From: matus (matus@snet.net)
Date: Tue Mar 18 2003 - 09:33:22 MST
A short while back I recall a few extropians discussing the cataloging of
the state of freedom in the various nations in the world. Today I came
across this site.
"Freedom House, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization, is a clear voice for
democracy and freedom around the world. Through a vast array of
international programs and publications, Freedom House is working to advance
the remarkable worldwide expansion of political and economic freedom."
In particular are the current 'scores' of countries located in the
spreadsheet
http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/FHSCORES.xls
Political rights and civil liberties are measures on a scale of 1 - 7, one
being the best and 7 the worst. The site contains more information about
how these figures are arrived at. Those two numbers are then averaged for a
'Not Free' 'Partly Free' or 'Free' qualifier. Unfortunately it does not
seem to chart economic freedoms. This particular group started tracking
this information in 1973, which facilitates the tracking of the progress of
a nation. It is good to note that there seem to be more and more nations
with high ratings as the years go on (at least superficially)
The Highest rating is 1,1,F, lowest is 7,7,NF
Of Note
Australia 1,1,F
Cambodia 1972 6,5,NF
2002 6,5,NF
Canada 1,1,F
China 7,6,NF
Cuba 7,7,NF
France 1,2,F
Germany 1,2,F
Iraq 7,7,NF
The Koreas 1972 North - 7,7,NF South - 5,6,NF
1987 North - 7,7,NF South - 4,5,PF
2002 North - 7,7,NF South - 2,2,F
UK 2002 1,2,F
USA 2002 1,1,F
No doubt the US will drop to 7,7,NF once that Patriot II bill is passed!
China is one reason why I would like to see an economic freedom indicator.
And the Winner...
The Vietnams 1972 North - 7,7,NF South 4,5,NF
1977 Unified - 7,7,NF
2002 Unified - 7,6,NF
At this rate Vietnam should reach the level of freedom enjoyed by the south
by 2050.
Michael
matus1976@onebox.com
www.matus1976.com
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