The Best Country in the World?

A Fireside Rant with Some Damn Good Reasoning

The Question That Starts Fights

What’s the best country in the world? Ask that at a dinner table, and you’ll be wearing a bowl of soup in under five minutes.

Some will throw out Norway because they read somewhere that it’s the happiest place on earth (unless you count how many people drown in alcohol and darkness every winter). Others will yell Switzerland because it has mountains, neutrality, and hidden bank accounts for shady millionaires. Some will swear by China or India, pointing at their rising economies and sheer numbers.

But no matter how much we argue about “best,” there’s one undeniable fact: If the United States disappeared tomorrow, the world would burn for centuries. You can call it corrupt, broken, chaotic, or downright stupid at times, but you can’t say it’s unimportant. Because no matter where you stand on the love-hate spectrum, the U.S. is the linchpin of modern civilization.

And that’s the real test. If something vanishes, and everything else collapses, that something was the foundation. If you yank the U.S. off the map, the world wouldn’t just “adjust”—it would spiral into global wars, financial collapse, supply chain implosions, technological setbacks, and mass panic. Countries would be fumbling for survival, rethinking currencies, scrambling for military power, and re-learning how to function.

Is that objective proof that the United States is the “best” country in the world? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s hard to argue against the fact that it’s the most important one—and in a world that measures power by who controls the gears of industry, finance, and warfare, importance might be the only real metric that matters.

That said, let’s take a walk through the contenders—the best and the rising stars—and then let’s have some fun imagining what happens if the U.S. suddenly winks out of existence.

What Do We Even Mean by “Best”?

“Best” depends on who you ask.

• Want free healthcare and paid vacations? Move to Denmark.

• Want sunshine, high wages, and a stable economy? Australia’s got your name on it.

• Want an ancient civilization that still dominates tech? Say hello to China.

• Want raw power and the ability to reinvent yourself? You’re looking at the United States.

Countries aren’t restaurants where you can rank them on Yelp. Each nation is playing a different game. Some focus on quality of life. Some chase wealth. Some play the long game of cultural influence. And some, like the U.S., grab the entire board and declare themselves the referee.

The usual “best” metrics include:

• Economic Dominance – Who runs the world’s money?

• Innovation & Technology – Who’s inventing the future?

• Cultural Power – Who defines global entertainment, fashion, and media?

• Military Might – Who actually keeps things in check (or causes problems)?

• Quality of Life – Who’s winning at the whole “happy citizen” thing?

So when we say “best,” we’re really asking: Who’s holding the keys to civilization? Because at the end of the day, happiness scores and vacation policies don’t mean much if your economy collapses, your enemies invade, or your tech stagnates.

The Big Contenders for “Best” (And Why They Don’t Win)

Let’s go through the big players—some who are already powerful, and some who might take the crown in the next century.

1. China – The World’s Factory, But Not The King

• Strengths: Manufacturing superpower, rising tech giant, economic behemoth.

• Weaknesses: Aging population, authoritarian government, massive debt, censorship.

• Why It’s Not #1: China still depends on U.S. consumers and U.S. tech. Without access to Western markets, China would collapse in on itself like a dying star.

2. India – The Future Powerhouse That’s Still Warming Up

• Strengths: Fastest-growing economy, tech hub, youngest population among big nations.

• Weaknesses: Infrastructure, bureaucracy, corruption, extreme inequality.

• Why It’s Not #1: Give India 50 years, and we’ll talk. Right now, it’s the “rising champ,” but it’s not there yet.

3. The European Union – A Good Idea That Doesn’t Have A Spine

• Strengths: Economic cooperation, strong social programs, cultural history.

• Weaknesses: Internal conflicts, overregulation, military reliance on the U.S.

• Why It’s Not #1: The EU isn’t a country—it’s a collection of countries that don’t always agree with each other. That’s a built-in weakness.

4. Switzerland, Norway, and the “Happiness Club”

• Strengths: Insanely high quality of life, efficient governments, economic stability.

• Weaknesses: Small size, little global influence, relies on the world staying stable.

• Why They’re Not #1: These countries work so well because the world is stable. If the U.S. disappeared, these countries wouldn’t be “best”—they’d be helpless.

5. Russia – A Relic Clinging to Its Past

• Strengths: Military power, energy resources, strategic influence.

• Weaknesses: Sanctions, economic struggles, autocratic government, brain drain.

• Why It’s Not #1: Russia’s influence peaked during the Cold War. It wants to be a superpower, but its economy and population decline say otherwise.

6. Saudi Arabia – The Kingdom of Oil (For Now)

• Strengths: Oil wealth, regional power, rapid modernization efforts.

• Weaknesses: Dependence on oil, authoritarian rule, cultural restrictions.

• Why It’s Not #1: The second oil becomes irrelevant, Saudi Arabia loses its edge.

What Happens If the U.S. Disappears Tomorrow? Absolute Mayhem.

Here’s the fun part. Imagine waking up and the United States is gone. No military, no economy, no culture, no nothing. What happens?

1. Global Financial Meltdown

• The U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Remove it, and financial systems go into cardiac arrest.

• Stock markets crash, banks collapse, and trade grinds to a halt as countries scramble to figure out how to function.

2. Wars Everywhere

• NATO? Gone. Europe suddenly realizes Russia is right next door with nothing stopping it.

• China moves on Taiwan, and there’s no U.S. Navy to intervene.

• The Middle East? Unstable. Without the U.S. military balancing things, old conflicts reignite.

3. Technology Freezes

• The biggest research hubs—MIT, Stanford, NASA, Silicon Valley—are gone.

• The companies driving AI, space travel, biotech, and computing vanish.

4. Cultural Black Hole

• No more Hollywood. No more Netflix. No more American music.

• The NBA, NFL, and entertainment empires collapse.

The world wouldn’t just “struggle”—it would fracture and regress by centuries. Other powers might step in, but they wouldn’t be able to restore order in our lifetime. That’s how embedded the U.S. is in the current world order.

The Verdict: Best or Not, the U.S. is the Pillar Holding It All Together

The U.S. isn’t perfect. Far from it. It’s a messy, chaotic, often frustrating nation. But when it comes to who actually runs the world, the answer is clear. No country matches the U.S. in power, influence, and resilience.

So is the U.S. the best country in the world? Maybe. Maybe not. But if it’s the only country whose disappearance would send the planet into total catastrophe, that tells you everything you need to know.

You don’t have to like it. But you damn sure have to respect it.

By Noel | Fowklaw—where truth gets a drink and sits by the fire.

References

• Friedman, T. L. (2005). The World is Flat. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

• Discusses the shrinking globe of shared economic and technological progress.

• Waltz, K. N. (1979). Theory of International Politics. Addison-Wesley.

• A keystone in international relations scholarship, exploring balances of power among nations.

• Gaddis, J. L. (2005). The Cold War: A New History. Penguin Press.

• Illuminates how superpower tensions shaped the modern era, highlighting the U.S. role in global stability.

• International Monetary Fund. (2023). World Economic Outlook: Growth Slowdown, Precarious Recovery.Washington, D.C.

• Provides authoritative data on GDP trends, currency reserves, and broad economic indicators.

• Times Higher Education. (2024). World University Rankings. The World Universities Insights Ltd.

• Evaluates and ranks universities worldwide, often highlighting American leadership in research output.