Lowest: Netherlands
THE PERFIDOUS DUTCH
IDK I think this is kind of a Rorschach test. You could easily interpret people who disagree as thinking that caring for the elderly is the responsibility of society as a collective and not a responsibility of individuals - something I’d think a lot of people here would be sympathetic to.
Yeah most of the states with a low score have (or had at some point in the near past) a functioning social safety net which likely includes elderly care, or people are just generally rich enough to afford proper care in their old days.
The ones with the high score overwhelmingly are too poor to have a functional social safety net, especially for the elderly, so old people don’t really have many people to rely on other than their children.
It’s not and these results are aligned with the western type of lifestyle we (in the Eastern Europe) have been bombarded with constantly through media, where you get kicked out of the family house one way or the other at earliest age possible and then visit your parents once a year for some “annoying” event. Because being with parents is apparently annoying, shows you are not “independent”, or successful, or whatever Angloid/western nonsense. It is absolutely not surprising they don’t care about their parents that much at all.
The question doesn’t ask if you care about your parents. That’s what I mean about a Rorschach test - it seems like you’re projecting your own thoughts onto data that could be interpreted in several ways
I mean the vibes of this obviously go another way but I’d disagree on it if it’s stated this plainly.
I don’t think there’s an inherent responsibility to take care of your ill parents. I’d take care of mine, cause I like em but if your parents sucked ass throughout your life, fuck em. Nobody asks to be born.
if my parents are sick, I wanna be there helping them. They cared for me when I couldn’t take care of myself, it is my duty to care for them when they can’t. Yes, medical care and trained professionals should be present for some of this, maybe most of this if I don’t have the time or money, but I should be there for at least some of it, and it’s definitely where I should be and want to be. and anyone that says “I shouldn’t care for my parents, that’s society’s job” does not care for their family and lacks key social bonding beliefs.
Just think it’s odd to claim there is lower social solidarity in every former european socialist state, and France than in Scandinagian countries.
Im working on a theory that Nordic countries had to adopt social democracy out of necessity because nobody would lift a finger to help anyone else.
I’ve heard similar sentiment from a scandanavian on how supportive Americans are to people they barely know.
At the time I was like “hahah what”, but maybe basic things like offering to let a friend stay with you if they’re going to be in the area for awhile and you have room just isn’t a thing there.
It’s the other way around. People are more independant because of a strong welfare system.
Sweden also wasn’t really that wealthy of a country before the 1990’s, and parts of the early 20th century were positively Dickensian.
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/SWE/sweden/gdp-per-capita
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/SWE/sweden/gdp-gross-domestic-product
Countries where socialized medicine existed at some point had kids willing to care for elders? You don’t say.
I’m kind of curious because my immediate thought was the opposite, that peoples that see caring for the sick and elderly as a responsibility for the whole of society rather than the family unit would value socialized medicine higher. Like if you asked me if it should be my duty to take care of my parents I’d say that they pay their taxes and the state should take care of them, but if that’s off the table then of course I’d help. I guess that’s a pretty glaring issue with the question asked.
Italy has socialized medicine and a system to tace care of the elderly (not a great system, but it exists) yet they still think they should take care of their parents.
ok but Italians are ingrained from birth to fear but rely on their parents and live in constant states of guilt heaped upon them. The stereotype that Italians all live with their mothers even when middle aged and married exists for a reason. Imagine the guilt-trips of a stereotypical Jewish mother mixed with catholic guilt
Yeah I know, I’m not saying that Italy is an example to follow, but that the existence of a relatively sturdy socialized Healthcare and elder care system isn’t necessarily followed by the perception that the state will take care of your folks.
Thinking that there is a single answer risks erasing local cultural differences, and the ways people perceive priorities and needs