At the Institute of Economic Affairs Kristian Niemietz asks “What Have the Swiss Ever Done for Us?”, the “us”, apparently, being Britons. The article serves as a good primer on Swiss civic organization. If you’re at all interested in Switzerland, by all means read it.
It omits some very, very important factors. Switzerland is a consensus-oriented society. Nearly every law of any significance is subject to a national referendum. And that consensus rejects involvement in the affairs of other countries. It has very few treaties. It does not participate in the euro. It is not a member of the European Union. It is not a member of NATO. It only recently and reluctantly became a member of the United Nations (2002). It is more prosperous than the United Kingdom or even the United States. It is more egalitarian than the United Kingdom and much more so than the U. S.
So, in answer to the question asked in the title of the article, the Swiss have done something of critical importance to Britons. It has left them alone.
