Less than 20% of world population live in a "free country"

[HACO]

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege

Number of free countries has declined for the 15th year in a row. Among countries that are still categorised as free, freedom on average declined, although some countries improved as well.

Notable countries that declined significantly were India, Mali, Hong Kong, Armenia, Jordan, Thailand and Peru.

I looked through their raw data and some insights:

• UK is still pretty good, but most freedom metrics have also declined slowly every year, our rating down from 97 in 2013 to 93 in 2019.
• Other major countries that also noticeably declined: US, Spain, Poland, Japan, France, Germany
• Countries that didn't decline: Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal

Generally very happy to live in a free country, but not a pleasant global trend.

 

[Randomface74]

Wage slave countries should not count as free countries imo. UK, US, EU, etc.

 

[ttaskmaster]

Good - Countries need to control their populations.

If you disagree, ask yourself which is worse - A few dictators out for themselves, or several billion people all out for themselves.
Case in point - The world was in lockdown, yet people thinking they were entitled to freedom at the expense of others just made the lockdowns even worse for even longer.

 

[Basher]

Wage slave countries should not count as free countries imo. UK, US, EU, etc.

What do you mean by wage slave?

 

[adolf hamster]

What do you mean by wage slave?

i think he means somewhere where the lowest paid jobs tie you into a financial rut from which it is difficult to escape, ie working as hard as you can to just about be capable of maintaining the cost of living.

 

[diamount]

Wage slave countries should not count as free countries imo. UK, US, EU, etc.

Well, at least you have the right to voice such an opinion and without fearing severe reprisal.

 

[d_brennen]

Well, at least you have the right to voice such an opinion and without fearing severe reprisal.

What until the resident "I'm alright-Jack" brigade show up

 

[mmj_uk]

Good - Countries need to control their populations.

If you disagree, ask yourself which is worse - A few dictators out for themselves, or several billion people all out for themselves.
Case in point - The world was in lockdown, yet people thinking they were entitled to freedom at the expense of others just made the lockdowns even worse for even longer.

The whole world wasn't in lockdown, Sweden and other countries have never locked down and they're in no worse position than those who used the pandemic as a way to revoke freedom. Arguably, they're doing better because their economy hasn't been wrecked.

The fact that the west is even still being called free is laughable after the last 12 months of COVID totalitarianism. It's not even as if the initial WHO predictions of a 5% mortality rate came to pass, the whole thing has just morphed into an asymptomatic case-demic before our very eyes and still people play along.

 

[Basher]

The whole world wasn't in lockdown, Sweden and other countries have never locked down and they're in no worse position than those who used the pandemic as a way to revoke freedom. Arguably, they're doing better because their economy hasn't been wrecked.

The fact that the west is even still being called free is laughable after the last 12 months of COVID totalitarianism. It's not even as if the initial WHO predictions of a 5% mortality rate came to pass, the whole thing has just morphed into an asymptomatic case-demic before our very eyes and still people play along.

Aren't deaths in Sweden far higher than their Nordic neighbours?

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

Aren't deaths in Sweden far higher than their Nordic neighbours?

Probably, they have twice the population of their Nordic neighbours.

 

[Basher]

Probably, they have twice the population of their Nordic neighbours.

Yet their population density is much lower than Denmark, for example. Sweden deaths per 100k is 58.36 and Denmark is 11.58. The Swedish approach is certainly not something to behold.

 

[no_1_dave]

The whole world wasn't in lockdown, Sweden and other countries have never locked down and they're in no worse position than those who used the pandemic as a way to revoke freedom. Arguably, they're doing better because their economy hasn't been wrecked.

The fact that the west is even still being called free is laughable after the last 12 months of COVID totalitarianism. It's not even as if the initial WHO predictions of a 5% mortality rate came to pass, the whole thing has just morphed into an asymptomatic case-demic before our very eyes and still people play along.

If common sense was 'common' we probably would not have needed lockdown because people would have made the choice on their own to mitigate catching and spreading the virus.
Unfortunately the vast majority of the UK seem to have the IQ of a potato and no thought for anybody else, so the government had to step in and tell people how to not die and bring in rules to enforce it

 

[ttaskmaster]

The whole world wasn't in lockdown, Sweden and other countries have never locked down and they're in no worse position than those who used the pandemic as a way to revoke freedom.

Firstly - 97 countries locked down. That's more than three times the number that participated in WW2, yet the latter is still a WORLD war... My point stands.
Secondly - This isn't about how effective a lockdown is, it's about how people cannot be trusted with their freedom.

The fact that the west is even still being called free is laughable after the last 12 months of COVID totalitarianism. It's not even as if the initial WHO predictions of a 5% mortality rate came to pass, the whole thing has just morphed into an asymptomatic case-demic before our very eyes and still people play along.

I agree - Everyone should have been allowed to run riot. Far too many self-centred, self-entitled idiots out there that need to die. Just a shame they aren't actually the vulnerable ones most likely to die from it.

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

Yet their population density is much lower than Denmark, for example. Sweden deaths per 100k is 58.36 and Denmark is 11.58. The Swedish approach is certainly not something to behold.

You honestly believe you can compare the population density of Sweden and Denmark? Sweden is huge in comparison (over 10x bigger) yet the majority of it is not inhabited, something like 3 million people live in stockholm and the surrounding area alone.

 

[Basher]

You honestly believe you can compare the population density of Sweden and Denmark? Sweden is huge in comparison (over 10x bigger) yet the majority of it is not inhabited, something like 3 million people live in stockholm and the surrounding area alone.

Stockholm and Copenhagen have a similar population, though I think?

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

In a few years time, China will be the only free country. They created the Wuhan flu, gave it to the rest of the world, at the expense of the world. The commies have got everyone by the balls.

 

[adolf hamster]

In a few years time, China will be the only free country. They created the Wuhan flu, gave it to the rest of the world, at the expense of the world. The commies have got everyone by the balls.

not gonna lie, if i was bent on world domination by cooking up a disease in a lab i'd probably have asked for something a bit more potent....

jus' sayin....

 

[Deleted member 77746]

The day you start work you become a slave.

 

[glenimp617]

i think he means somewhere where the lowest paid jobs tie you into a financial rut from which it is difficult to escape, ie working as hard as you can to just about be capable of maintaining the cost of living.

Yep, absolutely agree. It's a disgrace.

 

[FoxEye]

Firstly - 97 countries locked down. That's more than three times the number that participated in WW2, yet the latter is still a WORLD war... My point stands.
Secondly - This isn't about how effective a lockdown is, it's about how people cannot be trusted with their freedom.

I agree - Everyone should have been allowed to run riot. Far too many self-centred, self-entitled idiots out there that need to die. Just a shame they aren't actually the vulnerable ones most likely to die from it.

Would you rather live without freedom or not live at all?

Would you rather enslave ~6 billion people or cull that many instead?

Ideally you want people who voluntarily care about each other and about the world they live in.

But failing that (fantasy), would you rather enslave the global population or cull it?

Forcing people to live enslaved doesn't really help anyone. Not the people, not the planet. It's not really ethical or moral by any standard.

You could make a case for (Thanos style) mass culling tho. What do you think?

e: Before the usual suspects pipe up, imagine a virus that impartially killed 9/10 people. Not targeted along racial or religious grounds or anything like that. Just a totally impartial culling (theoretical). And in the context of the alternative being lifelong slavery instead.