4 ms·

Economic freedom is a human right.

camccann 17y ago
...but not the only one. For instance, #2 on the list there is Singapore, which is somewhat infamous as a semi-authoritarian society with, for instance, many restrictions on freedom of speech and laws criminalizing various types of undesired behavior, such as littering, jaywalking, chewing gum, and not flushing toilets. (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Singapore#Criminal_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Singapore#Criminal_law ) On the other hand, they have little corruption and low crime rates, so hey, if it works for them...
- Empact 17y ago
  See also, the State of World Liberty index: http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/results.html http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/results.html http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/rankings.html http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/rankings.html They attempt to get a broader view of freedom by including other indices. Their tops, from 2006: Estonia, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, Iceland, Bahamas, United Kingdom And then, finally, United States Singapore is ranked 49th, on account of being ranked 95th in the "individual freedom" category.
joubert 17y ago
Less important that the ability to vote, the ability to marry, freedom of speech, ability to move freely, freedom of association, etc. Without any of these, there can be no economic freedom.
- rms 17y ago
  I'm as big of an advocate for justice and human rights as anyone, but this just isn't true. Hong Kong and Singapore are the obvious examples. Do you mean that economic freedom is meaningless without broader human rights?
  - joubert 17y ago
    I'm saying that economic freedom is predicated on these other (more basic) human rights. For example, if you don't have the right to associate freely, your economic freedom is severely curtailed. Conversely, if you have a high degree of economic freedom, you probably have the right to freedom to associate. This is an insightful analysis of HK and Singapore's so-called high degree of economic freedom: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/opinion/08iht-edbowring.html http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/opinion/08iht-edbowring.ht...

...but not the only one. For instance, #2 on the list there is Singapore, which is somewhat infamous as a semi-authoritarian society with, for instance, many restrictions on freedom of speech and laws criminalizing various types of undesired behavior, such as littering, jaywalking, chewing gum, and not flushing toilets. (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Singapore#Criminal_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Singapore#Criminal_law ) On the other hand, they have little corruption and low crime rates, so hey, if it works for them...

Empact 17y ago
See also, the State of World Liberty index: http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/results.html http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/results.html http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/rankings.html http://stateofworldliberty.org/report/rankings.html They attempt to get a broader view of freedom by including other indices. Their tops, from 2006: Estonia, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, Iceland, Bahamas, United Kingdom And then, finally, United States Singapore is ranked 49th, on account of being ranked 95th in the "individual freedom" category.

joubert 17y ago

Less important that the ability to vote, the ability to marry, freedom of speech, ability to move freely, freedom of association, etc. Without any of these, there can be no economic freedom.

rms 17y ago
I'm as big of an advocate for justice and human rights as anyone, but this just isn't true. Hong Kong and Singapore are the obvious examples. Do you mean that economic freedom is meaningless without broader human rights?
- joubert 17y ago
  I'm saying that economic freedom is predicated on these other (more basic) human rights. For example, if you don't have the right to associate freely, your economic freedom is severely curtailed. Conversely, if you have a high degree of economic freedom, you probably have the right to freedom to associate. This is an insightful analysis of HK and Singapore's so-called high degree of economic freedom: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/opinion/08iht-edbowring.html http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/opinion/08iht-edbowring.ht...