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I think it's important to ask the question, but I don't see those answers as convincing. For one thing, a correlation doesn't have to be perfect in order to be

I think it's important to ask the question, but I don't see those answers as convincing. For one thing, a correlation doesn't have to be perfect in order to be meaningful, and the correlation between democracy and the welfare (politically, socially, physically, ecoomically) of citizens seems very strong. > Singapore and Hong Kong Singapore and Hong Kong are cities, and in many ways not comparable to nations. Also, both are more democratic than most comparable places in East Asia. > there's very good correlation between the Corruption Perceptions Index[1] and the list from the Human Development Index[2] I believe democracy is widely considered to be important to controlling corruption, but I don't know if that's backed by research or is just a widely held assumption. Also, much of what you write seems focused on economics. For example, I don't think anyone sees the Saudi people's political rights, religious freedom, or the well-being of women there as very good.

nl 11y ago
the correlation between democracy and the welfare (politically, socially, physically, ecoomically) of citizens seems very strong. Could you show me what metric you are using to show that? Singapore and Hong Kong are cities, and in many ways not comparable to nations. So is your argument that "Democracy is correlated with quality of life if a country's landmass is greater than a particular area"? Also, both are more democratic than most comparable places in East Asia. Can you name what other comparable East Asian countries you are comparing them too? I'd say Japan and South Korea have roughly similar GDP/Capita, but both are more democratic than Singapore and Hong Kong and have lower quality of life. Also, much of what you write seems focused on economics. For example, I don't think anyone sees the Saudi people's political rights, religious freedom, or the well-being of women there as very good. Sure. But then on the other side you have Israel, which may not be as extreme as Saudi Arabia but certainly has issues with political rights and religious freedom. Other democracies like Malaysia and Indonesia also don't have the same freedoms around religious and political expression as are the norm in the US and Europe, rate comparatively low on the quality of life scale and yet are undeniably democratic (at least in the case of Indonesia - Malaysia does have some issues on that, and yet as a higher quality of life). Or compare say China and India: on women's rights China is way ahead, and their whole population's quality of life has risen higher and quicker than India's, from a similar base.

nl 11y ago

the correlation between democracy and the welfare (politically, socially, physically, ecoomically) of citizens seems very strong. Could you show me what metric you are using to show that? Singapore and Hong Kong are cities, and in many ways not comparable to nations. So is your argument that "Democracy is correlated with quality of life if a country's landmass is greater than a particular area"? Also, both are more democratic than most comparable places in East Asia. Can you name what other comparable East Asian countries you are comparing them too? I'd say Japan and South Korea have roughly similar GDP/Capita, but both are more democratic than Singapore and Hong Kong and have lower quality of life. Also, much of what you write seems focused on economics. For example, I don't think anyone sees the Saudi people's political rights, religious freedom, or the well-being of women there as very good. Sure. But then on the other side you have Israel, which may not be as extreme as Saudi Arabia but certainly has issues with political rights and religious freedom. Other democracies like Malaysia and Indonesia also don't have the same freedoms around religious and political expression as are the norm in the US and Europe, rate comparatively low on the quality of life scale and yet are undeniably democratic (at least in the case of Indonesia - Malaysia does have some issues on that, and yet as a higher quality of life). Or compare say China and India: on women's rights China is way ahead, and their whole population's quality of life has risen higher and quicker than India's, from a similar base.