The Greatest Country In The World?

Time for another personal rant!

Something I see frequently (mainly on Facebook) is people claiming that such and such a country (usually the USA) is the greatest country in the world.

And my immediate reaction, every single time, is, “How do you know this?”

There are actually two aspects to consider here:

1. What are the criteria you are using to come to that conclusion?
2. Where is your evidence that your country is the best, based on those criteria?

And here’s the thing – I suspect most people post this statement not having considered the criteria at all.

I know that, sticking with the USA, the country is number one in some things, and not in others.

For example, it has the largest military budget. Of course, some may see that as a good thing, while others may see it as a bad thing (e.g. when you consider how else that money could be used, such as providing health care, or looking after its veterans).

It’s also number one in first-day infant mortality, among western countries, at least, and incarceration rates, which are definitely not things to boast about.

So, the criteria make a big difference – there are areas where striving to be the best is a worthy goal, and there are areas where being at the top of the list is not where you want to be.

It’s quite possible that every country in the world could find something it is #1 at – if they looked hard enough.

And this means that, unless you specify how you’re measuring “the best” or “the greatest”, the statement that the USA is the greatest country in the world is meaningless.

In fact, it becomes nothing more than a feel-good mantra, in the same way that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is (and maybe that’s where this feeling that the USA is the best country comes from).

The second issue, as mentioned above, is, where’s the evidence?

Let’s suppose that you’ve decided the criteria you want to use is “greatest life expectancy”.

Well, to decide whether the USA’s population live longer than any other country’s, wouldn’t you need to list every other country and then establish the longevity of each of those countries?

Otherwise, your claim that the USA has the greatest longevity is not backed by fact at all.

(The USA actually ranks around 38th at the time of writing this article.)

And this applies, of course, to whatever criteria you choose to use.

To me, this is similar to phrases you often hear at sporting events – such an athlete is the fastest runner in the world.

Well, no, they’re probably not.

What they really mean is that the person was the fastest runner during that event, or maybe even holds the official world record.

But it still doesn’t mean they are actually the fastest runner in the world – there could be countless other people who can run faster that we simply never hear about.

And I get that this may seem like a pedantic matter, mere semantics, but I think words matter. This is why, for example, the world “literally” has come to officially have a meaning that is absolutely counter to its real definition (i.e. not literally at all).

Another example you hear a lot is when somebody says that their religion is the one true faith.

Again, how do they know?

Because unless you can list every other religion (and there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, especially when you take into account the 30,000+ versions of Christianity), and you have an independent method of establishing which of those are true and which are false, then you have no basis to make that claim.

It’s worth pointing out here that just because your particular holy book says it’s the one true religion does not necessarily make it so.

For example, when asked, Christians often say that they know their God is real because the Bible says so – but the claim cannot be part of the proof. The Bible claims that God is real, so it cannot also act as proof of that claim. If that were the case, Harry Potter books could be used as proof that Voldemort exists – which is patently silly.

In the case of “greatest country”, there aren’t really any serious ramifications of claims such as that.

But in the case of religion, there are – wars have been (and are, effectively, still being) fought and people are killed over which faith is the right one, and, in some cases, even which version of the same religion is correct.

The claim that a specific religion is the one true one does have real-world consequences – and it’s all based on opinion, because there is nothing factual that supports any religion’s claim to be the correct one.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, you might reasonably define “best” as “happiest” – and the happiest country is, according to one study, Finland. (If that link doesn’t work, try this archive copy.)

Funnily enough, the top four countries are all part of Scandinavia – whereas the USA ranks only 19th.

Take this study however you want, but the point remains – claiming something is the best or greatest is only meaningful if you define the criteria you’re using and you have the appropriate data for every other possible contender.

And in the majority of situations, this is simply not what happens – it’s more just a case of wishful thinking.

Finally, in case it’s not clear, this article is not intended to bash any specific country or religion – it’s to point out that phrases such as “this country is the greatest” or “this religion is the one true faith” are almost always meaningless without facts to back up those claims.

And some people who make such statements may be aware of that – but there are also plenty who seriously believe it, based on no actual evidence, and that’s when it has the potential to be dangerous.