Which country is the closest to a progressive utopia right now?

[_Jumper_]

I vote for Canada.

[arcos]

1. Canada or the Netherlands n/t

[cosmokramer]

2. Iceland

They have no military, one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Excellent medical care, environmental standards, and a terrific 'do not disturb' recreational philosophy.

[arcos]

3. I think they once asked the US military...

not to send any black soldiers to the US base there. I could be wrong, though...

[cosmokramer]

6. I have never heard that.

It would be interesting to find a reference to that...if true, that is NOT acceptable.

Actually, Iceland does not have a military, but they have a pact with the US Military to be their military (if needed) in time of war.

[arcos]

10. this is interesting...

I wasn't able to find other reference than this, minutes from meetings of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

"
15. Mr. BANTON, referring to the agreement which had reportedly been concluded between Iceland and the United States military authorities, said the question was not whether it was an episode in the past but to determine whether or not a request had been made that no black soldier should be assigned to the Keflavik naval base. From whom would such a request have emanated and for what reason? It was the request itself that would be shocking and would be a typical example of racial prejudice - which Iceland, under article 7 of the Convention, was required to prevent and combat, not only in schools but within the machinery of government.


16. Mr. ABOUL-NASR, endorsing Mr. Banton's remarks, asked whether or not such an agreement had been concluded between the Icelandic and United States authorities, by whom, and to what did it relate? Also, in regard to the attribution of patronymics, the Committee should know whether Iceland required all its new nationals to have an Icelandic name. The Committee had already ruled that that kind of requirement amounted to a violation of the Convention. The situation had already occurred in connection with Bulgaria, which had obliged all new nationals to adopt a Bulgarian name. Bulgaria, however, had rescinded that measure, recognizing that a national who came from another culture, belonging to another race or another religion, could not be forced to give up his name.


17. Mr. CLAESSEN (Iceland) said that, so far as he knew, no agreement relating to personnel at the Keflavik base had been concluded between Iceland and the United States; no trace of any agreement of that kind existed in the Icelandic register of treaties. "

http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/11a80f2343775ab2c12563e3004b6489?Opendocument

It seems it was just a rumor... at least there is no hard evidence of it.

[cosmokramer]

16. Phew...if true...

...that would have been very disappointing, and wrong, wrong, wrong. I certainly hope it was only rumor.

Thanks for taking the time to look it up and provide me with more info.

[madrchsod]

8. my heart doc is

from iceland and they have natural hot spring spas...

[DBoon]

19. And almost all their power from geo-thermal

Giving it the cleanest air in the inhabited world.

[Vas Liz]

4. the EU

[AP]

7. The EU will rock steady. However, they do have the problem of demanding

balanced budgets in bad times as well as good times. That's not going to work, and it'll cause problems for progressivism when they have to start debating defecit spending.

However, until then, they have a real committment to some core liberal principles relating to equality of opportunity, level playing fields, and the idea that everyone, esepecially in wealthy societies, are entitled to minimum (and reltively high) level of dignity.

[AP]

5. Sweden has it going on.

[whistle]

9. Canada's taxes are far too high...

...to be considered a progressive utopia I think. Their GST is something around 15% on practically everything that you buy there and they still pay hefty income taxes and social program taxes that far outstrip what we pay here. Now their PM Paul Martin is kissing up to Bush and Company, so the social progress they have experienced will stop dead in it's tracks pretty quickly.

Then there is the Libertarian Utopia promoted by the likes of Forbes and others of his ilk, which would be one where there are very few taxes and what taxes there are would be paid by the masses not the rich and would be used for the common defense and the protect of property (police and private armies). That kind of anarchy would quickly disintegrate into total chaos in the society.

As for the Bush Company plan for America, well all I can see from their actions so far is a march to a fascistic utopia, wealth and power concentrated in the hands of the few, a sizable bureaucratic obedient class to enforce the wishes of the ruling elite, a powerful military and police, average citizen freedoms curtailed, constitution in shreds, mind washing and the average citizen reduced to a consuming servant of the state and corporations. Dissenter's are purged and squashed while claiming that order is restored. I am not sure that Utopia is where we should be heading, IMHO:eyes: :think:

[arewethereyet]

12. thats the progressive part silly

[Spazito]

17. Our social programs will be just fine, don't worry about them!

Paul Martin, far from sucking up to Bush and his cabal, has made it clear we will have many trading partners, not just the US. Re our social programs, we have a surplus even with the 2 billion Martin just handed over to the provinces for health care. Is Canada Utopia, no, but it is a damn fine place to live, imo.

[arewethereyet]

11. well technically

the People's Republic of China

[hellhathnofury]

13. I think North Korea might have them beat out.

Can China even be considered socialist anymore?

[arewethereyet]

14. textbook ? not so much so but as close as it ever got

NK is a simple dictatorship at this point

[hellhathnofury]

15. USSR under Khrushchev?

Yeah, I would imagine that it is.

[DBoon]

18. Costa Rica

No military, spend their money on education and health care instead. A Latin American country with a thriving middle class - a benefit of being ignored by the Spaniards for having no mineral wealth. Never developed a plantation economy. Lots of US high-tech moving there like Intel.