So research company TNS have done some work to gauge the level of optimism that various countries around the World feel.
They’ve detailed it by listing the most optimistic and the most pessimistic and I have to be honest, but some of the findings are quite surprising …
Data: TNS
I can only assume the reason Colombia is on the list is because they’re expecting a bumper coke harvest this year … probably because the American economy is so shot, they know there’ll be less Drug Enforcement Officers on patrol. But if that was the case, why isn’t Mexico on there as well?
And Kosovo and Lebanon? What the fuck???
Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to appreciate why Iceland is depressed – and if you’ve ever been there, you’ll know it’s not just because the place is bankrupt – but Singapore?
Sure the economy is tough, but those buggers don’t know they’re born.
Great standard of living, excellent facilities, careful financial management, superb infrastructure – in the big scheme of things, what have they got to worry about except the fact they might not be able to buy the latest Prada bag! Seriously, they need a big reality check – especially many of the kids who, as I’ve said numerous times – think they’ve paid their dues simply by going to University.
Getting back to the point …
Let’s face it, what TNS asked – “Do you think 2009 will be better or worse than 2008” – is hardly the sort of heavyweight question that can reveal powerful and groundbreaking insights … plus without any structure, any finding is going to be surceptable to the influence of ‘acts of God’ as well as major levels of ambiguity regarding the feedback, which is why these things annoy me when they’re presented as fundamental fact rather than just a moment-in-time viewpoint.
Saying that, I would genuinely love to know why the people of Kosovo etc are so optimistic …
Joking aside, the fact they’re so optimistic doesn’t surprise me.
Over the years I have found that the countries who have endured greater hardship somehow produce a more optimistic society.
This is not just pie-in-the-sky theory, it is something that many researchers are looking into and Oliver James – a psychologist – wrote a really interesting piece about it in his book ‘Affluenza‘
Maybe it’s about expectations … maybe it’s about appreciation … maybe it’s simply that they are so low that the only way is up … but in a World where so many people aspire to put themselves in a golden cage, it’s refreshing to know that some people out there still appreciate good ol’ simple pleasures … even if for them, it is the kind of stuff us spoilt and indulged Westerners take for granted.