Synopsis "2020 Decision: Socialism, Racism or Happiness?"
It is uncanny that the rich, powerful USA, with its booming economy and lowest unemployment in years, has fallen five places in the 2019 World Happiness Report, defeating the goal of 'pursuit of happiness' set out in the Declaration of Independence. That Report measures how happy citizens are with life in their countries. It is determined by polling residents from 156 countries, using the credible Gallup World organization. When one considers how America's less wealthy neighbor, Canada, has constantly featured in the top ten, meaning they are twice as happy as Americans, I can only conclude that it is policies introduced by the Trump regime, such as; tax measures that only benefit the rich, the chipping away at health care, ignoring the will of the majority on gun safety regulations, the hacking away of regulations designed to protect the health of citizens and the environment, which have contributed most to the increased unhappiness. In following the debates in the USA and especially the plans and programs being put forward by some seeking nomination to become the representative of the Democratic Party, I see every possibility that Americans could have caring and exemplary leadership, to steer them toward real happiness. I find charges that the Democratic Party is socialist, totally ridiculous. For apart from a miniscule faction led by Bernie Sanders, I certainly see no evidence of an appetite for socialism, in that party or in the greater USA.However, I sometimes get the impression that many Americans do not realize that socialism is an economic philosophy, which determines that government controls production and distribution of the country's resources. This is the very opposite of the market economy and in those countries that have adopted socialism, the result has only been the 'equal distribution of poverty.' Even China, the only 'socialist' country that managed to squeak into the top 95 of the Report, it only started to grow economically, because about forty years ago, the government begun easing restrictions on state control, thus causing its economy to flourish to the point where, China is the second richest economy in the world today. What finally motivated me as an outsider, to write 2020 DECISION; SOCIALISM, RACISM OR HAPPINESS? was hearing a very educated American declaring in a debate, that Canada was socialist because they had excellent social programs that served the needs of the people! This confusion about socialism seems to be quite widespread in the USA, so I will allow the prime minister of Denmark, a country with some of the most liberal and humane social policies and whose citizens have voted it 'the happiest country in the world' for six successive years, to clarify the issue. He said; "I know that some people in the US associate the Nordic model with some sort of socialism. Therefore, I would like to make one thing clear. Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy." Although I cannot vote in American elections, reality is that whatever happens in the USA affects the entire world. Therefore, I feel constrained to comment on the main issues I hear being raised in debates. The book is divided into three parts. First, I share with readers, my personal experience with socialism, which I had endorsed when I was young, as it was painted as 'Utopia in action. ' However, once implemented, it became 'Hell on Earth.' Then, I use material from numerous articles from credible media houses in the USA, which have convinced me that that the Republican party, has fully embraced Donald Trump's dangerous, brutal, racist philosophy. So I now surmise that a vote for Republicans would cause the return of Jim Crow. Finally, I go into detail about how the World Happiness Report was developed, look at many of the policies employed in the top ten "happiest" countries in the world and discuss how Americans can be successful in their 'pursuit of happiness.'
