What is the most civilized country on Earth?
By SplitZip
@SplitZip (1488)
Portugal
March 23, 2007 1:27pm CST
In terms of:
a) people being polite, civil, respecting others and their rights and following their obligations dutifully
b) governments respecting their citizens, allowing good access to education/law/housing/etc., providing job security and social benefits
c) industries/services following the law and being responsible in terms of social/legal/environmental/etc. obligations
d) any other factors that might tip the scale in that country's favor as the most civilized country on Earth
Please answer in a thoughtful manner, justifying your choice and not just posting the name of a certain country. Posting more than one candidate is also valid.
I'm posting this out of curiosity.
2 people like this
5 responses
@96vidalias (344)
• United States
27 Mar 07
I haven't been outside of the US. In fact I have not been north of the Mason Dixon line, so I have to speak from distant observance. We used to think of England as the most civilized, but it seems to have slid a lot in everything from manners and education to employment.
The Scandinavian countries will probably get the top marks, and may be the most civilized, but would you want to live there? It seems so homogenized and conformist.
In the southern part of the US we are still polite, even helpful to others. I think that is true in many other areas of the country, but they are not as well known for it. Sure we may be uneducated and hover near the poverty level, but around here if you get murdered it is highly likely to be at the hand of a friend or family member and not a stranger. We're pround of that.
What about your own country, or are you not allowed to say?
1 person likes this
@SplitZip (1488)
• Portugal
28 Mar 07
If I speak ill of my country online, they cut my cable connection! =o
Seriously, my country has so many flaws, currently, I wouldn't know where to begin. My fingers are a little tired right now, but I can post later a long-long-long list of flaws! ;)
I'll start with one annoying thing: in general, we are SO concerned with what foreigners might think of us! People can treat their fellow countrymen with nothing but contempt, but the foreigner, we must kiss his *ss and make sure he thinks we're the friendliest place on Earth with the kindest, most helpful people. That is, until the foreigner decides to move here permanently, then he'll be treated like scum, like the rest of us :(
How will others respect you, if you don't respect yourself? That's the million euro question!
I don't think scandinavians are conformist at all. They are highly individualistic. They just seem to have a better understanding of how people need to cooperate for the system to work (it's like that metaphor with the 2 dogs tugging at a bone). They are very homongeneous, but even that is changing slolwy, with the influx of immigrants (some of them end up being exploited, what a sad affair...).
I'm not sure if being murdered by a family member is better! If anything, it would make me think "... but you know me!" :D
1 person likes this
@SplitZip (1488)
• Portugal
2 Apr 07
I'm thinking there's no such place :(
Maybe all the scandinavians that didn't fit in because they were fitting in too much (!!!) went to the US then? :D
But it's very difficult to cooperate with others, and I really do think that they have something on most other regions of the world, over that matter. It seems to me that it isn't so much about being assimilated, but knowing your place in the system, so the system can work. Over here, everyone tries to get ahead of everyone else, so the system hangs up and crashes :P
I suppose people you know might have more reasons to kill you (family grudges, etc.), but strangers might just want to harm you for your money or something of that kind. I don't think I can say if any of the two options is better than the other...
@96vidalias (344)
• United States
30 Mar 07
I thought the friendliest place on earth was Disneyland. No, wait... I guess it's the Happiest Place on Earth.
What I feel about the Scandinavians probably comes from the ones who have colonized America. They seem pretty humorless and conformist. But maybe that's how they got rid of all of that type person, just like all the Puritans who left England to settle in America and give us our Puritan work ethic.
Sorry I couldn't show a tongue in cheek emoticon. That's my joke, if you can call it that, about us being proud of domestic violence. I think that is actually true everywhere, that you are statistically safer with strangers than with family. Something to ponder at your next get together.
1 person likes this
@Chiang_Mai_boy (3882)
• Thailand
24 Mar 07
I can not isolate one country but, on the whole, the countries that seem to meet the conditions you describe would be the Scandinavian countries. One other good candidate would be Iceland.
1 person likes this
@SplitZip (1488)
• Portugal
28 Mar 07
Yes, they have high standards of living and are generally thought to be civilized people. But I also hear some bad things from people who live there that the systemw are not so perfect after all and what's more, that there is some growing discrimination against immigrants?
@TriciaW (2441)
• United States
23 Mar 07
I always thought it was the United States. Afterall they always protected my rights. Now that I find myself between the US Government and the Tribal Council I have found I no longer have rights. Which right not is very difficult for me to understand why my Constitutional rights have been taken from me because of where I own my home. (It is explained in more detail in my post of concern today.) So now I think it is probably Canada. They take care of their people including with medical help. They don't seem to be in too many disputes. Everyone I have met online from Canada seems to be happy with their Government.
