Humanity is Most Civilised in This Country!

But the Potentiality Gap of our species is enormous.

While writing the book Philosophy of Life Instinct, I wondered where our species had reached its best state. This story explores this topic.

So let’s see in turn the dimensions of the question, the data, and the result.

The Question and Its Dimensions

What do we mean by civilisation and civilised? Fear not, we won't bore ourselves with quoting a dictionary. We will think about this independently, in the light of the Life Instinct.

If you've read the book, you'll understand why its premise and considerations throw up the factors below as the most influential on our ability to be enlightened, rational, peaceful, tolerant, friendly, charitable, ethical, open, and progressive. Of course, these aspects overlap, but the combined gist is what we understand as civilisation.

1. Education — necessary for maximum use of our most advanced brain region, the Prefrontal Cortex, which makes us better morally, ethically, emotionally, and intellectually.
2. Democracy — the form of government that allows us to best express our individual and collective capabilities.
3. Intellectual Vitality— a measure of how well we use our advanced brains to create better lives.
4. Atheism and Irreligiosity — how far we have come in leaving behind divisive crutches.
5. Equality — how much we have reduced bigotry and selfishness.
6. Human Freedom — freedom of expression, association, economic activity, learning, migration, religion, culture, etc. In other words, how much we allow the exercise of our free will, a positive trait intrinsic to higher intelligence.
7. Social Care, Cohesion, and Security — going beyond 'survival of the fittest' to assist and cooperate; and security is necessary for the best use of our brains, bodies, and emotions.
8. Equivalent per capita income —because poverty is not good.
9. Artistic and Cultural Vitality — the freedom to imagine, create, and enjoy are integral to the evolution of the mind.
10. International Cooperation — how we are connecting widely and leaving behind insularity and jingoism.
11. Care for the environment and other species — a great sign of the best in us, besides its necessity for self-interest.

Each factor influences the others to some degree, but when we take them together, they answer the question,

"In which place on Earth is humanity closest to its best possible self?"

I could have looked at the question of civilisation by race, religion, linguistic groups, personal wealth, education level, or geography. I found too much diversity of the eleven factors in the first four, and the fifth too narrow. The most reasonable dimension was geography, so it came down to looking at civilisation by country.

The Data

I then collected the sources of information below for an objective evaluation. It's fascinating if you are interested in such things. You can either go through them or skip to the next section for the findings and come back here later for leisurely exploration.

(While collecting the information, I disregarded the history of the countries, whether glorious or shameful, as we expect both deterioration and reform with time and are concerned with the current state.)

1. Education

2. Democracy

3. Intellectual Vitality

4. Atheism and Irreligiosity

5. Equality

6. Human Freedom

7. Social Care, Cohesion, and Security

8. Per capita income adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity

9. Artistic and Cultural Vitality

10. International Cooperation

11. Care for the environment and other species

And the Answer Is….

I copied out the list of the top 20 countries from each source above into an Excel sheet and counted the total appearances of each country, giving equal weightage to the factors. (You can download the file from here.)

Some countries that are at the top in many of our civilisational parameters are Japan, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Canada, UK, Germany, and Norway.

But one country was present the maximum times in the top lists. And it gave us the answer, drumroll please:

“Humanity is at present most civilised in Sweden!”

Concluding Thoughts

I suppose I wasn't surprised by the answer, and you may not be either, as Sweden comes up as the best in many respects in the media, literature, and conversations. But its high score across so many diverse aspects was unexpected. It is something worth investigating.

As for the finding itself, if you have misgivings about the method or analysis, we can improve it. But asking the question is essential for it keeps our eyes on the goal — to be as good as possible as a species and fulfil our promise.

The large number of countries we have (195) and the wide variation between them in progress indicators struck me most in exploring this. It is especially true when comparing the bottom twenty with the top twenty. We can call it the Potentiality Gap of our species. When we look at it with detachment and objectivity, it is evident that barely 10% of humanity is anywhere near the excellent condition it can attain.

We may not all want to migrate to Sweden, as many factors decide where we live. Nor would it be sensible on most counts. But we can and must make ourselves and our part of the world get nearer the best possible state. If all 195 countries get within a few points of each other in a century, our species will have achieved something genuinely worthwhile.

Meanwhile, Sweden, the most civilised country in the world, can try to keep its lead while helping others catch up and surpass it. Piquant.

Shashi Sastry quality-thinking.com

Please consider Medium membership to clap, comment, highlight, and get full access to my stories and those of other excellent writers. (It's only $5 a month. Give it a go!)

Become a member