“I think any report that ranks Hong Kong as the freest country in the world, you have to question the validity of the study”, Gerolymatos said. After the 2007-2008 financial crisis, in many countries – but the U.S.in particular – “crisis taxes were raised, financial markets reregulated, free trade restricted, loose monetary policies introduced”.
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Co-published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Liberales Institut at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the Index “presents the state of human freedom in the world based on a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom“.
Chile ranked 18th, the US 20th, Russian Federation 111th, China132nd, Zimbabwe 149th, and Iran was ranked last.
“While the freedom index doesn’t measure democracy, democracy has shown to be the best safeguard of personal freedoms”, he said.
We now rank just behind the tiny island of Mauritius and just ahead of the Czech Republic.
Hong Kong sits in the number one spot and McMahon says that’s because it received a high economic freedom score.
In February, Reporters Without Borders said the United States continues to exploit protecting national security to clamp down on journalists.
The amount of freedom in a nation has a strong correlation with economic prosperity and human well-being. The list ranks Hong Kong at the top and Switzerland, Finland, Denmark and New Zealand in the top five subsequently.
The survey also looked at the rule of law and indicators of crime and violence, freedom of movement, limits on freedom due to sexual orientation, and women’s freedoms.
“The US performance is worrisome and shows that the United States can no longer claim to be the leading bastion of liberty in the world”.
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As for the United States coming in at No. 20, McMahon says the data points to a “significant weakening of the rule of law” and an erosion of property rights and “an expansion of quasi-judicial regulations” over time.
