From a classical liberal perspective, Switzerland's governance seems utopian. Low taxes, good services even for low income people despite the low taxes, very decentralized government, and it really does seem true that "no one bothers to know who the president is".

My big question: what's the catch?

Like, what stops every other country from adopting a Swiss-style political system?

(This is not a rhetorical question, I'm actually curious)

Vast centralized power is a strong attractor for political systems.

But there seems to be an attractive niche for small countries (Switzerland, Singapore, UAE) to play a different game—at least for a while (unclear if it’s a permanently stable equilibrium).