What statistics do you refer to? It seems to me that migration tends to be from countries low on this this list to high. It appears to me countries that rejected capitalism back when many thought it possible failed horribly, and Zimbabwe or Venezuela are pitied rather than respected or feared nowadays. As an emotivist I don’t think “better served” means anything, nor do I think happiness can be compared. However, I do not think most people would want to live in the 50s. The communitarian author & diavlogger I linked to here concedes that economic growth was more important than preserving community in the 50s (though he thinks that is no longer the case). My beliefs are not despite my intelligence at all, IQ and education are the factors most correlated with thinking like an economist, which means being much more market-friendly than the general public. Perhaps we use our intelligence to self-deceive, but then we believe false things because rather than despite it.

Do you live in Cuba or North Korea? If not, why?

mnuez

P.S. Tggp, you’re smart enough to see that the reigning cut-throat capitalism is a soul-wrenching endeavor for the vast vast masses of humanity. You see the suffering, the stress, the envy, the broken families, the loss of self-worth, the vanishing of any sense of community, etc. etc. etc. Don’t you? Were not the vast majority of American folk better served and happier in the 1950s than we are today? Honestly, why are you intellobloggers radical capitalists (please don’t get term-technical here). How can you not see the statistical facts that literally engulf you?

[Your signature is superfluous, as it appears above your post, so I have removed it.]

Not sure how my self-indugent vagaries qualify as “substantive” in comparison with HopeAnon’s boundary-testing cerebrations
You are competing against a much lower bar. I’m not normally into personal stuff (I don’t plan on having many posts like “Lucky to be alive”), but I liked it. I look forward to more from the print-edition.

mtraven, a while back I berated MM for having a link to bbroadside’s livejournal and then short-lived blog but not to you. For all the time since then I didn’t have you on mine, I guess I was a hypocrite. Now don’t get weird on us.