How Good Is Your Country?

Andrea Macdonald, founder of ideaXme, interviews Simon Anholt, founder of The Good Country.

What’s gone wrong with the world and how can we fix it?

The Good Country and its supporting tools The Good Country Index and The Global Vote, exist to focus our minds on what’s wrong – the global problems facing the human race and to consider the global solutions which could address them.

“Global problems need global solutions. Most of the world’s problems are just symptoms of a bigger, underlying problem, that we haven’t yet worked out how to organize ourselves as a single species inhabiting a single planet. This can change.” Simon Anholt, founder of The Good Country.

Simon Anholt talks of how he came to the realization, after 20 years of advising governments across the world, that collaboration not competition is key and how his big idea to harness world public opinion provides a pathway to providing solutions for our shared problems.

Simon Anholt answers questions from Larry Sanger, Internet Knowledge Organizer, co-founder of Wikipedia, founder of Reading Bear and Citizendium and John Houseal, founder of GIVN Water.

Background:

Simon Anholt’s recent work:

Founder of The Good Country.

Independent Policy Advisor for over 20 years advising heads of states and governments worldwide.

Honorary Professor, Political Science and Government at East Anglia University.

Formerly, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Vice-Chair, Public Diplomacy Board.

Education:

University of Oxford

Master of Arts (MA)
Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS)

International Strategic Studies
International Relations and National Security Studies

Simon Anholt offers his views below:

Simon’s view of the negative and positive effects of globalization.

“I have been thinking a lot about the world recently and how it’s changed over that last 30 years. 20 or 30 years ago if a chicken had caught a cold, sneezed and died in East Asia it would have been a tragedy for the chicken and its closest relatives but I don’t think that it would have developed into a world pandemic.

20 or 30 years ago if a bank in North American lent too much money to its lenders it would not have ended up creating a worldwide banking crisis” Simon Anholt’s talk TedSalon Berlin.

“Globalization has brought a lot of bad stuff but a lot of good stuff too. The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals shows what is achievable with a bit of cooperation.”

An opportunity to make the world a good world?

To make a good world we need to encourage countries to be good countries.

This movement has been created to urge voters and politicians to think more outwardly, to prioritize global issues and to make nationalism redundant.

The Big Idea – What is The Good Country?

“It is not about money, it is about attitude. It is about trying to make countries think outwards and to publicize the ones that already are doing so. Good countries support the human race and the planet”

It’s about trying to make people think differently. To put the human race and the planet first.

“The challenge for politicians is – can you reconcile your responsibility, your obligations to your own people with your responsibility to every person on the planet and the atmosphere above it?”

“The big secret is you don’t have to do one thing. For example, you don’t have to punish the climate if you want to grow economically.”

“Theresa May, just like any other Head of State or Head of Government, needs to realise that when you’re elected to run a country, you also join the team that runs the planet. Whether you like it or not. ” Simon Anholt comments on his recent tweet to Theresa May.

The Good Country Index

It is a balance-sheet to show at a glance whether a country is a net creditor to mankind, a burden on the planet, or something in between.

Categories in which each country are ranked include culture, science and technology, international peace and security, world order, planet and climate, prosperity and equality and health and wellbeing.

There are now 163 countries which are ranked according to their contribution to both the planet and the human race.

Simon compares Sweden No.1 to USA No.20. “20th place for the USA is good, they are in the top 20. I am interested in how countries contribute as a proportion of what they could contribute.”

“The idea is not about good and bad countries, it is about the best countries.”

“The idea first came to me when former US President Barak Obama was first elected. I read in a newspaper that if this was an International vote he would sail into the White House.”

Misconceptions relating to Simon Anholt’s objectives addressed here:

He is not in favor of one world government.

“The most common misconception is that I am militating for a one world government. That is the worst idea.”

By supporting this thinking, he wants to make it clear that you are not labeling yourself leftwing or rightwing or even somewhere in the middle. All it requires is for you to acknowledge that there are some major problems that can only be resolved by us all working together.

Simon admires cultural difference and diversity.

“I would like a Foreign Minister’s job to be to bring in inspiration from other countries, not simply to keep the foreigners out. I would like him or her to open the windows, to stir up the gene pool.”

He is neither right or left wing.

“I prefer not to be on the political spectrum at all. In my own background I have just as many reasons to consider myself right leaning as left leaning. I buy tracks not albums.”

He does not want to create discord.

“I want to discuss things in a rational way without labeling each other. It is important for people to speak to others that think differently.”

He does however want to make nationalism obsolete.

“I want to make the world work better. The Good Country isn’t an organization or an NGO: it’s an idea, just as feminism or environmentalism are ideas. I want nationalism to become obsolete. I don’t disapprove of nations: I love cultural difference. I just think that one’s first loyalty should be to the human race, to the planet, and to one’s country somewhat lower down the list.”

“I do not think that the vote from someone in another country should have executive power. But I do think that politicians should be interested in what people think of their policies outside their countries.”

The Global Vote

Everyone is given a chance to vote in another country. The process is designed to encourage citizens and their politicians to think about the international implications of the political choices they make.

“With Brexit, a relatively small number of British adults voted, but their decision directly affected the lives of billions…would the result have been different if the people affected had been able to vote?”

“”America First” is a perfectly normal thing for any President to say: of course Trump’s first duty is to his country. What worries me is the assumption that if America is first, every other country needs to be last.”

“I began to see myself as part of the problem. I needed to tell the governments I advise to collaborate a lot more and compete a tiny bit less. Competition is a great thing, but it should never be the only altar at which we worship. We’ve forgotten that we need collaboration more than we need competition at the international level.”

“The idea first came to me when Barak Obama was first elected. I read, ‘If this was an International vote he would sail into the White House.’ We are hyper connected, so every decision in a country has a wider impact. This is to encourage people to understand how interconnected and how interdependent our countries are. 130 countries voted in the USA election on The Good Country. We cover approximately one election a month.”

The Human Story

“I have been moving toward this since I was at school.”

“Wisdom is about being simple again.”

Personal experience, research and study.

“I would like to see a revolution of cooperation at the level of nations – we can work together and still compete. Life on earth is not about who comes first. It’s a team sport!”

Further points covered:

Who would Simon Anholt like to meet?

What question would he like to ask that person?

For more details contact The Good Country

Follow @SimonAnholt

Credits: Andrea Macdonald interview video, text, and audio

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