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Strength Through Peace - How Demilitarization Led to Peace and Happiness in Costa Rica, and What the Rest of the World can Learn From a Tiny, Tropical Nation (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R1,411
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Strength Through Peace - How Demilitarization Led to Peace and Happiness in Costa Rica, and What the Rest of the World can Learn From a Tiny, Tropical Nation (Hardcover)
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Costa Rica is the only full-fledged and totally independent country
to be entirely demilitarized. Its military was abolished in 1948,
with the keys to the armory handed to the Department of Education.
Socially, Costa Rica is a success story. Although 94th in the world
for GDP, it is in the top 10 on various measurements of health and
well-being. Citizens enjoy high standards of living that include
universal access to healthcare, education, and pensions. In
addition, the country practices sustainable resource management,
such as reforestation and the development of solar and wind power,
and it expects to be carbon neutral by 2020. Hunting is illegal.
25% of the landmass is parks and reserves. The government supports
universal health care, especially maternal and child health. Costa
Rica even has a Blue Zone, an area where people live
extraordinarily long, healthy lives. To some extent, Costa Rica is
simply lucky: it was largely inaccessible, and it had virtually no
precious minerals, therefore it was mostly spared the ravages of
predatory colonialism. The Costa Rican people made very good social
decisions, ranging from an avowed commitment to social democracy at
the national level, to local land distribution to develop stable
middle class farmers. But Costa Rica's neighbors have not enjoyed
nearly as much peace and prosperity. It is unlikely that Costa
Rica's demilitarization and its remarkable social success are
coincidental; clearly, something special is going on. Through good
luck, good leadership, and good decisions, Costa Rica has become
arguably the sanest and most progressive country on earth. This
book examines how and why Costa Rica is safe and independent
without any military at all, and what the rest of us can learn from
its success.
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