I think I agree, but the existing scale does have one redeeming property which is that it makes very clear which countries have the most and which have the lest

I think I agree, but the existing scale does have one redeeming property which is that it makes very clear which countries have the most and which have the lest depression. Both the red and the blue stand out against the middling regions, which would not be the case if white was the bottom of the scale.