designed to reward winners. These are the countries that pay a good deal of attention

to optimising the conditions of life available to people who win. In such lands, if one is

a winner and falls ill, the hospitals are outstanding: The transport laid on for winners

is superlative: The housing for winners is spacious, light and uplifting: And winner

children are educated in establishments that resemble five star hotels: Of course, in such

lands, provisions for losers are not so quite so comfortable. There isn’t the money left

over. So housing for Losers can be challenging: Transport for Losers is something of a humiliation:

And the children of losers start to learn young about their negligible status. This

could all sound worrying, but it tends not panic us very much for one fundamental reason

related to how the human minds work. Most of us naturally assume that we will – at

some point – become winners. You can see this optimistic part of the brain in action

in our well-observed proclivity for playing the lottery. Millions of us show an inclination

to believe that we will end up holding a winning ticket – despite the daunting odds. The

chances of winning the UK lottery are one in 14 million. This often isn’t enough to

put many of us off. If we don’t play the lottery ourselves, we may feel a bit sorry

for people who do. We may smile at their folly in getting statistics quite so wrong. But

in the way we vote, we may display a strikingly similar mindset. We too may cast our votes

for political parties determined to reward a tiny subset of winners and cast the vast

majority of losers to a less dignified end. We would do well to study statistics.

The chances of starting a billion dollar company in the US.

The chances of earning less than $200,000 per annum in the US.

The chances of needing to depend on the state for health, housing, transport or welfare over a lifetime, in the european countries.

In short, a degree of financial fragility is the statistical norm; being a loser is

the norm. We are far more likely to end up with a mediocre salary, with delicate health

and vulnerability to ill-fortune than we are to end up robust, invulnerable winners. Yet

still we insist on creating and supporting Winner Countries. Here are five of the world’s

top Winner Countries, countries that go out of their way to make the consequences of winning

as pleasant as possible. In 5th place Brazil, in 4th place India , in 3rd palce China, in 2nd place the UK and in 1st place the US

There are a few notable loser countries on our planet. They tend not to get the limelight. Here is

the list of the world’s top Loser Countries: 5. The Netherlands 4. Germany 3. Switzerland

2. Norway 1. Denmark In Loser Countries, voters graciously assume that they are and will remain

losers – and therefore set about trying to make their condition as pleasant as possible.

They make sure there is a public transport system fit for losers: Public housing fit

for losers: And public schools fit for complete losers: In these Countries for Losers, it

can be awkward to be a winner. No one applauds you for driving a fancy car. Money won’t

buy you schools any better than the loser ones. You might even go to a loser hospital

of your own accord. And your taxes might be quite high. Both Countries for Winners and

Countries for Losers have their advantages. The question is whether we are voting for

societies that reflect our own statistical realities. By accepting that we will almost

certainly be and remain Losers, we might be sad no doubt, but we may also be liberated

to scheme to live in societies that make the consequences of failing a lot less bitter.

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