Jere Lull wrote:
On 2008-01-27 17:25:16 -0500, Stephen Trapani
said:

Marty wrote:
Stephen Trapani wrote:

All that and still the best country in the world.

In your eyes, not in a good many others.

No, not in my eyes, objectively, by any reasonable measure.

"Best" is not objective. It's subjective. The choice of statistics to
include or exclude is based upon the measurer's biases, so the results
will be as well.

I disagree. For example, there is a sailboat that handles blue water
best, objectively, all other things being equal. It could probably even
be measured with instruments, (maybe one or two of which hasn't been
invented yet). There is a best sailboat for making the best use of the
wind. And on and on.

There is best NFL football team every year, objectively. There is a best
place to start a business, objectively, based upon demand and local
unavoidable expenses, and on and on. Sure, maybe you can say that 'best'
with respect to things like paintings and songs is subjective, but not
every 'best' is subjective and there are plenty of objective measures
for the best country in the world. Including this one:

The measure that I believe approaches objectivity is how many want to
live there --or leave-- legally or illegally.

Stephen