After a three-week trip to China, Ben Casnocha wrote a long post about it. His main point I very much agree with:
Flush toilets and clean water matter more than abstract rights such as a free press.
Sure, the Chinese government censors all sorts of stuff. I find it hard to read anything on blogspot.com, for example (because the free blogs on that site could be used by Chinese bloggers). But, as Ben emphasizes, freedom in China — the freedom to do all sorts of things, including travel and make a living — has vastly increased over the last 10 years. Simply because of the economic growth. How much has American freedom increased over the last 10 years?
I fail to see any substantial America-specific increase. Due to the Internet, free speech has certainly increased but that has almost nothing to do with how America is governed. Free speech has increased everywhere with Internet access. Due to the increased cost of health care in America (an increased percentage of per capita income), worsening health (e.g., the obesity epidemic), and stagnation in the development of better treatments (e.g., for bipolar disorder) and better prevention, I’d say freedom in America has declined because poor health is imprisoning. Obesity, for example, is profoundly imprisoning. Cross-national comparisons show that America has a uniquely poor health-care system given American wealth. Given the concentration in America of support for health research (money and prestige), America is especially responsible for the lack of progress. And when people as smart as Atul Gawande fail to see the great stagnation in health care, it’s hard to imagine those in power doing something about it. So which country is better governed?
After a three-week trip to China, Ben Casnocha wrote a long post about it. His main point I very much agree with:
Sure, the Chinese government censors all sorts of stuff. I find it hard to read anything on blogspot.com, for example (because the free blogs on that site could be used by Chinese bloggers). But, as Ben emphasizes, freedom in China — the freedom to do all sorts of things, including travel and make a living — has vastly increased over the last 10 years. Simply because of the economic growth. How much has American freedom increased over the last 10 years?
I fail to see any substantial America-specific increase. Due to the Internet, free speech has certainly increased but that has almost nothing to do with how America is governed. Free speech has increased everywhere with Internet access. Due to the increased cost of health care in America (an increased percentage of per capita income), worsening health (e.g., the obesity epidemic), and stagnation in the development of better treatments (e.g., for bipolar disorder) and better prevention, I’d say freedom in America has declined because poor health is imprisoning. Obesity, for example, is profoundly imprisoning. Cross-national comparisons show that America has a uniquely poor health-care system given American wealth. Given the concentration in America of support for health research (money and prestige), America is especially responsible for the lack of progress. And when people as smart as Atul Gawande fail to see the great stagnation in health care, it’s hard to imagine those in power doing something about it. So which country is better governed?