One of the books I am reading now, Neil Howe’s The Fourth Turning is Here, mentions a group called the Freedom House. They are a Washington DC based organization that studies freedom and democracy around the world and I had never heard of them before coming across their work in Howe’s book. According to their website, they are ‘founded on the core conviction that freedom flourishes in democratic nations where governments are accountable to their people.’ They were started in 1941 in order to help ‘raise awareness of the fascist threat to American security and values’ amidst the Nazi aggression that started World War II.

One of the things Freedom House does is rank the nations of the world with respect to the freedom experienced by the people living in those places. Number 1 on the list is Finland. Indeed, three of the top four most free countries in the world are Scandinavian. Not surprising. Canada is sitting pretty at #6. America is labeled ‘free’ but is ranked below more than 60 other countries, and recently earned its lowest rating ever. Hmmmm, I wonder why…

It is worth thinking about where these countries land with regards to the type of political economy they favor.

Below are the top ten lists from Freedom House and from the 2026 World Happiness Report.