What do Europeans think of the penchant of many Americans to unilaterally declare that their's is the greatest nation of all. I gather that as many Europeans think and speak of their own respective nations as affectionately, however it seems to me that Americans are the most emphatic about it. These are all personal sentiments of course; some, I guarantee, are based upon what some sociobiologists refer to as an anti-foreigner bias, an evolutionarily manifested, naturally selected aversion to people who are not of one's tribal group. Some are undoubtedly the result of nationalistic influences from one's education or culture.
Nevertheless, the notion of America's supremacy arises as I consider a quaint Alpine ally of ours that most Americans aged 18 to 24 probably cannot locate on a map.My interest in Switzerland first began after I noticed how consistently well it had performed on past Indices of Economic Freedom. In the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, Switzerland ranked as the economically freest nation examined in Europe and readily trounced the United States.
Maybe the biggest contributor to Swiss civil liberties is its decentralized political configuration. Switzerland is a confederation of 26 autonomous cantons. Jurisdictions (including the federal one) are small, the assignment of tasks to local authorities is maximized, popular referenda are a staple of political life, and political power is decentralized within the federal government itself where, instead of a president-dictator, the Swiss have a seven-member executive called the Federal Council. Hence, the obstacles to government aggrandizement are significant.
For more: On the Awesomeness of the Swiss - Ricochet.com
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