Most Libertarian Countries in the World Both Today and Historically

[insidemanpoker]

I get this question a lot and I hate that my reply is just sort of a 'blah, the US in it's prime was closest thing'. I am not a historian and would love to hear what more knowledgeable people here reference when asked this question?

Even if you think no true libertarian society has existed, what countries would you say are closest to meeting the ideals of Ron Paul right now? What about historically?


I would love to be better prepared to answer this question, even if it means citing some of the good things from different examples while acknowledging their shortcomings.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[insidemanpoker]

Is this the wrong forum for this question? Is it just a bad question or something? I was really hoping/expecting to get some answers from people who know more than me to help me out on this one.

 

[CoreyBowen999]

You just asked at a bad time of the day! You'll get a response soon

 

[insidemanpoker]

You just asked at a bad time of the day! You'll get a response soon

Cool, thanks. I am new to this forum and don't want to be that guy who starts a thread that doesn't belong or is just worthless, but there is always that risk

Looking forward to some education!

 

[Anti Federalist]

Very difficult to quantify.

Which do you value more?

Hong Kong and Singapore both rank highest in economic freedoms, yet both are high surveillance police states with Draconian punishments for minor offenses.

Russia is rated as "not free", yet I imagine there is a quite a bit of personal liberty to be had, if you are willing to grab a modern day Wild West bull by the horns.

Many nations in Central and South America are being flooded by US ex-pats as retirement havens and "bug out" choices, but they have a long history of instability, one morning your servants are cutting your grass, next week they may be cutting your throats as "yanqui oppressors".

And the few nations around the world that have a high degree of both political and economic freedom, are also smart enough to control their borders and not let every swinging dick in the world into their country on a permanent basis.

 

[Richie]

http://www.stateofworldliberty.org/

This is a little dated, but helpful.

 

[american.swan]

I know few think of it, but I think ancient Israel was extremely libertarian in quite a few ways.

 

[pcosmar]

I know few think of it, but I think ancient Israel was extremely libertarian in quite a few ways.

Until they demanded a king.
They were warned of the consequences, but demanded one anyway..

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”

 

[tommy949]

Switzerland and Luxembourg

 

[Xhin]

Somalia, technically. There's a lot of violence and xenophobia, but they were completely without a government and even banks for a long time.

 

[bultza]

http://www.parlafood.com/happy-independence-day-from-euskadi/

The journey through Basque Country continues and on this fair July 4, 2011, I would like to send out a brief salute, evoking the words of John Adams, second president of the United States, and admirer of the Basques. In his 1786 “A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Vol, 1, Letter VI” Adams reflects on his visit to Basque Country,

In a research like this, after those people in Europe who have had the skill, courage, and fortune, to preserve a voice in the government, Biscay, in Spain, ought by no means to be omitted. While their neighbours have long since resigned all their pretensions into the hands of kings and priests, this extraordinary people have preserved their ancient language, genius, laws, government, and manners, without innovation, longer than any other nation of Europe. Of Celtic extraction, they once inhabited some of the finest parts of the ancient Boetica; but their love of liberty, and unconquerable aversion to a foreign servitude, made them retire, when invaded and overpowered in their ancient feats, into these mountainous countries, called by the ancients Cantabria.

 

[Demigod]

I am glad that no one wrote Switzerland.

 

[ghengis86]

I am glad that no one wrote Switzerland.

Look up a few posts

Switzerland is very good on some things, like treating drug use as a health issue not a criminal matter. Very non-interventionist foreign policy. But the government is still quite socialist and has a very interventionist central bank.

The Swiss perspective on national defense and foreign policy is something all countries should emulate and it's very libertarian.

Costs Rica is popular with ex-pats and is aligned somewhat with traditional libertarian views.

The first couple decades of the US existence was a very good example, butt that didn't last long.

 

[Toureg89]

Switzerland and Luxembourg

Switzerland is about on par as a mediocre gun rights state, or slightly better, but with a LOT less of the police state, and a slight tinge of welfarism, which makes it better than most of the US (it wouldnt be if the federal police state weren't overarching).

Very difficult to quantify.

Which do you value more?

Hong Kong and Singapore both rank highest in economic freedoms, yet both are high surveillance police states with Draconian punishments for minor offenses.

Russia is rated as "not free", yet I imagine there is a quite a bit of personal liberty to be had, if you are willing to grab a modern day Wild West bull by the horns.

Many nations in Central and South America are being flooded by US ex-pats as retirement havens and "bug out" choices, but they have a long history of instability, one morning your servants are cutting your grass, next week they may be cutting your throats as "yanqui oppressors".

And the few nations around the world that have a high degree of both political and economic freedom, are also smart enough to control their borders and not let every swinging dick in the world into their country on a permanent basis.

my aunts moved to Switzerland before the cut off date. as far as i can tell, a lot of Middle Easterners are socialist as heck, and for that notion alone, i would be fearful of letting them in my country too.

its not a problem of race or religion, its a problem of ideas and values. for every libertarian i might in the Middle East there's 5-6 socialists, and in some South American countries it seems to be the same as well.

that appears to be the result of Western colonialism, the natives through off the shackles of American corporatism while confusing it for capitalism, and move to socialism in protest.

 

[insidemanpoker]

http://www.heritage.org/index/

Not sure how reliable this is but it's still a nice source. Does anyone know of a similar resource you can look to for more personal freedom rankings?


Also, it really sounds like no one has a good place to cite as a great libertarian state but is the closest thing to say the US in it's inception with the obvious big exception on the individual liberty side?

 

[insidemanpoker]

Are there any charts like this that rate countries based on civil liberties, non interventionism, etc? It isn't too hard to get a general sense of where countries fall on the economic liberty spectrum, but I think for most of us that is only half of the battle. In fact, as much as people here hate welfarism, I would guess most would take a bit of welfarism with a very strictly libertarian civil liberties and foreign policy over a economically free but highly police state country. But regardless, I am still trying to figure out what would compose the top 5-10 countries OVERALL for adhering to libertarian principles both economic and civil.

I fully accept that there are no such places at present, but still want an objective opinion on the best of the best at present.

A side issue can be whether places like Switzerland and Sweden with decent foreign policy and civil liberty positions trump Hong Kong and Singapore with more economic freedom.

So what do you think?

 

[Acala]

Most of Europe during the "so-called" Dark Ages was highly functioning minarchy. It gets short shrift in history books precisely BECAUSE there was very little government, few major wars, etc. No drama so nobody wanted to write about it. Just lots of people going about their business in relative peace and freedom.

 

[gwax23]

Chile is the best in latin America. Switzerland in Europe. Singapore and Hong kong in Asia.

 

[thoughtomator]

Um, Singapore is most definitely NOT libertarian. They things they'll fine and/or arrest you for there will blow your mind.

 

[compromise]

Switzerland and Luxembourg

Luxembourg is definitely not libertarian.

The US probably still is the most libertarian country because of it's constitution, but over the last 10 years it's really lost a lot of ground.

Switzerland is socialistic, but is far better economically than most other European countries.