Countries underrated by conservatives and the right wing:
Countries that prove that Christianity is not required to preserve Western Civilization or even tradition are:
. East Asia, specifically Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, and maybe the Chinese Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau (though Hong Kong is no longer a safe place for political dissidents after 2019, and even earlier for Macau).
. Czech Republic.
. Estonia.
. Syria.
Singapore is a secular but extremely socially conservative country, with Syria being a similar case. Singapore and Syria proves that traditionalism/social conservatism is compatible with secularism.
Syria is neither a Islamic fundamentalist nor Muslim fundamentalist country, but is one of the best countries that stand up to Israel because of Civic Nationalist unity and a respectable public image in contrast to the likes of Iran and the Houthi rebels who also opposite Israel but have a toxic public image with their tribal hatred of the United States of America and western civilization. Syria even has one of the lowest divorce rates in the world, especially before the Syrian War and Wuhan Bat Lab Flu scare.
Japan. Same point as with Singapore and Syria, but unlike Singapore, has less immigration, and is homogeneous, even though the vast majority of Japanese people are irreligious. South Korea and Taiwan are not far off.
Mongolia is mostly irreligious, but both prostitution and pornography are illegal.
Czech Republic and Estonia are two of the world's least religious countries, yet also some of the most the most skeptical countries towards immigration, and have shall-issue licenses to own and even conceal carry handguns, and are two of the five countries in Europe that have shall-issue licenses to conceal carry firearms (the others being Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania).
Going to to Singapore, however, I will concede that Singapore is not exactly a social conservative's utopia as that;
. Gambling is legal since 2005 in two Casinos for individuals who are 21 years old or older.
. Hate speech is illegal (if expression or speech is deemed to be harmful to "racial and religious harmony"). Affirmative action also exists.
. Singapore permits abortion on request up to 24 weeks, which is more more permissive than some U.S. States or even most supposedly degenerate European Countries. Also For reference, the Constitution of Oceania, a minarchist to borderline anarchic constitution, permits abortion up to 3 months, which is approximately 12 weeks. This is somewhat ironic for a a country that that, to appease Muslim fundamentalists, canes men for homosexuality.
. Prostitution is legal. Brothels are officially illegal, but a small number are tolerated, which is perhaps a little odd for Singapore, which has a reputation for being by-the-book and having some of the strictest law enforcement in the world. On the issue of prostitution, Singapore is even more liberal than San Francisco, California or Portland, Oregon, two of the most left-wing cities in the United States of America (in the United States of America, only the State of Nevada permits prostitution, and at that only allows prostitution in licensed brothels, of which there are 21 in 7 of the 10 counties in which prostitution is legal), and France, Canada and Sweden, which have the reputation for being the most socially left-wing countries in the entire world.
. Singapore has some of the very most restrictive weapon laws in the entire world. Regulated weapons include crossbows, slingshots, brass knuckles, signal flares, bulletproof vests, and even steel helmets. According to gunpolicy.org and Small Arms Survey, in the year 2017, 476 handguns, 214 shotguns, and 103 rifles, for a total of 795 firearms in civilian hands. Most to all of them are probably locked up in shooting ranges, and that number very possibly counts firearms owned by private security companies, of which only 5 are licensed to have weapons in Singapore (and by weapon, it seems to only be revolvers in .38 special), and all of them are government owned at that. According to the video Buy a gun in Singapore (Gun-crazy Singaporeans Pt 1), there are only two gun shops in Singapore, one of which does not even store firearms within site of customers, and I am aware of only two ranges where one may rent firearms. Restrictive weapon laws are normal in the Confucian influenced societies of Asia, as that most Asians value order & stability over individual freedom, in contrast to the Enlightenment influenced societies of the western world in which people care something about individual liberty.
For more details, I suggest reading the article Man charged with having brass knuckles: Other scheduled and prohibited weapons in Singapore - The Straits Times, and the Reddit thread [Question] Regarding Knife Laws.
. Islam. 14%-15% of Singapore's population is Muslim. This would mean that Singapore is almost 5 times more Islamised than Canada, 3 times more Islamised than the United Kingdom, & more than two or three times more Islamised than Germany or Sweden (depending on who you ask about which percentage of Germany's & Sweden's populations are Muslim).
Singapore allows Muslims to practice polygamy.
The first President of Singapore is Muslim, & the current President of Singapore is a hijab-wearing Muslim boomer.
Also, face coverings, such as the burka & niqab, are perfectly legal in Singapore, in contrast to some of the most liberal countries in the world, such as Belgium, France, the Netherlands, & local areas of Canada, & even in contrast to Muslim-majority countries such as Chad, Morocco & Tajikistan (Tajikistan is a totalitarian dictatorship, so admittedly it's a bad example).
However, keep in mind that Muslim immigrants in Europe are largely concentrated in & around big cities, Southeast Asian Muslims are culturally different from African & Middle Eastern Muslims, & most importantly, the government of Singapore, unhampered by political correctness, actually takes action against criminals.
I know that could be a weird read to Singaporean audience, but this part of the article is mostly aimed at the Christian religious right in the west and in Africa, considering how religious Africans are, along with Muslims who believe that the Muslim world's problems come from not practicing Islam correctly.
Anyways, I would compare Singapore to the City of Glass from Mirror's Edge, or an even better example, San Angeles from Demolition Man.
Dystopian Futures: Demolition Man Review
The Politics of Demolition Man
Most libertarian countries in Europe/Most libertarian European countries:
Instead of arguing issue-by-issue like most libertarians or think about what a libertarian country would be like, I'll show some examples.
A libertarian country is not Somalia. That is just chaos. Even many anarchists are opposed to violence and rule by warlords. Put away your straw man. Places that best resemble libertarian policies would be Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and New Hampshire. Let me explain.
Other people have made indexes of economic freedom, so I will concentrate more on personal freedom than economic freedom. I will not address either the welfare state or political correctness in this article.
Want to drink at or even before you're 18? No problem in most of Europe.
Want to buy/sell sex? Plenty of countries where it's legal.
Want no corporate income tax? Latvia, and the United Kingdom Channel Islands of Isle of Man, Gurnsey, Jersey, and Sark.
Dislike government school uniforms, speed limits on highways, or restrictions on advertising, eating, drinking, vaping or smoking? Germany.
Want to drive a moped before you're 18? You can be 14 and drive a moped in Estonia, Switzerland, Poland and Latvia, 15 in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Germany, and 16 in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden.
Want to drive before you're 18? Kosovo, Isle of Man, Gurnsey, Jersey, Iceland and the United Kingdom, with runner-ups being France, Estonia, Slovenia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Gibraltar, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Slovakia.
Want to be an adult at 16? Scotland (though you still need to wait 2 more years to get a gun license).
Prefer a flat tax? Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Gurnsey, Hungary, Jersey, Moldova, and Romania.
Want to use medical marijuana? Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, and Switzerland.
Want to use cannabis without being prosecuted like a criminal? Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
Want recreational cannabis? Georgia and the Netherlands.
Want firecrackers? The Czech Republic is the best country for that.
Want to own and use suppressors? Norway, France and Finland.
Want unlimited capacity firearms magazines? Poland, Serbia, and Sweden.
Want black powder guns with no license? France, Poland, and Croatia are the best countries to be in, allowing both newly-manufactured blackpowder guns and revolvers.
Want airguns with no license? Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands are the best countries to be in.
Want modern long guns with no permit? Andorra, Austria, Greenland, Monaco, and Switzerland.
Want a shall-issue firearms license? 20 countries have you covered. 15 of them have shall-issue licenses for semi-automatic center-fire rifles, 16 of them have shall-issue licenses for handguns, and 14 of them have shall-issue licenses for both.
Want to conceal carry? Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland are all shall-issue jurisdictions for concealed carry licenses.
(Source: Wikipedia.
If you're curious about carrying weapons on board of ships and boats, read COMPARISON OF FLAG STATE LAWS ON ARMED GUARDS AND ARMS ON BOARD.)
Want the most personal freedom, most business freedom, and low taxes all combined? Try Estonia, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Poland, Monaco, and Andorra, almost exactly in that order.
Tax-Free countries in Europe, by Nomad Capitalist:
Poland almost did not make the list, in large part because it was ranked only "Moderately Free" by the Index of Economic Freedom, does not permit same-sex marriage or adoption, and Poland has municipalities and regions that declare themselves as "LGBT-free zones" in reaction to intersectionality and social justice warriors.
Netherlands, has socially liberal policies, treats children and teens remarkably well, is the most humane country in the world towards animals, is a great place to do business, is considered a tax haven, and is rather permissive about crossbows and even airguns, but has may-issue firearms licenses, restrictive laws on carrying knives and civilians can not possess pepper spray.
Hungary has a flat tax, and both corporate and personal taxes are low. But Hungary is really let down by bans on same-sex marriage and adoption, and one-party rule and weak judicial independence (didn't think that I would oppose right-wing autocracy, did you?).
I'll also mention that Sweden is actually more authoritarian-conservative than Russia when it comes to marijuana. In Russia, an authoritarian shithole, only gives a fine for possessing small amounts of marijuana is akin to a speeding ticket.
Sweden Treats Stoners Worse Than Rapists
Cannabis in Russia - Wikipedia
I am NOT saying that other European countries are not good places to live, as that there can be subjectively positive qualities about other countries, such as culture (I was going to mention that you should listen to Rick Steves if you are interested in culture, but let's just say that his work has its flaws: What's wrong with Rick Steves? - Tripadvisor, The other side of Rick Steves - Salon).
I am just being analytical as to which countries are the most free and to help people who are looking to travel, move, reading politics or are simply curious. Asking me what is the best country for you is almost like asking your doctor or nutritionist about what is the meaning of life when the meaning of life would be a topic better explained by, say, a philosopher, as that a doctor's role is to preserve and extend your life, while a philosopher's role is to suggest what you should feel, think, and do in life.
"Letting something be legal is not an endorsement of it." "You can't just legalize what you would personally choose for yourself. You should legalize choice itself". - Ryan Dawson, Marijuana my 2 cents.
For you anarchists out there (anarcho-capitalists/voluntarists/Rothbardians) that are going to complain about how the governments of these countries violate the non-aggression principle, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Do not be like the social justice warriors who hate the west, concentrating on the fact that it had slavery while practically ignoring that it was the west that reformed and eventually abolished chattel slavery because they compare western civilization and people to abstract, perfect standards and not realistic, real-world examples. People and nations are great, not perfect.
Even Tom Woods, perhaps the best and most articulate anarchist alive today (and if he isn't, certainly one of the best), mentioned how people are already libertarian in the personal lives 16 minutes into Ep. 1960 How to Opt Out from the Technocratic State.
European gun laws, expanded, and comparison to American gun laws:
Permitless for air guns, with restrictions on type in parenthesis:
. Belgium (7.5 joules).
. Bulgaria (24 joules).
. Czech Republic (16 joules).
. Germany (7.5 joules).
. Hungary (7.5 joules).
. Italy (7.5 joules).
. Netherlands (cannot look too much like a real firearm or be too easy to conceal).
. Sweden (10 joules at 4 meters from the muzzle, or 3 joules for fully automatic airguns).
. United Kingdom (16.2 joules for air rifles, 8.1 joules for air pistols. Restrictions for fully automatic airguns are unclear).
Permitless antique and black powder firearms. N stands for new (non-original), while R stands for revolver.:
. Belgium. N. R.
. Croatia. N. R. (Seemingly the only country that requires registration.)
. Czech Republic. N.
. France. N. R.
. Finland.
. Italy. N.
. Netherlands.
. Norway.
. Poland. N. R.
. Sweden.
. Switzerland.
. United Kingdom.
Additional source:
What are the laws for black powder revolvers in France & Poland (more in comments)?
Shall-issue. H means shall-issue for handguns, while R means shall-issue for center fire, semi-automatic rifles:
. Albania. R.
. Andorra. H.
. Austria. R. H.
. Belgium. R. H.
. Bulgaria. R. H.
. Croatia. R. H.
. Czech Republic. R. H.
. Estonia. R. H.
. Finland. R. H.
. France. R. H.
. Georgia. R. H.
. Lithuania. R. H.
. Malta. R. H.
. Monaco. R. H.
. Montenegro.
. North Macedonia.
. Poland. R. H.
. San Marino. R. H.
. Serbia.
. Slovakia. H.
. Switzerland. R. H.
In contrast, the following U.S. States and Territories heavily restrict or prohibit the civilian possession of assault weapons:
. American Samoa. Full prohibition.
. Northern Mariana Islands. Full prohibition.
. District of Colombia. Full prohibition.
. California.
. Connecticut.
. Maryland. High-capacity magazines may be imported from out-of-state.
. Massachusetts.
. New Jersey. "Firearms classed as assault firearms but acquired before May 1, 1990 and registered with the state are legal to possess." Semi-automatic shotguns are limited to 6 rounds.
. New York. Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City all have full prohibitions with magazines limited to 10 rounds for pistols and 5 rounds for rifles and shotguns.
. Hawaii. Only "assault handguns" are prohibited.
Permitless modern firearms:
. Andorra (shotguns).
. Austria (manual-action rifles and non-pump manual action shotguns).
. Greenland (manual-action long guns).
. Monaco (rimfire rifles).
. Switzerland (single-shot and some bolt-action rifles.).
In contrast, the following states that require a permit to purchase long guns:
. California.
. Connecticut.
. Hawaii.
. Illinois.
. Massachusetts.
. New Jersey.
The District of Columbia and all territories require a permit to purchase. New York City requires a permit to purchase with a limit of 1 rifle or shotgun and 1 handgun every 90 days (Australia, by comparison, limits the purchase to 1 firearm per 28 days).
Shall-issue concealed carry licenses:
. Czech Republic (up to 2 firearms with rounds chambered. Unlimited number of single-shot or double-barrel blackpowder firearms or firearms without rounds chambered).
. Estonia (no round in chamber except for revolvers).
. Latvia.
. Lithuania (no round in chamber except for revolvers).
. Poland.
The following U.S. states and territories have may-issue concealed carry licenses
. California. 37 out of 58 counties are de-facto shall issue with cities within such counties possibly being stricter, no issue for 6 of 58 counties, with cities within such counties being possibly more permissive.
. Connecticut. State-wide licenses are may-issue, while local licenses are shall-issue.
. Delaware.
. Hawaii. No-issue in practice.
. Maryland. No-issue in practice in some cities.
. Massachusetts. No-issue in practice in some cities and counties.
. New Jersey. No-issue in practice.
. New York. No-issue in some cities and counties, most notably New York City.
. United States Virgin Islands. No-issue in practice.
And the territories of Ameircan Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands are no-issue.
Keep in mind that just because a country is not shall-issue does not always mean that it is particularly difficult to obtain a license.
And this does not include the fact that some countries that do not require a license to own Antique firearms or Air guns.
Countries that are permissive about carrying or at least owning knives are:
. Austria.
. Bulgaria.
. Czech Republic.
. Lithuania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_legislation#State_and_local_laws
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My favorite European countries are:
Estonia.
Liechtenstein.
Switzerland.
Czech Republic.
Georgia.
Poland.
Monaco.
Andorra.
The Czech Republic, while not the most economically libertarian country, is pretty socially libertarian. It has some of the most permissive firearms laws in Europe, with shall-issue gun licenses, shall-issue concealed carry licenses, virtually no laws on which types of knives an adult may own or carry, legal prostitution and positive attitudes towards sex, legal medical marijuana, decriminalized possession and cultivation of marijuana, and being one of the most atheist countries in the world.
The Czech Republic breaks the left/right paradigm, and the idea that a country needs to be a socially-conservative Christian country to preserve its own culture, have a moral people, and to value self-defense, or that restrictive gun and knife laws are a must-have package with sex positivism, legal prostitution, and marijuana decriminalization.
Switzerland is not quite as socially libertarian as the Czech Republic, as that it does not have shall-issue concealed carry licenses, and is not as permissive towards carrying knifes or acquiring or possessing antique firearms as the Czech Republic, but is one of the economically freest countries in the world, and has a functioning semi direct-democracy in a confederation. Their cantons have meaningful powers, as that they have their own courts and armed police, which function with some real autonomy.
With such a high-functioning, successful, and free country, it makes me think that the Swiss is one of the most intelligent cultures in the world.
Leichenstein is one of the freest economies in the world.
Estonia has a similar situation to Switzerland, with a relatively free mixed-market economy, shall-issue concealed carry licenses, legal unorganized prostitution, decriminalized marijuana, flat taxes, and even (somewhat) lower taxes.
The Netherlands get an honorable mention for having relatively lax attitudes towards drugs, arguably the most positive attitudes toward sex in the world, and legal unorganized prostitution. Dutch parents have a reputation for parenting some of the happiest children in the world. The Netherlands have some of the most permissive airgun laws in Europe (just can't look too much like real firearms or be too concealable), and crossbows and swords are likewise perfectly civilian legal. And the political commentator Tarl Warwick, better known as Styxhexenhammer666, temporarily lived in Amsterdam.
Scotland also gets an honorable mention for having 16 as the age of majority and giving juvenile offenders a chance to work instead of incarceration, an enormous improvement for a place where striking children with the tawse (one of the most painful spanking implements) was normal. However, the age to get a shotgun/firearms certificate completely on your own is still 18.
I do not hate France, but I do hate how the French revolution has created the grossly oversimplified left/right paradigm, which much of politics is stuck on. Instead of left vs right, issues should be equality versus markets, nation versus world, liberty versus authority, and tradition versus progress.
Also remember that the United States of America and Japan are the only two developed countries in the world with a population of more than 83 million people (the size of Germany, rounded down). The United States of America, in sharp contrast to Japan's large but homogeneous population, is also the most diverse country in the world. This is an impressive feat, considering that the other most developed countries with a population over 83 million are Russia, Brazil, and Mexico (China is only developed in the east-coast port cities and the capital, Beijing, and even in those areas the quality of government services and even things like food are frequently lower than in the first world).
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