Greatest country in the world

[ZuWo]

I don't know why American right-wingers continue to reflexively love a country that has rampant abortion (that alone makes me despise the modern US) and spends an ungodly amount on hand outs and "humanitarian intervention" and all that other garbage. I have more respect for pre-downturn Ireland or Liechtenstein or one of the "asian tigers" or something like that.

Liechtenstein's by far the worst country in Western Europe.

Your definition of "worst" is apparently very special.

[ZuWo]

I don't know why American right-wingers continue to reflexively love a country that has rampant abortion (that alone makes me despise the modern US) and spends an ungodly amount on hand outs and "humanitarian intervention" and all that other garbage. I have more respect for pre-downturn Ireland or Liechtenstein or one of the "asian tigers" or something like that.

Liechtenstein's by far the worst country in Western Europe.

Your definition of "worst" is apparently very special.

It's hardly unusual. I suspect that a sizable portion of the Forum would agree.

It ultimately comes down to the criteria you apply when labelling a country "best" or "worst", but in this case it takes a lot to come up with the bold claim Liechtstein is generally worse than any of its neighbour states or any Western European countries in general.

Indeed, Liechtenstein is an anachronism when it comes to the form of government, and I think it's negative how much power the Prince of Liechtenstein has. Yet, the country is in a state of change; a few days ago citizens launched a popular initiave to abolish the right of veto of their Prince - a step in the right direction. Liechtenstein has also been decried as a tax haven, which was justified and hypocritical at the same time because this criticism came from governments that tolerate the very same tax policies elsewhere. Yes, these are two of the problems Liechtenstein faces, but which country is perfect? Does that make Liechtenstein the "worst" country in Western Europe?

In fact, there are so many reasons to label Liechtenstein the "best" country in Europe. The standard of living in the country is high, unemployment figures are low, and so is the crime rate. There are no tensions in the country, no issues with the treatment of minorities, the health care system is first class etc. Unlike so many Western European countries which you apparently think are "better" Liechtenstein has not been directly involved in recent wars.

So, I think labelling Liechtenstein the "worst" country in Western Europe is a (leftist) knee-jerk remark which hinges on very few isolated criteria while a large number of positive facts are ignored.

[ZuWo]

If some random lily-white rural county in the US or comparable place in another European country somehow got independence and raised hordes of money as a banking and tax haven for several decades despite having only about 35k people, it too could easily put an end to unemployment and have a first class health care system. It's not a sustainable model for any country of a realistic size. I suppose it's somewhat hypocritical for countries like the UK and France to condemn Liechtenstein when the Cayman Islands and all the French Pacific islands exist as they do, but that's not really the point.

First of all, the economy of Liechtenstein does not solely depend on banking. The industrial sector, for example, is a very important pillar of the country's economy as well. Secondly, by far not all of the money the banks of Liechtenstein has "hoarded" can be attribited to tax fraud or other illegal activities. Thirdly, Liechtenstein, by virtue of being a tiny country with few natural resources, can hardly pursue an economic model that would be suitable for big and powerful countries. The economy of a country of Liechtenstein's size is compelled to find certain niches in order to be prosperous. Fourth, in the recent years the government of Liechtenstein has undertaken numerous measures to fight money laundering as well as tax fraud and is on track to do away with immoral practices of its financial sector.