Socialism is the collective ownership of the means of production by The Workers.
Before Stalin, USSR was developing a pretty fair model of that.
(The militaristic aggression of USA and other Capitalist nations had USSR diverting resources from public infrastructure, though they did pretty well on education and healthcare.)
From the 1950s to the 1980s, under Tito, Yugoslavia had a pretty fair model of worker ownership.
Socialism is NOT the opposite of Democracy.
In fact, Socialism is Democracy extended to the workplace.
Socialism is AN OWNERSHIP MODEL.
Socialism is the opposite of Capitalism.[1]
The Nordic countries are definitely Capitalist.
...so, not Socialist.
[1] ...and Capitalism exists, and has existed, in places where there is no Democracy--or just the thinnest of veneers.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @10:31PM (2 children)
Sure those fucking republicans they are totally in the wrong.
https://i.redd.it/lh6yotgavqm01.jpg [i.redd.it]
Oh wait the sad places are where the democrats have created basically shithole warzones of unemployment to make sure there is access to cheap labor and a pool of it desperate to work. Not much has changed in that party since it was founded.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @12:39AM (1 child)
Not much has changed in [the Democrat party] since it was founded
You've manage to completely miss FDR getting elected in 1932 and reelected 3 times.
The Repugs had to pass a constitutional amendment to assure that he wouldn't be reelected yet again.
FDR's New Deal pulled this country back from the abyss.
...and, once again, it's the Repugs who have continually whittled away at that success and brought us back to an unstable state.
N.B. I won't go as far as to defend Dumbocrats of the last 4 decades, who are just as much in the pocket of the Oligarchs as are the GOPers.
If they were truly The Party of The People, as they'd like you to believe, they'd push through a constitutional amendment making all election campaigns publicly-funded.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday March 20 2018, @03:37PM
Well, no, not really. FDR died like a month into his fourth term, so I don't think they were too worried about him winning a fifth time.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:36PM
oh yes, it's the bigots! typical self righteous/delusional white leftist surrounded my (white) monoculture (except the few well assimilated "POC") lecturing everyone about inclusion and diversity.