[Winona Online Democracy]
Dwayne's questions concerning representation lead to the question of effective governance in general. It may be of interest to see how "quality of life" is determined by the United Nations Development Program. It judged countries by a "human development index," consisting of data on adult literacy, average years of schooling, life expectancy, and income levels.
Despite its problems, the United States ranks tenth on the list. It ranks higher than all other nations with populations over 40,000,000. Japan ranks very close at eleventh. The United Kingdom is fifteenth, France is sixteenth, and Germany is twentieth. But nine countries with smaller populations rank higher. Norway ranks first. Iceland ranks second. Australia ranks third. Canada, Luxembourg and Sweden tie for fourth. Switzerland ranks seventh. Ireland, which has moved up the rankings with amazing speed during the past decade, ranks eighth. Belgium ranks ninth. All these nations are democracies. Six have relatively homogeneous populations, but historical ethnic differences are reflected in the governmental structure and official languages of four. Is population size a factor in their status? Given the fact that most small countries, particularly outside Europe, are very poor, it is clear that size is not the only factor. Only four small countries outside Europe rank among the top thirty nations: Hong Kong (now a "Special Administrative Region" of China, but still economically autonomous), Israel, Singapore and Barbados. Perhaps size combined with the Western tradition of democracy and relatively nonrestrictive economic policies contribute to the "quality of life," at least as defined by the UN. "Quality of life" requires a certain degree of arbitrariness in construction, and I'd hesitate to use such a list in suggesting policy changes without numerous qualifications and further investigation. But it may stimulate some thought when one looks at the United States in terms of how government meets the needs of people. Roy Nasstrom May 21, 2007 ----- Original Message ----- From: Dwayne and Denine Voegeli To: E Democracy Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 5:54 AM Subject: Fw: [Winona] Congressional Approval Numbers down to 29% [Winona Online Democracy] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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