{"id":9845,"date":"2018-09-06T10:32:58","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T09:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/?p=9845"},"modified":"2025-08-11T12:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T11:06:16","slug":"good-countries-to-build-a-better-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/?p=9845","title":{"rendered":"Good Countries, to Build a Better World!"},"content":{"rendered":"

S. Guraziu – Ars Poetica, Sept 6, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

( for the first time in history, by using a wide range of data from the UN, we have an Index that measures what each country contributes to the common good of humanity<\/strong> )<\/p>\n

With the tremendous progress being made on all fronts, in every area of life and science, we’re getting used to thinking that a great future lies ahead for all of humanity. We’re advancing in every aspect\u2014socially, culturally, and technologically.<\/p>\n

Let’s say, today we’re heading for New York… (we own a private jet, why not) and making business “on the fly.” We have buttons and smart devices, and all the services of thousands of satellites up there are at our disposal. When we arrive, all that’s left is signing the papers. Tomorrow, let’s say our machines can fly supersonically, shortening the whole process, making possible business trips from Amsterdam to Sydney and back… all in a day.<\/p>\n

That’s cool. Our “mindset” is on point; it makes sense. Great technological and scientific advances bring prosperity. We know that, we’ve witnessed that for at least 150 years of our “industrial revolution.” But the history of our progress was a “long” way, as we know it couldn’t be done this easily in the past.<\/p>\n

Today, we’re so advanced. We have thousands of universities around the world and brilliant minds\u2014brilliant scientists making advancements every day in their fields. It should be true that a shiny future lies ahead. What could go wrong? We’re always optimistic. After all, it isn’t “hard” to be optimistic; maybe a larger “part” of us is bio-programmed that way, and dreams do exist!
\nYet, deep inside, we’re a little worried. Our hearts wish: if only humanity could ban war-making for good, if only humanity could learn how to act together, protecting this beautiful world, our planet, all species. Because we tend to be realistic, not just “blindly” optimistic. Deep inside, we’re aware that countries of the world finally should begin to learn how to work together for the common good of humanity.<\/p>\n

Four years ago at TED, Simon Anholt started a global debate about what countries are really for. Do they exist purely to serve the interests of their own citizens (at any cost), or are they actively working for all of humanity?<\/p>\n

Now, for the first time in history, by using a wide range of data from the United Nations and other international organizations, we have an Index that measures what each country contributes to the common good of humanity and what it takes away, relative to its size. The top-3 “Good Countries” (in the list of 163 countries – published in 2017) are the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark.
\nThe index is formed by combining statistics of 35 data points that are generated mainly by the UN. These data points are combined into a general measure that provides an overall ranking and a specific ranking in 7 categories: Science & Technology, Culture, Peace & Security, Prosperity & Equality, Health & Well-being, World Order, Planet & Climate. The concept and the index itself have been developed by Simon Anholt. The index was compiled by Dr. Robert Govers with the support of various other organizations.<\/p>\n

But again, what are countries really for? Do they exist just to serve the interests of their own citizens? According to Simon Anholt, this debate is very critical because if the answer is “yes,” then we\u2019re all in deep trouble. Of course, the debate is tricky, but it’s a nice debate, truly a “humanistic” one.<\/p>\n

As Simon Anholt puts it, “most of the world\u2019s problems are just symptoms of a bigger, underlying problem: that we haven\u2019t yet worked out how to organize ourselves as a single species inhabiting a single planet.” Simon says, “this can change.”<\/p>\n

There are 700 million people who think pretty much the “same” as Simon. That’s one big country of people who think the “same,” the world\u2019s third-largest nation. These are the “people who\u2019d like governments to focus a lot more on collaborating and a little less on competing; people who don\u2019t mistrust or dislike others just because they come from a different background; people who see a great future for humanity if only humanity could learn to work as one.”<\/p>\n

After 4 years of working on this idea, their research has shown that at least 10% of the world\u2019s population fully shares the values of the “Good Country.” That’s why their “Good Country” is becoming a “real” country (although a virtual one) with hundreds of millions of citizens. Their task now is to activate that vast, invisible nation; to grant it its sovereign status, and so to create a powerful new player at the heart of the international community. Their task is to create a true sovereign power that designs and executes innovative new ways of solving international problems.<\/p>\n

They’re not making just one country more because we need one “Good Country,” but because humanity needs Good countries to build a better world. This new virtual country could “teach” or help real countries. And the world’s first “virtual country” is a big nation\u2014only China and India are “bigger,” but that might change in the future. With their attitude, there are no moral judgments about countries. By “Good Country,” they mean a country that contributes to the greater good of humanity. A country that serves the interests of its own people, but without harming\u2014and preferably by advancing\u2014the interests of people in other countries too.<\/p>\n

So their Good Country will be a country without a government. It looks a bit like an “utopia,” but it stands. It’s a virtual country, after all. Their “virtual country” could prove exactly what they’re claiming. Thanks to AI developments of today and big-data technologies, it’s already possible to simulate anything we wish. Their “virtual country” will work as a self-organizing system (after all, it’s just info, interactive big data, it’s statistics in the clusters), and it can collaborate actively with real countries (because it’s a collaboration between AIs, it’s just interaction with databases of the real countries). Their “virtual country” can show real countries how to be a “Good Country,” both for their own citizens and for the world as a whole!<\/p>\n

Their “country” will launch in two stages, enrolling a few percent of citizens in the last quarter of 2018. First, they want to ensure that everything is running smoothly. Then, if all goes well, they will continue with the procedure in September 2019 and start reaching out to the rest of the 700 million “virtual citizens” around the world.<\/p>\n

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S. Guraziu – Ars Poetica, Sept 6, 2018 ( for the first time in history, by using a wide range of data from the UN, we have an Index that measures what each country contributes to the common good of… Lexo →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lingua"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9845\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letrat.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}