People seem to be paying a bit more attention to the state of society these days thanks to the non-stop Republican presidential debates, the rise of Occupy Wall Street and a polarizing governor. Yet, how many look outside of American borders for reasonable modern ideas?
The Nordic countries never seem to get any credit, but little ol’ Iceland is quite the fascinating place. The funky, amoeba-shaped island can teach us a lot if we just realize that other countries might have suggestions on how to make life more tolerable.
With relatively low taxes and a deregulated free market economy, Iceland maintains universal healthcare and free education for its citizens.
Even with an expansive welfare program, the people of Iceland remain industrious—Iceland is the fourth most productive country in the world per capita.
Renewable energy sources contribute 80 percent of Iceland’s energy production. The country expects to be carbon neutral and fossil free by the middle of the century.
Need more? The nation has adopted legislation to give it the most modernized and advanced free press in the world, surpassing even the United States.
No wonder Wikileaks has legally registered itself on only one nation’s soil: Iceland.
Foreign relations? They’ve taken the “we can’t piss anyone off if we don’t have an army” approach and it’s done them fairly well through the years.
Life expectancy? Fourteenth in the world. Human Development Index? First in the world.
Ah, but what about their 2009 revolution? Yes, they had a revolution after the worldwide financial crisis in 2008. Its three main banks went belly up, were nationalized, and by the years’ end, Iceland declared bankruptcy.
Instead of waiting around, hoping politicians would fix the problem, the people recovered their sovereign rights through a process of direct participatory democracy that led to a revolution and eventually, a new constitution.
The document is being written on the Internet. The meetings are streamed online and citizens can submit comments and suggestions as they watch the document take form in real-time.
This is what 21st century democracy looks like. A few thousand on Wall Street have declared they’re savvy enough, smart enough and finally ready to do something similar to change our broken system for the good of our people, ourselves and our children.
If that is not pro-American, I’m not quite sure what is.
