| So one thing that happens very often in the US is discussion of not wanting to be a socialist country and such. Less government, more independence. I am usually on board with this. But, having visited Iceland, I am now looking at modifying my stance. Hear me out. One of the biggest complaints from people regarding pure capitalism is that it is unkind, winner-take-all, survival of the fittest (or luckiest). There is no compassion unless it is profit driven. In pure socialism, the fear is that people have no incentive to work harder (govt owns everything) and since you can’t own, you can’t prosper individually. Reduction in innovation, motivation etc. I’ve always thought a mixture is best. Give people the ability to prosper–innovate etc. But put a solid safety net out there and let the government handle things that are best not privatized–transportation, defense, social services, etc. The problem with any of these approaches almost always comes back to greed and jealousy. Both breed mistrust and abuse. Let’s look at Iceland. First, read this https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/iceland-puts-socialist-policies-to-the-test-and-wins,12157 This article is old but the ideas remain and the country is in even better shape now. Some takeaways. 1) Iceland is quite free. Government over reach just doesn’t happen much. They stick to what they are supposed to do and help when necessary. How do I know? There is no dissension. The president turned down security. The overall murder rate for the country (around 500,000 citizens) is 1.5 per year. People are happy. They are prospering. 2) The government pulled them through hard times and the people trusted them. It worked. 3) The country is 100% built on small independent businesses. Drive around. Everything is independent. 4) They have NO standing army. None. They stay out of other peoples’ business. Now, does this even translate to the US? I don’t know. We have enemies worldwide. Is that because we interfere and bully or is it because of vast resources. The answer is probably yes. But the key is that with no military, their budget is spent on their people. I’m not saying we can do this. Not at all. I am saying it is worth looking at and pondering. A few other points– 1) they don’t tip. Workers–all workers–are paid well. Not by mandate, by custom 2) People prosper–world’s highest median wealth per capita–over $200k per adult Can a system with 500k people be a model for the US with over 300 million people, I don’t know. Is it scalable? Great question. It is definitely worth looking at. Greed and jealousy. Jealousy and greed. Our system can be awesome if we adjust a little and take out these two things. Civil servants that actually serve. Corporate entities that actually care, not just care when they can capitalize on their “care”. I know we can do it. Iceland is. The question is, would we do it. What would we have to give up? |
