Which of these two countries is more liveable?

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Junior Chimp

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	Which of these two countries is more liveable? « on: May 04, 2013, 01:06:05 PM »
	« edited: May 04, 2013, 03:04:20 PM by Judäischen Volksfront »

Note that in both these two countries, you're an average citizen (or subject, according to your perspective). So you can't change either of them. And while you're free to leave either country, that defeats the purpose. These two countries are twins separated at birth, like North or South Korea, or East and West Germany, so moving between them poses no problems aside from initial culture shock.

A bit of background: Jesusland and Aynrandland used to be one nation, with a single identity, somewhere in the middle of the two. There was a devastating war which resulted in the partition of that nation into two distinct entities. As a result of political circumstances, the elites of both countries built their respective national identities against the other one. The church in Jesusland, and the corporations in Aynrandland, accuse each other of being the only obstacle to reunification, and consequently, the media in both countries devote huge amounts of attention to each others' bad sides. While reunification remains a shared theoretical goal, the widening cultural gap is increasing its costs. However, the shared border remains open and both sides agree to keep it peaceful. The shared national church was, pre-division, an establishment institution similar to the state Protestant churches of northern Europe, or the Catholic Church in the Hispanic world. Post-division, the church in Jesusland amassed power, and lost power in Aynrandland.

Jesusland: It's a quasi theocracy where the established church (be it Catholic or Protestant, doesn't matter too much) holds considerable sway, considerable being an understatement. While there are free elections and free press, this is within limits and people are careful not to do anything which offends the powers that be (a recent visit by Richard Dawkins caused a riot by an angry mob stirred up by the church, and the domestic organizers received death threats). The country's politicians and the church clergy have each others on their speed dials. 99% of the population is at least nominally on the parish rolls, and 90% of the population is in church on Sundays.

As you might expect, the social environment is very conservative. Gay marriage is banned and sodomy attracts a heavy fine, though the social stigma is even greater. Abortion is almost entirely banned, and women who leave the country to evade it face prosecution on their return (many women have had their legs pried open by customs officials at airports and border crossings). Marriage can only be ended by death or annulment. All porn is banned, as are all R-rated movies and M-rated video games. Everything, apart from churches and some corner stores, is closed on Sundays. All sex outside marriage is illegal and church clergy occasionally stir up canned outrage, though its teens are just as promiscuous as anywhere. There are few work opportunities for women after marriage, aside from teaching, nursing, etc. Christian education is mandatory in schools, though at least evolution doesn't attract controversy.

On the other hand, Jesusland has a rich welfare state, justified by the church as part of the Gospel. All health care is free, as is all education. There are lavish social benefits, particularly those aimed at encouraging women to raise children at home. It's also open to immigrants, provided they accept the church's strict conservative values. The Jesusland Revenue Agency zealously cracks down on tax loopholes and tax havens, and unsurprisingly, income taxes and sales taxes are at Scandinavian levels. The air and water is pristine due to similarly zealous enforcement of environmental regulations. Jesusland's economy is robust despite these regulations, in large part thanks to the high-quality infrastructure and the world-class education system. Jesusland is renowned for providing humanitarian aid and peacekeepers abroad, though its diplomats abroad sometimes come across as pretentious or obnoxious. The wealth disparity is so low that flaunting something from Hermes will attract unpleasant glares. The church takes the "blessed are the poor" part seriously.

Aynrandland: Instead of the church holding power, it's the Fortune 500 who do. There are also free elections and free press, though political parties and candidates who aren't funded by a corporation have a hard time winning anything higher than city council. The press is completely owned by these corporations, and not even the Internet can break this power: the ISPs routinely censor blogs and webpages which criticize the existing order. Politicians openly brag about their loyalty to their corporation. All this is legal, since the state regulates virtually nothing.

No Medicare, Medicaid, or anything like that exists; all health care is private. Public schools exist only up to middle school, and even then are quite rudimentary; every parent who hopes their child will be more than a low wage worker uses a private school. There are no social benefits at all, and of course no minimum wages or mandatory overtime wages. Everything is privatized, even the post service, water supply, and roads. A lack of environmental regulations means raw sewerage and chemical waste is openly dumped into lakes and rivers, and it's nearly impossible to successfully sue a corporation (on the contrary, corporations routinely sue their critics into bankruptcy using "defamation" as a charge). Tobacco companies do a brisk business selling to six year olds, claiming it's their parent's responsibility. The few taxes that exist are regressive, and cartels proliferate in every sector of the economy. The wealth disparity is legendary, and private security guards have sub-machine guns to protect their paymasters. Aynrandland's diplomats abroad, like everything else, are at the service of its corporations, for instance lobbying against new regulations in other countries which harm its corporations.

The sheer ownership of Aynrandland by the Fortune 500, and the sheer smallness of the state, means that sex, abortion, and other wedge issues don't exist. No restrictions on violent or obscene media exist, either. Marriage exists only in terms of civil contracts (and even then the wealthier party can bribe their way into enforcement). Few people pay too much attention to religion, and since the church is not politically powerful, it's the one voice in the country which isn't owned by corporations. Even then, church pastors who are too loud, who refuse to be bribed, or who know too much, risk getting into accidents.

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