Switzerland’s Mind-Your-Own-Business Wisdom
Small, landlocked Switzerland has all the imperialist restraint in the world. Prosperous and intact, Switzerland’s staunch keep-it-to-ourselves strategy appears to have worked out in their favor with great historical success. The differences in vision between America and Switzerland are glaring. Switzerland never set out to improve the world or to export their ideology. They adopted an impressive strategy of neutrality paired with a strong defense. Offense, crucially, did not figure into this national strategy.
Switzerland also stayed true to their republic origins and did not metastasize into an empire like their American counterpart did. Military reticence also accounts for Switzerland’s admirable lack of sticky foreign relations. Importantly, this was not pacifism that Switzerland ascribed to, but rather a policy of militant conservatism in entering the conflicts of other countries. A third and curious trait of the Swiss region is the temperate political climate and its relative stability when surrounded by the frothing tensions of neighboring countries.
When I think about what defines Switzerland, I suspect one of its most meaningful components is its quality of non-intervention. Though technically non-interventionist, Switzerland’s free trade conviction is very liberal and much of their economic well-being depends on porous borders and…
