What do you think of America?

Civilisation in America

Your thoughts

Here's what some message board users had to say about the issue:

• "How can a government of the developed world justify execution of its citizens for crimes? How can they expect people to pay for basic healthcare... How can they be permitted to blatantly infringe the basic human rights of others by detaining them endlessly without charge based on vague suspicions?"
• "If that means America isn't civilised, then neither were most of the other civilisations throughout history, including us up to after WW2."

Food for thought

• How might different people define a civilised society?
• How can civilisation be measured? / What are the key things that indicate civilisation?
• How is Britain different from America?
• In what ways is Britain more civilised than America?
• In what ways is Britain less civilised than America?
• Are some parts/aspects of American society more civilised than others?

Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is used by the United Nations (UN) to compare how developed different countries are. HDI "measures a country's average achievements in three basic aspects of human development: health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living."

According to the HDI, the most developed countries are:

1. Iceland
2. Norway
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Ireland
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Japan
9. Netherlands
10. France
11. Finland
12. United States
13. Spain
14. Denmark
15. Austria
16. United Kingdom
17. Belgium
18. Luxembourg
19. New Zealand
20. Italy
21. Hong Kong, China (SAR)

So, according to this index, the USA is more advanced than the UK.
If you think that America is less civilised, what do you think is wrong with the way that the UN measures development? You can find out more about how the index is calculated on the UN's HDI FAQ page.