US Ranks 25th On World Democracy Index: 'Flawed Democracy' Behind Nordics, Canada, NZ, AU

[appalachiablue]

> "United States Doesn't Even Make Top 20 on Global Democracy Index, Nation classified "flawed democracy," Common Dreams, *Jan. 11, 2019. (REVIEW). According to the 2018 edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, the U.S. doesn't even make the list of top 20—its demonstrably "flawed democracy" notching it the 25th spot.

The ranking is based on 60 indicators spanning five interrelated categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Each category gets a 0-10 score, with the final score being the average of those five.

>Topping out the index are Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Denmark. They are each declared "full democracies," as their scores, all above 9.22, were easily above the 8.2 threshold. With a *final score of 7.96, the United States, in contrast, earned the "flawed democracy" label. The country's highest score was 8.22, which it earned back in 2006 and again in 2008.

North America still holds the claim for the highest average score of any region, but that's thanks to Canada's 9.15, which landed it the number 6 spot overall. Twenty countries (12 percent) were designated as full democracies, 14 of which are located in Western Europe...More,

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/11/united-states-doesnt-even-make-top-20-global-democracy-index




- Democracy Index 2018:

- Top 5

1 Norway 9.87
2 Iceland 9.58
3 Sweden 9.39
4 New Zealand 9.26
5 Denmark 9.22

(25 US 7.96)

- Bottom 5

163 ↑ 2 Chad 1.61
164 Central African Republic 1.52
165 ↓ 2 Dem. Republic of Congo 1.49
166 Syria 1.43
167 North Korea 1.08

- The Economist, Intelligence Unit, Jan. 2019. The EIU Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Based on their scores on 60 indicators within these categories, each country is then itself classified as one of four types of regime: full democracy; flawed democracy; hybrid regime; and authoritarian regime.

Democracy Index 2018: The eleventh edition of the Democracy Index reveals that political participation is on the rise in almost every region of the world. Whilst clearly disillusioned with formal political institutions, the population has turned anger into action, and turned out to vote, and to protest. The most striking advance has been in the participation of women – in the past decade the indicator has improved more than any other single indicator in our model. This improvement takes place amid a deterioration of trust in democracy, evident in the worsening of most categories in this year’s Index. See the full Democracy Index Rankings by downloading the free white paper. More, https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index

WATCH, Summary

[Newest Reality]

1. That, and...

There are scores of charts that indicating America's poor ranking in so many ways that belie the simulation we tend to see superficially. The appearances and expectations do not match up to the reality. And, what underscores that is that we have plenty of wealth and resources, which might be why there is this disconnect in perception.

If you ever get a chance and don't know about them, well it will certainly open your eyes like sitting on a tack. I am not exaggerating. If those charts and comparisons where the results from a person's lab tests, they would come back with indications of very bad health and chronic diseases, as in, time to write your will.

[appalachiablue]

2. 'Place is becoming a dump!' Health, Inequality, Racism, Suicide, Infrastructure...

*IS AMERICA BECOMING A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY?

"How can we save our democracy and economy?" eonomist Robert Reich (2019).

[Newest Reality]

4. That's a good one!

I highly recommend watching all of Reich's shorts on his channel and I have posted a few myself because they are essential.

Robert Reich provides accurate information and even ideas about rectifying the growing problems we face. He gives you a clear, no nonsense, Cliff Notes version in these times when some folks don't read up in depth. At least that might inspire more investigation and knowledge, on our side, is power if enough of us choose to arm ourselves with it. It may not seem like much for one person to know what's really going on, but for our Party, collectively, it can make a world of difference, so I promote and encourage that.

But WARNING to those who don't know: This may upset your current views of the state of this country and some underlying, deeper causes for what you are seeing on the surface. Stay calm and be glad you know more.

Thanks! That's an important one as far as stats go!

[appalachiablue]

3. A medical report analogy occurred to me as well. A person

with these dismal scores would be put on a serious and quick course of medication, treatment and lifestyle adjustment!

[Newest Reality]

5. Speaking of Health:

I might gather some info, (looking for a site where I found accrued comparison charts right now) and post a FYI thread.

Anyway, we are not getting what we pay for. Not only does the US rank poorly in many respects, we also see declines. This is a ripoff and the sales pitch about "this great country" is only exacerbating that. It is a phantom, a mirage.

This is a good chart to illustrate, (though it is not up to date). Look at the health expenditures per capita:



https://www.internationalinsurance.com/health/systems/

[appalachiablue]

6. DEMOCRACY INDEX, Wiki:

- Classification definitions

- FULL DEMOCRACIES are nations where civil liberties and basic political freedoms are not only respected but also reinforced by a political culture conducive to the thriving of democratic principles. These nations have a valid system of governmental checks and balances, an independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced, governments that function adequately, and diverse and independent media. These nations have only limited problems in democratic functioning.

- FLAWED DEMOCRACIES are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance.

- HYBRID REGIMES are nations with regular electoral frauds, preventing them from being fair and free democracy. These nations commonly have governments that apply pressure on political opponents, non-independent judiciaries, widespread corruption, harassment and pressure placed on the media, anemic rule of law, and more pronounced faults than flawed democracies in the realms of underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance.

- AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES are nations where political pluralism has vanished or is extremely limited. These nations are often absolute monarchies or dictatorships, may have some conventional institutions of democracy but with meager significance, infringements and abuses of civil liberties are commonplace, elections (if they take place) are not fair and free, the media is often state-owned or controlled by groups associated with the ruling regime, the judiciary is not independent, and there is omnipresent censorship and suppression of governmental criticism. More, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

- Democracy Index by country 2018, Listing by country is available on The Economist website.

1 Norway 9.87 10.00 9.64 10.00 10.00 9.71 Full democracy Europe
2 Iceland 9.58 10.00 9.29 8.89 10.00 9.71 Full democracy Europe
3 Sweden 9.39 9.58 9.64 8.33 10.00 9.41 Full democracy Europe
4 New Zealand 9.26 10.00 9.29 8.89 8.13 10.00 Full democracy Oceania
5 Denmark 9.22 10.00 9.29 8.33 9.38 9.12 Full democracy Europe
6 Ireland 9.15 9.58 7.86 8.33 10.00 10.00 Full democracy Europe
7 Canada 9.15 9.58 9.64 7.78 8.75 10.00 Full democracy North America
8 Finland 9.14 10.00 8.93 8.33 8.75 9.71 Full democracy Europe
9 Australia 9.09 10.00 8.93 7.78 8.75 10.00 Full democracy Oceania
10 Switzerland 9.03 9.58 9.29 7.78 9.38 9.12 Full democracy Europe

11 Netherlands 8.89 9.58 9.29 8.33 8.13 9.12 Full democracy Europe
12 Luxembourg 8.81 10.00 8.93 6.67 8.75 9.71 Full democracy Europe
13 Germany 8.68 9.58 8.57 8.33 7.50 9.41 Full democracy Europe
14 United Kingdom 8.53 9.58 7.50 8.33 8.13 9.12 Full democracy Europe
15 Uruguay 8.38 10.00 8.57 6.11 7.50 9.71 Full democracy South America
16 Austria 8.29 9.58 7.86 8.33 6.88 8.82 Full democracy Europe
17 Mauritius 8.22 9.17 8.21 5.56 8.75 9.41 Full democracy Africa
18 Malta 8.21 9.17 8.21 6.11 8.75 8.82 Full democracy Europe
19 Spain 8.08 9.17 7.14 7.78 7.50 8.82 Full democracy Europe
20 Costa Rica 8.07 9.58 7.50 6.67 7.50 9.12 Full democracy North America

21 South Korea 8.00 9.17 7.86 7.22 7.50 8.24 Flawed democracy Asia
22 Japan 7.99 8.75 8.21 6.67 7.50 8.82 Flawed democracy Asia
23 Chile 7.97 9.58 8.57 4.44 8.13 9.12 Flawed democracy South America
24 Estonia 7.97 9.58 8.21 6.67 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy Europe
*25 United States 7.96 9.17 7.14 7.78 7.50 8.24 Flawed democracy North America
26 Cape Verde 7.88 9.17 7.86 6.67 6.88 8.82 Flawed democracy Africa
27 Portugal 7.84 9.58 7.50 6.11 6.88 9.12 Flawed democracy Europe
28 Botswana 7.81 9.17 7.14 6.11 7.50 9.12 Flawed democracy Africa
29 France 7.80 9.58 7.50 7.78 5.63 8.53 Flawed democracy Europe
30 Israel 7.79 9.17 7.50 8.89 7.50 5.88 Flawed democracy Asia
31 Belgium 7.78 9.58 8.93 5.00 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy Europe
32 Taiwan 7.73 9.58 8.21 6.11 5.63 9.12 Flawed democracy Asia
33 Italy 7.71 9.58 6.07 7.78 6.88 8.24 Flawed democracy Europe
34 Czech Republic 7.69 9.58 6.79 6.67 6.88 8.53 Flawed democracy Europe
35 Cyprus 7.59 9.17 6.43 6.67 6.88 8.82 Flawed democracy Europe...

More, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

[StevieM]

7. I think this is too charitable. I believe that we have fallen all the way to being a hybrid system.

And Donald Trump is, for the most part, not to blame.

In the last election the FBI set out to destroy the Democratic candidate. The state destroyed the reputation of a candidate who was seeking to govern the state, and thereby altered the outcome of the election.

That is not democracy, or even flawed democracy IMO.