“Residents of certain countries can often come together to support certain causes they feel strongly about: human rights, the environment and religious freedom, to name a few. Support for these causes can create a sense of cultural cohesion within countries, and help their people identify as having a shared sense of purpose…. For the first time in its 2021 Best Countries rankings, U.S. News evaluated perceptions on participating countries’ advocacy for these causes and compiled them into a Social Purpose subranking.”
— Social Purpose: These countries are seen as the most progressive, inclusive and being committed to social justice. U.S. News
Per US News, here are the top ten countries in their 2021 “Social Purpose” rankings:
Canada
Denmark
New Zealand
Sweden
Netherlands
Norway
Finland
Australia
Switzerland
Austria
US News acknowledges that Social Purpose is just another way of saying Progressive. I’m not sure why they chose to call the ranking one of Social Purpose, except perhaps to drive home the point that progressive values generate “cultural cohesion” and a “shared sense of purpose”. Unfortunately, that’s not much of a selling point for progressive values, given that nationalists and conservatives tend to make the same claim. Besides, cultural cohesion and a shared sense of purpose aren’t unmitigated goods anyway. Cultural cohesion often feeds on common resentments and shared purpose can be so focused on particular goals that it overlooks other considerations that are just as important, making a mess of the whole purposeful enterprise.* For historical examples, see Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
In any case, I’m more interested in the nuts and bolts of governing than in expressions of political sentiment. I don’t care if someone has the right values or cares about the right things. Give me specific goals and policy proposals. Want to eliminate poverty, hunger, homelessness, etc? Great! What’s the plan? And how are you going to pay for it?
I suspect the top ten countries in the US News Social Purpose ranking (heretofore, the Top Ten) got there because of their progressive policy aspirations and achievements. But do these countries also have progressive tax systems?
And what exactly is a progressive tax system? Progressives and economists agree: one that taxes the rich more than the non-rich, the larger the difference, the more progressive the tax system. But is this how the Top Ten fund their programs? When it comes to how these countries tax person income, the answer is in the charts:
The above charts show that income tax rates are high in the Top Ten, but in most of these countries, the highest rates apply to middle-class** and rich alike. That’s not very progressive.
Here are the specific figures:
Bottom line: With the exception of Austria, the personal income tax system is more progressive in the US than what we see in countries characterized as the “most progressive” in the world.
Next: More on how the Top Ten fund their progressive policies and programs. Plus why the Austrian exception is misleading.
—
* Recommended reading: Goals gone wild: The systematic side effects of overprescribing goal setting by Ordóñez et al (2009). The authors argue that goal-setting is not an unmitigated good but should be conceived “as a prescription-strength medication that requires careful dosing, consideration of harmful side effects, and close supervision.” Harmful side effects include excessive tolerance of risk, tunnel vision, resistance to learning from experience, willingness to engage in unethical behavior, and degraded performance.
** Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households with an annual pre-tax income that is at least two-thirds to double the national median.
Reference:
Policy Brief: Tax Policy Nuts and Bolts: Understanding the Tax Base and Tax Rate. https://itep.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/pb50bolts.pdf