Vitalik Buterin pfp
Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
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?
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Vitalik Buterin pfp
Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
Like, what stops every other country from adopting a Swiss-style political system? (This is not a rhetorical question, I'm actually curious)
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Liang @ degencast.wtf 🎩 pfp
Liang @ degencast.wtf 🎩
@degencast.eth
How abt Singapore where the flaws seems more apparent?
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Nicholas Charriere pfp
Nicholas Charriere
@pushix
No diversity. Much easier to make policies that work for everyone.
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Varun Srinivasan pfp
Varun Srinivasan
@v
I wonder if certain swiss cultural norms make some systems positive sum, while they would be zero sum or negative sum with different norms
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Idan Levin 🎩 pfp
Idan Levin 🎩
@idanlevin
Homogeneous population
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Ryan Anderson pfp
Ryan Anderson
@ra
The biggest bureaucratic nightmare you’ve ever seen.
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Austin Green pfp
Austin Green
@austin
it doesn't scale
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Henry pfp
Henry
@hlau
The catch is that their GDP is derived primarily from their ability to look the other way. Switzerland would look very different if their post-WW2 isolation continued. The Swiss gov't is very much what you would want any gov't with a resource/services "curse" to look like but it's ultimately an externality.
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Ben - [C/x] pfp
Ben - [C/x]
@benersing
It doesn't scale across a heterogenous population.
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Leo pfp
Leo
@lsn
They barely produce anything. Essentially all Switzerland is is a bank for the rest of the world. In that sense, this is a Nash eq. Though as the wealthy world has grown from Europe to Global new 'Switzerlands' have evolved in the Americas, ME, and Asia (with similar political institutions but not cultural)
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Bravo Johnson pfp
Bravo Johnson
@bravojohnson
The catch is probably 500 years of money laundering
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Montana Wong pfp
Montana Wong
@montana
Their Cultural homogeneity plays a factor, I think
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Syed Shah🏴‍☠️🌊 pfp
Syed Shah🏴‍☠️🌊
@syed
Instinct says it’s because it doesn’t scale. Can’t be copied by other smaller countries because corruption more than anything. Also center of banking and neutral area for governing bodies which is a reputation developed over time. My gut says it’s a confluence of factors over time that can’t be replicated.
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elizabeth.ai pfp
elizabeth.ai
@elizabeth
their zero-harm drug policy is incredible as well the catch is cost & scarcity --- and diversity outside of Zurich?
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ivyroot pfp
ivyroot
@ivyroot
The #1 thing other countries cannot replicate about Switzerland is being entirely up in the mountains with Western European countries on all sides. People are social animals who can’t fly. the geography generated the governance and societal temperament. The surrounding countries supplied trade for it to flourish
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Kalam pfp
Kalam
@kalam
I suspect the swiss collectively prioritise harmony and stability. Instincts honed over a few hundred years of wealth creation, off the back of colonised lands and commoditised people. Haunted when I eat a Lindt choc, how little farmers for cocoa and sugar get, and how this plays out over generations.
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Chris pfp
Chris
@piffie
The Swiss government has the luxury to be able to throw money at every problem as everyone stashes their money in their system. And yes, a high education ( not iq) imo is essential for their system to work. Most politicians don’t care about education, as the benefits are only realized after they retired
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Ryan Beltrán pfp
Ryan Beltrán
@ryanbeltran
How does media/journalism play into things there?
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Diego Basch pfp
Diego Basch
@dbasch
It's a tiny country, only 9m people. If you want a fair comparison, pit it against all city-sized countries. Finland, perhaps Uruguay. Not Germany, not Russia, not the US. They are not the same type of thing. In addition, CH is strategically located and great for tourism.
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