Re: [nukkad] Costa Rica abolished its army .. and the happiest nation

[Braja Hari das <>]

[This message contained attachments that have been removed.]


What happens when (or if) a neighbouring country attacks it?

Also, maybe its neighbours are all peaceful, but India cannot afford to
abolish its army. If we had abolished our army, we would now be part of
Pakistan.



On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 5:49 AM, Dr.M.C. Gupta  wrote:

> This is an interesting account of Costa Rica, which, in Spanish, means
> Rich Coast. I have visited this country as well as all other Central
> American countries. The two things I remember distinctly about Costa
> Rica are that--
>
> --Everywhere to be seen were the whites. The local indigenous
> population was just not to be seen. the decimation was near complete.
>
> --The hospitals were very well maintained but were empty. There were
> few patients. Health level was very high.
>
> It is a tiny country. Army would serve it no purpose. Army against
> whom? Against local uprising,as in Nicaragua? No chance. there are no
> more local people left to rebel against oppression. Against external
> aggression? There is nobody to attack a tiny country with sea on both
> sides and other tiny countries as neighbours, who are constantly put
> on the leash by the great champion of democracy and freedom worldwide
> and would dare not breathe if the supercop tells them so.
>
> that does not detract from the wisdom of Costa Rica in deciding to
> abolish army in 1949. It has paid dividends. Also, that prevented from
> military take overs in future. What a master stroke!
>
> M C Gupta
>
> ===============================
>
> On 13 January 2010 03:41, Indian Rediff  wrote:
> >
> > [This message contained attachments that have been removed.]
> >
> >
> > Forwarded from another list. I thought the content was too interesting to
> > miss.
> >
> > Sai
> >
> > The Happiest People
> > By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
> > Op-Ed Columnist
> > January 7, 2010
> > SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica
> >
> > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/opinion/07kristof.html
> >
> > Hmmm. You think it's a coincidence? Costa Rica is one of the very few
> > countries to have abolished its army, and it's also arguably the happiest
> > nation on earth.
> >
> > There are several ways of measuring happiness in countries, all inexact,
> but
> > this pearl of Central America does stunningly well by whatever system is
> > used. For example, the World Database of Happiness, compiled by a Dutch
> > sociologist on the basis of answers to surveys by Gallup and others,
> lists
> > Costa Rica in the top spot out of 148 nations.
> >
> > That's because Costa Ricans, asked to rate their own happiness on a
> 10-point
> > scale, average 8.5. Denmark is next at 8.3, the United States ranks 20th
> at
> > 7.4 and Togo and Tanzania bring up the caboose at 2.6.
> >
> > Scholars also calculate happiness by determining "happy life years." This
> > figure results from merging average self-reported happiness, as above,
> with
> > life expectancy. Using this system, Costa Rica again easily tops the
> list.
> > The United States is 19th, and Zimbabwe comes in last.
> >
> > A third approach is the "happy planet index," devised by the New
> Economics
> > Foundation, a liberal think tank. This combines happiness and longevity
> but
> > adjusts for environmental impact — such as the carbon that countries
> spew.
> >
> > Here again, Costa Rica wins the day, for achieving contentment and
> longevity
> > in an environmentally sustainable way. The Dominican Republic ranks
> second,
> > the United States 114th (because of its huge ecological footprint) and
> > Zimbabwe is last.
> >
> > Maybe Costa Rican contentment has something to do with the chance to
> explore
> > dazzling beaches on both sides of the country, when one isn't admiring
> the
> > sloths in the jungle (sloths truly are slothful, I discovered; they are
> the
> > tortoises of the trees). Costa Rica has done an unusually good job
> > preserving nature, and it's surely easier to be happy while basking in
> > sunshine and greenery than while shivering up north and suffering "nature
> > deficit disorder."
> >
> > After dragging my 12-year-old daughter through Honduran slums and
> Nicaraguan
> > villages on this trip, she was delighted to see a Costa Rican beach and
> > stroll through a national park. Among her favorite animals now: iguanas
> and
> > sloths.
> >
> > (Note to boss: Maybe we should have a columnist based in Costa Rica?)
> >
> > What sets Costa Rica apart is its remarkable decision in 1949 to dissolve
> > its armed forces and invest instead in education. Increased schooling
> > created a more stable society, less prone to the conflicts that have
> raged
> > elsewhere in Central America. Education also boosted the economy,
> enabling
> > the country to become a major exporter of computer chips and improving
> > English-language skills so as to attract American eco-tourists.
> >
> > I'm not antimilitary. But the evidence is strong that education is often
> a
> > far better investment than artillery.
> >
> > In Costa Rica, rising education levels also fostered impressive gender
> > equality so that it ranks higher than the United States in the World
> > Economic Forum gender gap index. This allows Costa Rica to use its female
> > population more productively than is true in most of the region.
> Likewise,
> > education nurtured improvements in health care, with life expectancy now
> > about the same as in the United States — a bit longer in some data sets,
> a
> > bit shorter in others.
> >
> > Rising education levels also led the country to preserve its lush
> > environment as an economic asset. Costa Rica is an ecological pioneer,
> > introducing a carbon tax in 1997. The Environmental Performance Index, a
> > collaboration of Yale and Columbia Universities, ranks Costa Rica at No.
> 5
> > in the world, the best outside Europe.
> >
> > This emphasis on the environment hasn't sabotaged Costa Rica's economy
> but
> > has bolstered it. Indeed, Costa Rica is one of the few countries that is
> > seeing migration from the United States: Yankees are moving here to enjoy
> a
> > low-cost retirement. My hunch is that in 25 years, we'll see large
> numbers
> > of English-speaking retirement communities along the Costa Rican coast.
> >
> > Latin countries generally do well in happiness surveys. Mexico and
> Colombia
> > rank higher than the United States in self-reported contentment. Perhaps
> one
> > reason is a cultural emphasis on family and friends, on social capital
> over
> > financial capital — but then again, Mexicans sometimes slip into the
> United
> > States, presumably in pursuit of both happiness and assets.
> >
> > Cross-country comparisons of happiness are controversial and uncertain.
> But
> > what does seem quite clear is that Costa Rica's national decision to
> invest
> > in education rather than arms has paid rich dividends. Maybe the lesson
> for
> > the United States is that we should devote fewer resources to shoring up
> > foreign armies and more to bolstering schools both at home and abroad.
> >
> > In the meantime, I encourage you to conduct your own research in Costa
> Rica,
> > exploring those magnificent beaches or admiring those slothful sloths.
> It'll
> > surely make you happy.
> >
> >
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>
>
> --
> (Ex)Prof. M C Gupta
> MD (Medicine), MPH, LL.M.,
> Advocate & Medico-legal Consultant
> www.writing.com/authors/mcgupta44
>
>
>
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