Quote from: ribuck on June 04, 2014, 06:23:49 PM

Quote from: neofelis on June 04, 2014, 02:30:55 PM

Government can get out of the way ... Simple really.

That's what the data supports when countries are ranked according to their economic freedom index. It turns out that high economic freedom correlates with high rates of literacy, high education, low infant mortality, longer life expectancy, better access to clean water and sanitation, lower rates of HIV infection, a cleaner environment.

Details here:
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/09/how-economic-freedom-promotes-better-health-care-education-and-environmental-quality

I think he wasn't talking about political freedom, but a kind of economic freedom similar to the liberal XIX century (Laissez-faire times). I doubt that kind of freedom would be helpful for social indicators. In many countries, it's the state that is responsible for those services.

Actually, Cuba is clearly lacking on economic and political freedom and for decades had the better ratings in Latin American on those issues.

Even today, the highest levels of political freedom are typical of developed economies, so that might explain better those results.