The 2004 Index of Economic Freedom -"Free Markets, Free People"

Wall Street Journal ^ | Jan 9, 2004 | MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY

[The Raven]

Despite another year under the dark shadow of Islamist terrorism, the world remains on a path toward greater liberty, according to the findings of The 2004 Index of Economic Freedom released today.

In this 10th anniversary edition of the Index, published each year by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, Europe continued an important trend begun last year, with seven more countries exhibiting an increase in freedom than exhibited a decline. North America and Europe are now home to seven of the world's 10 most liberal economies.

[rebel_yell2]

How do they calculate this "index"? A strange methodology that would have one of the few communist countries coming in #1. I'm in Hong Kong right now and the big story is how the Chief Executive of the city has kowtowed to Beijing on refusing to discuss more electoral freedom with the people until he consults with the powers that be in Beijing.

[lepton]

Actually, I don't consider "liberal" as translating to mean "free".

One has to understand that about 30 years ago, much of the definition of Conservative and Liberal in the United States completed a flop. In many ways, the "conservatives" exemplified by Reagan, for example, are much more classically liberal than the liberals.

[The Raven]

I'd rather have open books on my medical files if the government would stop taxing the %&^(*^)*&%*(& out of us.

That's the biggest loss of freedom......we're all slaves to the socialists now.....