The British media moan that the UK is sliding inexorably down the Human Development Index. It's ranked 21st.
This parochial view of course ignores the plight of nations nowhere near the top 20, whom measures like the HDI are really intended to help. The top 20 are pretty irrelevant, actually, as may be the HDI itself, according to its critics. To them, you could add Hans Rosling, whose TED presentation brilliantly illuminates how misleading and unhelpful it is to refer to the development of 'countries' rather than areas and demographics within them:
This may sound terrifically defensive to those in higher-ranked countries, but ultimately, what is an acceptable standard of living is also highly personal. People's social, political and cultural satisfaction are tough to measure and compare. I regard myself as living in London, rather than the UK, for example. And I reckon it's the right choice for now, even having lived in Sydney and New York City.
Mind you, a huge, lingering structural deficit, higher taxes and the continuing failure to fix a broken parliament might change my view.
Here's that HDI top 20 if you're still interested:
This parochial view of course ignores the plight of nations nowhere near the top 20, whom measures like the HDI are really intended to help. The top 20 are pretty irrelevant, actually, as may be the HDI itself, according to its critics. To them, you could add Hans Rosling, whose TED presentation brilliantly illuminates how misleading and unhelpful it is to refer to the development of 'countries' rather than areas and demographics within them:
This may sound terrifically defensive to those in higher-ranked countries, but ultimately, what is an acceptable standard of living is also highly personal. People's social, political and cultural satisfaction are tough to measure and compare. I regard myself as living in London, rather than the UK, for example. And I reckon it's the right choice for now, even having lived in Sydney and New York City.
Mind you, a huge, lingering structural deficit, higher taxes and the continuing failure to fix a broken parliament might change my view.
Here's that HDI top 20 if you're still interested:
1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Iceland
4. Canada
5. Ireland
6. Netherlands
7. Sweden
8. France
9. Switzerland
10. Japan
11. Luxembourg
12. Finland
13. United States
14. Austria
15. Spain
16. Denmark
17. Belgium
18. Italy
19. Liechtenstein
20. New Zealand
A huge round of applause, keep it up.
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