Re: When you mess up, you do it bigtime

You state the fact of the Swedish suicide rate being higher than ours as if that excuses our trailing them in every measurable area of societal equality.

Well, if the country is so good, why is so many people killing themselves?

People don't kill themselves because they are happy!

That is what puzzles me about Scandinavia in particular (compared, certainly, to the Former Soviet countries).

If the USA is high on the list, I can point out to all the factors you mentioned: poverty and inequality, economic crisis, dysfunctional government, etc.

If Sweden is even higher, or simply close enough, then clearly it means that socialized medicine (etc) doesn't make people happier.

Why are so many people as unhappy as killing themselves, compared to arguably worse countries in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East?

I am sorry to think more like Jefferson than Babeuf, but to me Equality is useless without Happiness.

(Though of course, one is better than none)