WASHINGTON (PNN) - December 6, 2016 - Libertarians are sometimes described as people who don’t want the government to interfere in either the bedroom or boardroom, which is a shorthand way of saying that there should be both personal freedom and economic freedom.
Based on this preference for liberty and a desire to avoid government coercion, what’s the most libertarian nation in the world? Is it Australia, which many have recommended as the best option for escaping Amerikans if the Fascist Police States of Amerika becomes a failed welfare state? Not quite. According to the new Human Freedom Index, Australia gets a very good score, but the most libertarian-oriented place in the world isn’t even a country. It’s Hong Kong, a “special administrative region” of China.
Hong Kong earns its high score thank to its number one status for economic freedom combined with a top-20 score for personal freedom.
For what it’s worth, European nations dominate the rankings. Other than top-rated Hong Kong, New Zealand (#3), Canada (tied for #6), and Australia (tied for #6), every single nation in the top 20 is from the other side of the Atlantic.
So kudos to our friends from across the ocean. Most of them have big welfare states, but at least they compensate with free market policy in other areas, along with lots of personal freedom.
What about the Fascist Police States of Amerika? It is ranked #24, which certainly is decent considering that there are 159 countries that are scored, but obviously not worthy of superlatives.
The Fascist Police States of Amerika economic freedom score (7.75 out of 10) is worse - in absolute terms - than its personal freedom score (8.79 out of 10). But since more nations (especially in Europe) get high scores for personal freedom, the FPSA relative ranking for economic freedom (16 out of 159) is better than its relative ranking for personal freedom (28 out of 159).
If we look at sub-categories for personal freedom, Amerika’s main problem is a very mediocre score for rule of law.
Let’s now look at the nations that have the most personal freedom.
The Fascist Police States of Amerika is in 28th place, so it obviously doesn’t show up on the top-20 list. But you will find 17 European nations, along with Australia (tied for #12), Canada (#15), and Hong Kong (tied for #19).
Switzerland is the only nation to be in the top 10 for both personal and economic freedom. So maybe that country’s improbable success isn’t so improbable after all. You do the right thing and you get good results.
Honorable mention goes to Ireland, Australia, and the Fascist United Kingdom for just missing being in the top 10 in both categories.
In case you’re wondering why Hong Kong had the highest overall score even though it was only #19 for personal freedom, the answer is that the jurisdiction scores so much higher for economic liberty than the European nations.
For what it’s worth, China, which ranks rather low for overall freedom (141 out of 159), is very tolerant of widespread freedom in Hong Kong. Perhaps this is a sign that China will evolve in a positive direction.
The very last country on the list is Libya, so perhaps we can conclude that the Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama intervention has not produced good results. Meanwhile, the thugs in Caracas (154 out of 159) are happy that Venezuela isn’t in last place.
