From boiling lobsters alive to measuring happiness of cows
Happiness = Respect + Compassion = Kindness Respect and compassion are the two key properties of a benevolent society. To have happy citizens, it is essential to have both. China is respectful but not compassionate, the US is compassionate but not respectful. And citizens of both countries are not particularly happy, at least compared to small Northern European countries like Denmark, Finland, Iceland, or Switzerland. Finland makes sure that workers in less qualified professions still get a decent wage sufficient to lead a dignified life. Switzerland is compassionate even with lobsters, it is the only country on the world with a law that forbids to boil them to death alive. Unfortunately, in this regard the two most powerful countries on Earth, both vying for global leadership, still have a long way to go. Americans are empathetic to their weak, but show no respect to their unqualified workers. Living in the US nearly half the time over the last twenty years, I observed that people wi