Comments for Britain should learn from Switzerland at http://www.adamsmith.org , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://www.adamsmith.org Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:54:00 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/government/britain-should-learn-from-switzerland-200806051498/#comment-403 As A Swiss I am biased in favour of my country's political system but the Switzerland that Phil Stevens refers to as "one of the few countries in Europe never to have had major social upheavals or revolution" is not the real Switzerland of history but the Switzerland of Anglo-Saxon myth. Modern Switzerland dates from the end of the Sonderbund civil war of 1847, the most recent of many such civil conflicts that saw canton fighting against canton and protestant against catholic. Oh, and while I am on the subject of myths about Switzerland, cuckoo clocks come from the Black Forest, which is in Germany. - Stephen Senn Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:50:24 +0100 http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/government/britain-should-learn-from-switzerland-200806051498/#comment-388 I like the long term thinking of the Swiss. However, it isn't just the politicians who would need to change in the UK - the public would also need to grow up after years of infantile thinking. Generations who have rights but are hazy on responsibilities, would take many years to learn to be responsible enough to be able to handle the Swiss way of life! - Oli Rhys Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:12:21 +0100 http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/government/britain-should-learn-from-switzerland-200806051498/#comment-384 "Imagine if Britain had such checks on central power. No longer would ambitious politicians be able to inflict their ‘visions’ on the country." Nor would the electorate be able to 'inflict' theirs. When people decide it is better to run something on a state-wide level, they're often right. That said, I do agree with the general thrust of this post. It's more that there is too much centralisation, rather than centralisation being a good thing. - Miller 2.0 Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:16:46 +0100 http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/government/britain-should-learn-from-switzerland-200806051498/#comment-383 Holding up Switzerland as an example is hardly appropriate and Big Pharma and Big Finance are in the current circumstances probably the worst industries to hold up as examples of the benefits of small government and light regulation. Or have you guys not heard of the sub prime crisis in which UBS is one of the biggest losers on the trade in bad debts while big pharma's involvement in the rush to biofuel (always a commercial non starter) has helped perpetrate the embryonic global food crunch. - Ian Thorpe Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:06:24 +0100 http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/government/britain-should-learn-from-switzerland-200806051498/#comment-382 A form of direct democracy that could allow a petition, with a certain minimum of signatures, to call for a binding referendum on a topic sounds a good idea for the UK. - Steve Giess Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:38:51 +0100 http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/government/britain-should-learn-from-switzerland-200806051498/#comment-381 They also have a government that cannot increase the money supply to win votes over the electoral cycle. - Tony Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:33:39 +0100 http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/government/britain-should-learn-from-switzerland-200806051498/#comment-380 I agree fully with what you say about the Swiss model, and will add that this is a country with 4 official languages and 3 main religions, and in which even educational models vary from canton to canton. And yet the Swiss all share a sense of pride and trust in their nation which is hard to find in much more homogenous societies. This is possible in great part because - as you say - people feel in control of their lives and their surroundings. - Rebecca Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:32:51 +0100