How does the United States rank as a civilized country?

Question

At the top, somewhere in the middle, at the bottom, where?

Answer 1

I thought it might be helpful to bring some actual numbers. As you can see, we're hardly number 1 in many categories. Here's just a few examples

Infant mortality rate: 36th

life expectancy: 38th

literacy : 62nd
(behind Latvia, North Korea, Kazakhstan)

Population below poverty line: 13th
countries with a lower population living below the poverty line include South Korea, Malaysia, China, and Thailand

Unemployment rate: 45th
countries with lower unemployment rate include Palau, Kuwait, and Laos

Kind of embarrassing considering we're the richest country in the world.

Answer 2

At the top, far above that little commie Chavez some weirdos idolize... What a joke. He can't even provide for his own people and he is now poised to raise his own moronic gas price because of his failed policies.
He is like the big bully who runs his mouth and then gets creamed by the nerd who finally has enough. He is a bully and a punk.

Answer 3

Twenty Seven

This was on the News within the last couple weeks

28% has most of the factors that lower our standing. But hey we have more people in jail than any other Nation.

Go big Red Go

Answer 4

Well we don't really follow our own Constitution, our system of oversight has melted down, and rights are, naturally, starting to disappear. How does this rank in comparison to other nations? I don't know, depends on how the other nations are doing.

infobroker, if our economy and standard of living are number 1 (which I disagree that they are, the U.S. has much higher rates of unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and lower standard of living for many people than in some european countries) but if our economy and standard of living are near the top, it is because of our enslavement of the people on the bottom. Our economy is built on a foundation of poverty. We could not afford the products we buy if they weren't built by people who are themselves living in substandard conditions, who are little more than slaves. Great for our economy, maybe, but what does it say about our civilization?

Answer 5

Well, I feel civilized enough to think we deserve to go somewhat near the top. But being an American myself my opinion is of course going to be biased.

Answer 6

Economically, we're definitely towards the top, if not "the top".

In human rights, we're towards the top, not quite "the top" (taking the death penalty into account).

Militarily, we're at the top.

Standard of living, we're #2, after Switzerland.

As for where you'd want to live, that's a matter opinion. I've got some problems with America, but there's nowhere else I'd want to live.

*UPDATE*

Those are good stats, M L, but some of them are out of date, as those numbers are from 2003.

The unemployment rate is no longer 6%, it is now 4.6% (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

According to your source, the literacy rate of the US is 97%. According to the US World Factbook, the US literacy rate in 2003 was 99%. (The CIA World Factbook only takes citizens over the age of 15 into account.)

While 12% of the US does live below the poverty line, this still puts us ahead of the United Kingdom.

When it comes to life expectancy and health, we are getting better, according to these 2002-2003 comparisons by the CDC (released in 2005):

* The U.S. infant mortality rate decreased to 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003;

* Health care spending increased by 7.7% to $1.7 trillion in 2003, and spending as a percentage of gross domestic product increased to 15.3% in 2003, compared with 14.9% in 2002;

* Prescription drug spending increased at a higher rate -- 11% -- than spending for all other areas of health care in 2003 (Stobbe, AP/Arizona Daily Star, 12/9);

* The U.S. government spent an average of $5,671 for health care per resident in 2003.

Thanks for the statistics, nonetheless.

Answer 7

Depends on who you are. Peace freaks would say bottom. Denying the fact they would probably have not been born had we not been so "uncivilized". Normal Americans would say civilized. You don't see us strapping bombs around us in the name of religion. We only care about celebrities and how pretty we are. Vanity is cool isn't it?

Answer 8

"America is the only country that went from barbarism to the degeneration without civilization in between" (Oscar Wilde)



Sorry I Didn't Say This !!!

Answer 9

I like how ML takes up old stats and spins them. Like we are 36th in infant mortality... She thinks we should be #1 that isn't a good thing, that's a bad thing, babies dying.. hello?

Answer 10

USA #1!!!

But really, who wants to be civilized? That sounds the same as domesticated! I'll pass.....FREEDOM!!!