Wealth, peace, happiness, democracy, secularization, and ... male longevity?
According to IEET readers, what were the most stimulating stories of 2011? This month we’re answering that question by posting a countdown of our top 12 articles based on how many total hits each one received.
The following piece was first published here on January 8, 2011, and is the #10 most viewed of the year.
I am an “International Top Ten” junkie—I love to examine lists that rank all the countries of the world. My obsession is motivated by progressive and “transhumanist” desires—I’m seeking a formula of societal ingredients that aims a populace at Utopia.
Recently, I discovered the most essential element in the recipe for bettering humanity: Feminism.
Yes, women’s equality, sprinkled into a culture, benefits the entire community in myriad ways. Side effects provide desirable enhancement to everyone, perhaps even males with deep fears of emasculation. First, let’s look at the list below:
Top Ten Nations in Women’s Equality (Global Gender Gap Index 2010)
Iceland
Norway
Finland
Sweden
New Zealand
Ireland
Denmark
Lesotho
Philippines
Switzerland
What can we cross-reference with this? Like most transhumanists, I’m interested in long life spans, particularly my own. I am disturbed that the USA rates poorly in male longevity, to the extent that I often contemplate relocating to a nation where I can theoretically gain a few extra years. Below I have listed possible destinations—the number after each one represents a man’s average life span there:
Top Ten Nations In Male Longevity (Human Development Report 2009)
Iceland: 80.2
Hong Kong: 79.3
Switzerland: 79.2
Australia: 79.1
Japan: 79.0
Sweden: 78.6
Israel: 78.5
Canada: 78.2
Norway: 78.2
Italy: 78.1
Yikes! Iceland rates the highest in both women’s equality and male longevity! Obviously, Icelandic men thrive in the company of empowered women. Feminism isn’t killing them off sooner; men aren’t dying quickly due to emotional castration and depression. Perhaps… men are feeling less crippled by stress, because they don’t need to assume leadership in economics and politics? Does slack increase their life span?
Iceland isn’t the only coincidence - four other nations that excel in Male Longevity are also in the Top Ten in Gender Equality: Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand. There are 194 nations in the world; landing five in the uppermost tier in two categories is significant. People often ask me why I promote feminism (I’m writing a book entitled Estrogen Utopia), and my selfish reply is: “Because it can add years to my life!”
Living a long time isn’t everything, though. Seriously, what’s the point of going on and on day after day if you’re miserable? Let’s examine another survey:
Top Ten Happiest Nations (Gallup World Poll, released by OECD)
Denmark
Finland
Netherlands
Sweden
Iceland
Canada
Switzerland
New Zealand
Norway
Belgium
Egads! “Happiness” is even more strongly correlated to Feminism than Longevity. Seven of the ten happiest nations are in the Top Ten in Women’s Equality, and every nation is ranked high in the Global Gender Gap Index: Belgium #14, Netherlands #17, and Canada #20.
The benefits of feminism are adding up - now we’ve got a long and happy life.
But, maybe “happiness” gets tiresome after a while, we just want some quiet bliss, in a nation that not incessantly at war.
What about “peacefulness”?
Top Ten Nations in Peace (Global Peace Index)
New Zealand
Iceland
Japan
Austria
Norway
Ireland
Denmark
Luxembourg
Finland
Sweden
Wow… this list is just as impressive. Seven of the ten “peaceful” nations are Top Ten feminist nations, with Luxembourg #26 and Austria #37. Gender Equality doesn’t seem to cause horrible tension, rage, and murderous mayhem.
But… but… but… what if none of these criteria is your priority? What if equality is what you strive for; you yearn to live in a place where your vote counts, where leadership really is propelled by the people. You want to live in a perfect democracy! If that’s your schtick, check this out:
Top Ten Most Democratic Nations (Democracy Index, Economist Intelligence Unit)
Norway
Iceland
Denmark
Sweden
New Zealand
Australia
Finland
Switzerland
Canada
Netherlands
Blink-blink, are we seeing double? This is the most female-friendly list yet! The top five here are all in the Top Ten for Women’s Equality, with a total of seven from that list re-appearing here. The other three “most democratic” nations are also quite “feminist” - Australia ranks #23 on the Global Gender Gap Index, Canada is #20, The Netherlands #17.
We have now established that Women’s Equality is strongly correlated to Peace, Happiness, Democracy, and Male Longevity. But what if none of that really matters to you? What if you - like many people I know - are just a grumpy atheist who seeks similar companionship? Is a Feminist nation the correct irreverent place for you? Check out the “atheist nations” list below:
Top Ten Non-Religious Nations (Pitzer College survey)
| Sweden |
85% |
Vietnam |
82% |
Denmark |
80% |
Norway |
72% |
Japan |
65% |
Czech Republic |
62% |
Finland |
60% |
France |
55% |
South Korea |
52% |
Estonia |
49% |
Well, bless my non-existent soul! Four of the top ten feminist nations on the planet have attained women’s rights without dragging God into it, and other nations are also quite female friendly: Germany is currently #13, France was #15 in 2008, Estonia #29 in 2006. Secular thought, i.e., “Enlightenment,” can progress hand-in-hand with advances for the female gender.
There is one final category we simply have to investigate: CASH. We don’t all need luxury, but really, the basic amenities of civilization are required. We’ve established that it is possible to live a lengthy life span in a nation that is simultaneously peaceful, pro-women, democratic, and non-religious. But still, is there any money there?
It turns out there is, oodles of dough, in 80% of them:
GDP Per Capita in the Ten Best Nations for Women (International Monetary Fund, 2010)
| Iceland |
$39,563 |
Finland |
$43,134 |
Norway |
$84,543 |
Sweden |
$47,647 |
New Zealand |
$31,588 |
Ireland |
$45,642 |
Denmark |
$55,113 |
Lesotho |
$708 |
Philippines |
$2,011 |
Switzerland |
$67,074 |
The Philippines and Lesotho lag in this category, but that’s not surprising; they also failed in Longevity, Secularity, Peace, Democracy, and Happiness. Ireland is a strong contender here, but it just missed the list in all of the other tables. The other seven nations - Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, and Switzerland - have consistently appeared, with minor exception: Finns and Danes don’t live that long, and Switzerland isn’t really very peaceful. Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and New Zealand have thoroughly mobbed the top ranks in every category.
Feminism, aka “Women’s Equality,” is the glue that unites all positive characteristics. Advancing the status of women guides a population towards a progressive, transhumanist society that offers wealth, health, peace, joy, and open-mindedness.
So, why haven’t I relocated? Weather is an obstacle; out of all the nations listed, only the northern tip of New Zealand provides the sub-tropical climate that I crave. Whangarei, here I come!
But… uh-oh, I discovered you too late. Emigrating to Kiwi Land is near-impossible if you’re over 56 years old.
Hank, I don’t know whether it’s women’s rights that make for good countries, or good countries that make healthy places for women. Probably a bit of both. There are a great many studies that show that educating women and girls will improve the community and the country with out any other influx of money. There have also been studies that show if you give women money, they will spend it on food and education rather than on fast cars or guns.
I don’t think feminism is the panacea for the problems of our species, but certainly it more than doubles the number of possible contributors to the solutions.
Alex, yes, many micro-lenders prefer to lend to women because they have a record of being more reliable - they invest their loans safely and are apparently more committed to elevating the children’s opportunities than their male counterparts.
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