[Angostura]

I've always found Switzerland pretty authoritarian. Try hang out your washing on the wrong day of the week/in the wrong place.

[fsloth]

That's not authoritarianism. "Authoritarianism is a form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms. "

I'm sure you could create a political movement to make it by law easier to hang out your washing where you like.

[claudeganon]

Authoritarianism:

Characterized by or favoring absolute obedience to authority, as against individual freedom.

...which is entirely compatible with enforcement of high-pressure, in-group norms. Shunning is an authoritarian practice, even if it’s done by a collective. See also the Cultural Revolution in China.

[halest]

So what would happen? You would get punished for causing inconvenience to a person who had a right to hang their washing on that day? Sounds very reasonable, how is that authoritarian?

[jotm]

That's what I mean by "free" as in freedom. It's a democratic country, not a very free one.

[rlpb]

I understand that this would also be a problem in certain types of US neighborhoods.

[chinathrow]

That anecdote has nothing in common how the swiss gov/democracy works though.

[vstm]

Exactly, there are no laws against being a Bünzli.

[_trampeltier]

Yes, but a the same time that is the reason, why we have no Elon Musk in switzerland.

[underlines]

That's fine. They have hundrets of Elon Musks who innovate. https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/gii-2019-report

[chinathrow]

Again, how are these two statements even remotely correlated? Asking for a Bünzli.

[auiya]

Is that a bad thing?