Land of the *Economically* Free

The economically freest country, according to the Index of Economic Freedom and the Economic Freedom of the World reports, is Hong Kong. The second freest country in economic terms is Singapore. Jim Rogers has stated on several occasions that he moved to Singapore to take advantage of the greater freedom that can be enjoyed there.

We all know that economic freedom isn't the only kind of freedom there is. The GOP's always been lambasted for advocating economic freedom (though it really doesn't) while ignoring all sorts of personal freedoms. Now, if the GOP actually did stand for economic freedom, by advocating the abolition of legal tender and of all involuntary taxation and calling for increasing the number of HB1 visas to meet demand, and yet continued to defend the War on [Some] Drugs, the War [of] Terror, the exclusion of homosexuals, and the death penalty, then it would still be opposing freedom. The most crucial freedoms are those with your own body. If taxes are abolished (or greatly reduced), then fine - no one's legally robbing you (or they're legally stealing less). But they could still be legally kidnapping you for doing things that don't harm anyone else, and they could still legally beat, maim, and even murder you. Those are the things that happen in the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, and the death penalty.

Now, Singapore is the second-freest country when it comes to freedom of the purse. But is it a free country? If you can be hanged in Singapore for drug trafficking, then it doesn't matter how free you are with your purse. You could be free with your money and your land, but you aren't even free with your own body. Note this: in Singapore, if you're caught with more than a certain amount of the offending substance, you are presumed guilty of trafficking until proven innocent. If a bag of more than 500 g of cannabis or 15 g of heroin is found on your property, the burden of proof is on you, and what a burden it is. If you can't prove that someone else hid it there without your permission, then you hang.