Latest experiment is socialism ending the same as always...

Did you missed the ‘developed’ qualifier?

And what do you mean by best? Top 20% v Top 20% or just 1% v 1%?

It matters.

Absolutely, assuming @Paladin is still sticking to the Meriam Webster definition he is cherry picking.

We cannot rely entirely on an incredibly limited and biased latter day definition, drawn from an American dictionary, for an enormous spectrum of philosophies which have functioned around the world throughout history. Doubly so when many of the people who drew up those philosophies wouldn't recognise that cherry picked definition and it isn't even the only one in current usage.

Ummmmm.....I'm guessing you haven't travelled much?

the best of America, perhaps... Well, once upon a time, maybe.
your worst however, frequently looks like the third world...

Also-why does the endgame of "free market" always seem to end in exclusivity?

I can honestly say having lived in the US it's remarkably average for the most part. Pretty ropey if you are ill, unemployed, mentally ill or disabled.

Big army though.

A fraction of the size it used to be within my adult memory. What does "ropey" mean anyway?

And just where in the world are things wine and roses if you are ill, unemployed, mentally ill or disabled?

LOL nope

I've been to the best of America. It's fine. I'd take a city like Cordoba or San Sebastian in Spain over that any day of the week though

And Canada's worst is fucking paradise compared to America's worst

Sorry, "ropey" is a colloquial term for being of uneven but largely dubious quality.

Naturally none of us would seek out such outcomes in life, but if they're going to happen to you you'd be far better off in more left leaning nations.

my experiences there are limited and quite some years back. saw some of the seedier parts though... Shitty part of Detroit, U district of Seattle long before the gentrifying began, and of course Buffalo was our weekend shopping trip where everyone looked the border guard in the eye to say "nothing to declare"

I've seen the best of it too... been through half of the various museums in DC, and camped in Shenandoah.

But yeah, nothing there that isn't here.

Can you get lots of help in those countries from churches?

Had a couple of middle age medical concerns a few weeks ago. Got in to the doctor the same day, the lab work the next day (had to fast), and had a wonderful moment at the specialist clinic where they drain cammed me without so much as a goddamned reach around within a week. got all the results within 14 days of starting.

if you're here, yes. churches and secular charitable organizations help make up the short falls in supporting the unemployed or disabled. Current social assistance rates in Ontario no longer amount to more than a rooming house rental price.

And yet, whenever an American politician suggests Sweden-style policies, the right starts shrieking "socialism!" at the top of their lungs. Go figure.

Let's see the list of great libertarian nations.

While our current government is rapidly wanting us to become America we're pretty left by US standards. Public health care, high minimum wage and working standards, welfare safety net.

There are still private food banks and church organisations to help those who fall through the cracks.

of course, there is this:

let me know when you find the US... then scramble to blame it on anything but your underfunded education system. Of the G20, you beat India.

Literacy Rate by Country
RankCountryLiteracy Rate (Rounded)
1Andorra100.0 %
2Finland100.0 %
3Holy See100.0 %
4Liechtenstein100.0 %
5Luxembourg100.0 %
6Norway100.0 %
7Democratic People's Republic of Korea100.0 %
8Latvia100.0 %
9Estonia100.0 %
10Lithuania100.0 %
11Azerbaijan100.0 %
12Poland100.0 %
13Cuba100.0 %
14Tajikistan100.0 %
15Georgia100.0 %
16Armenia100.0 %
17Ukraine100.0 %
18Kazakhstan100.0 %
19Slovenia100.0 %
20Barbados100.0 %
21Russian Federation100.0 %
22Turkmenistan100.0 %
23Belarus100.0 %
24Slovakia100.0 %
25Palau100.0 %
26Uzbekistan100.0 %
27Tonga99.0 %
28Kyrgyzstan99.0 %
29Republic of Moldova99.0 %
30Croatia99.0 %
31Italy99.0 %
32Hungary99.0 %
33Australia99.0 %
34Belgium99.0 %
35Canada99.0 %
36Czech Republic99.0 %
37Denmark99.0 %
38France99.0 %
39Germany99.0 %
40Iceland99.0 %
41Ireland99.0 %
42Japan99.0 %
43Monaco99.0 %
44Netherlands99.0 %
45New Zealand99.0 %
46Sweden99.0 %
47Switzerland99.0 %
48Tuvalu99.0 %
49United Kingdom99.0 %
50Samoa99.0 %
51Antigua and Barbuda99.0 %
52Trinidad and Tobago99.0 %
53Micronesia (Federated States of)99.0 %
54Cyprus99.0 %
55Romania99.0 %
56Montenegro98.0 %
57Maldives98.0 %
58Bulgaria98.0 %
59Marshall Islands98.0 %
60Bosnia and Herzegovina98.0 %
61Mongolia98.0 %
62Uruguay98.0 %
63Austria98.0 %
64Argentina98.0 %
65Serbia98.0 %
66Republic of Korea98.0 %
67Grenada98.0 %
68Israel98.0 %
69Spain98.0 %
70The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia98.0 %
71Greece97.0 %
72Costa Rica97.0 %
73Saint Kitts and Nevis97.0 %
74Albania97.0 %
75Chile97.0 %
76Thailand96.0 %
77Qatar96.0 %
78Brunei Darussalam96.0 %
79Saint Vincent and the Grenadines96.0 %
80San Marino96.0 %
81Singapore96.0 %
82Kuwait96.0 %
83Bahamas96.0 %
84Philippines95.0 %
85Nauru95.0 %
86China95.0 %
87Cook Islands95.0 %
88State of Palestine95.0 %
89Equatorial Guinea95.0 %
90Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)95.0 %
91Suriname95.0 %
92Bahrain95.0 %
93Portugal94.0 %
94Saudi Arabia94.0 %
95Panama94.0 %
96Seychelles94.0 %
97Paraguay94.0 %
98Peru94.0 %
99Fiji94.0 %
100Viet Nam94.0 %
101Colombia93.0 %
102Malta93.0 %
103Malaysia93.0 %
104Mexico93.0 %
105South Africa93.0 %
106Indonesia93.0 %
107Myanmar93.0 %
108Turkey93.0 %
109Jordan93.0 %
110Bolivia (Plurinational State of)92.0 %
111Ecuador92.0 %
112Dominica92.0 %
113Sri Lanka91.0 %
114Brazil90.0 %
115Libya90.0 %
116United Arab Emirates90.0 %
117Lebanon90.0 %
118Dominican Republic90.0 %
119Saint Lucia90.0 %
120Mauritius89.0 %
121Jamaica88.0 %
122Botswana87.0 %
123Burundi87.0 %
124Oman87.0 %
125United States86.0 %
126Syrian Arab Republic86.0 %
127Cabo Verde85.0 %
128Guyana85.0 %
129Honduras85.0 %
130El Salvador84.0 %
131Vanuatu84.0 %
132Iran (Islamic Republic of)84.0 %
133Zimbabwe84.0 %
134Swaziland83.0 %
135Belize83.0 %
136Gabon82.0 %
137Congo79.0 %
138Iraq79.0 %
139Tunisia79.0 %
140Guatemala78.0 %
141Nicaragua78.0 %
142Solomon Islands77.0 %
143Comoros77.0 %
144Namibia76.0 %
145Lesotho76.0 %
146Democratic Republic of the Congo75.0 %
147Sudan74.0 %
148Cambodia74.0 %
149Uganda73.0 %
150Lao People's Democratic Republic73.0 %
151Algeria73.0 %
152Kenya72.0 %
153Egypt72.0 %
154Eritrea72.0 %
155Ghana71.0 %
156Cameroon71.0 %
157Angola71.0 %
158Sao Tome and Principe70.0 %
159India69.0 %
160United Republic of Tanzania68.0 %
161Yemen68.0 %
162Morocco67.0 %
163Rwanda66.0 %
164Madagascar64.0 %
165Papua New Guinea63.0 %
166Zambia61.0 %
167Malawi61.0 %
168Togo60.0 %
169Bangladesh60.0 %
170Nepal60.0 %
171Timor-Leste58.0 %
172Guinea-Bissau58.0 %
173Pakistan55.0 %
174Gambia53.0 %
175Bhutan53.0 %
176Senegal52.0 %
177Nigeria51.0 %
178Mozambique51.0 %
179Haiti49.0 %
180Sierra Leone46.0 %
181Mauritania46.0 %
182Liberia43.0 %
183Côte d'Ivoire41.0 %
184Somalia39.0 %
185Ethiopia39.0 %
186Chad38.0 %
187Central African Republic37.0 %
188Afghanistan32.0 %
189Mali31.0 %
190Burkina Faso29.0 %
191Benin29.0 %
192South Sudan27.0 %
193Guinea25.0 %
194Niger15.0 %
195DjiboutiNA
196KiribatiNA
197Niue

about the same here... it isn't so much a lack of public services as it is underfunding them.

Hope everything's ok dude.

@Dayton3, there are charitable organisations of all sorts in the UK, not just church based ones.

I approve of the efforts people make and have volunteered for a few down the years, but there's no getting away from the fact that charities are generally there for people to shore up societies shortcomings. In an ideal world we wouldn't need them for basic services. At least in my opinion.

By and large left wing policies do lead to more even and accessible basic services (not perfect admittedly), but the NHS is considered to be the jewel in our national crown so to speak and not without reason, it's frequently cited as one of the main reasons we're listed so favourably as a place to live.

Japan does it better though.

Guess which administrations tend to cut those funds?

well in Ontario, our new conservative/populist/trump wannabe, Doug Ford (Rob, the crack smoking mayor of Toronto's brother) has cut nearly 4000 teaching positions, eliminated electives from high schools, and scrapped the vast majority of services for developmentally delayed kids.

It's the conservative playbook.

Public service is doing really well? It's clearly overfunded and an unfair competition to private industry, slash the budget.

Slashed services are struggling? Better privatise them, clearly they are mismanaged and the private industry could do it better.

Oh, really?

If dying over $25 for insulin is "better than most other countries' middles," I'll move to Rwanda

Any actual examples of that happening in the U.S.? Unbiased source please. Nothing from an advocacy group.

Really? The liberal playbook is to cut the military when it actually wins a war.

Ah, the Propertopian battle cry: "I've got mine, and fuck everyone else."

The United States has one of the highest amounts of education spending per student of any nation in the world. Far, far from underfunded.

You mean like Snopes? Or perhaps CBS News? Of course, the last time we had this discussion, you thought he might have blown all his money on lottery tickets.

https://www.usnews.com/news/nationa...ys-son-died-because-he-couldnt-afford-insulin

https://rightcarealliance.org/article/how-many-more-family-mourns-the-loss-meaghan-carter/

https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/ezwwze/the-high-price-of-insulin-is-literally-killing-people

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-tragic/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7783453bb5f1

https://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/how-insulin-became-unaffordable/

I dispute that they're interchangeable or that they're equivalent in all contexts.

Is the word that scary to you? Dumb fucks.