Political Economy: The economy in Switzerland is one of the most competitive and stable in all of Europe. According to the Economic Freedom Index, Switzerland is the best economy in Europe, and is ranked fourth in the world. (“2016 Index of Economic freedom” 2016) Since there is a distinct lack of natural resources, Switzerland relies on a combination of a highly skilled service and financial sector, along with the exportation of refined luxury items and high end technology. The GDP of Switzerland was right around $483 billion in 2015. While it is still growing, the national GDP and the GDP per capita are beginning to slow down. The growth rate dropped from 1.9% in 2014 to only 0.8% in 2015. There is some speculation as to why there
…show more content…
Freedom is one of the biggest issues for the Swiss. Being that they are a democratic and capitalistic state, freedoms both economically and politically are of the highest importance. The protection of private property rights is critical to the Swiss. With the proportional representation system in place, political freedom to vote however one chooses is also important. Normally when one country favors freedom over equality there are large gaps in either social or economic classes. This is generally not the case in Switzerland. While there is some degree of class gaps, it is relatively small and unnoticeable compared to other countries. This is due in part to the Swiss cultural value of privacy of personal wealth. Thus any sort of inequalities are generally suppressed by cultural standards, not by government intervention. The security and order within Switzerland are also high. The physical security is due in part to their neutrality, and also because of their armed forces. Switzerland requires all men between the ages of 18-25 to serve at least one year in the active military, then has them come back periodically for training missions and reservist duty for the next ten years. Because there is a high amount of freedom, security, and relatively high equality, order comes almost naturally to the Swiss. Switzerland has reasonably low crime rates which stems from their culture of respect for others. No country has been able to find a perfect balance of freedom, equality, security, and order; however, Switzerland seems to have found a decent
Freedom is one of the biggest issues for the Swiss. Being that they are a democratic and capitalistic state, freedoms both economically and politically are of the highest importance. The protection of private property rights is critical to the Swiss. With the proportional representation system in place, political freedom to vote however one chooses is also important. Normally when one country favors freedom over equality there are large gaps in either social or economic classes. This is generally not the case in Switzerland. While there is some degree of class gaps, it is relatively small and unnoticeable compared to other countries. This is due in part to the Swiss cultural value of privacy of personal wealth. Thus any sort of inequalities are generally suppressed by cultural standards, not by government intervention. The security and order within Switzerland are also high. The physical security is due in part to their neutrality, and also because of their armed forces. Switzerland requires all men between the ages of 18-25 to serve at least one year in the active military, then has them come back periodically for training missions and reservist duty for the next ten years. Because there is a high amount of freedom, security, and relatively high equality, order comes almost naturally to the Swiss. Switzerland has reasonably low crime rates which stems from their culture of respect for others. No country has been able to find a perfect balance of freedom, equality, security, and order; however, Switzerland seems to have found a decent