One of these days I'm going to have to figure out why I find politics so depressing.

But it was a pleasant distraction from politics to be asked recently which country I'd rather live in, India or China.

I had to put on my thinking cap, and think long and hard.

My answer was China, but at the time I had not seen this:

Of course, dying dogs is not nearly as bad as clubbing them to death, skinning them for their coats, or eating them.

India, OTOH, generally has more reverence for animals (although allowing "sacred" cows to block traffic might be carrying things too far).

I don't think I'd see too many scenes like this in China:

I suspect I'd be more likely to see this:

I have to admit, scenes like that bring out genuine hatred in me towards the people who are doing it. (I disagree vehemently with PETA and many animal rights activists that dogs are the moral equivalent of pigs and cattle, as I believe dogs are unique among animals as being literally "man's best friend," and that they have earned the right to not lightly be betrayed as they are in certain countries.) But animals are only a small part of the equation. I don't like China's policies towards human beings, which includes running gulags, harvesting organs from convicted criminals (including political criminals), government censorship, and a intrusive statism of the totalitarian variety -- which Americans would theoretically lay down their lives to prevent. At least, many generations have.

So in addition to its better treatment of animals, in terms of its treatment of people, India the democracy wins hands down. However, from a purely esthetic standpoint, India has many more undesirable features than China; it is more dirty, more overpopulated, has worse food quality, worse water quality, and probably worse air quality. I love Chinese art, Chinese food, and the Chinese attitude towards business. India in general I find more depressing than China. (I have visited both countries, BTW.)

Which country is more free? In terms of ranking, they're not as different as you might think. Heritage Foundation gives India a World Ranking of 123:

India's economic freedom score is 54.4, making its economy the 123rd freest in the 2009 Index. Its score is only 0.3 point higher than last year because improvements in financial freedom, government size, and business freedom were offset by significant decreases in investment freedom and labor freedom. India is ranked 25th out of 41 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and its overall score is below the world average.

China's economic freedom score is 53.2, making its economy the 132nd freest in the 2009 Index. Its overall score is essentially unchanged from last year. China is ranked 28th out of 41 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and its overall score is slightly lower than the global and regional averages.

The United States' economic freedom score is 80.7, making its economy the 6th freest in the 2009 Index. Its score is 0.3 point lower than last year, reflecting declines in five of the 10 economic freedoms. The United States is ranked 1st out of three countries in the North America region, and its overall score is much higher than the world average.

That is the issue of who's to blame.

Many of the things I don't like about China can be blamed on the totalitarian government, but not on the people themselves. India being a democracy, to the extent the government is messing things up, the people themselves are theoretically for it, else why would they have voted for it?

This may sound odd, but if I have to live under a tyrannical regime, I'd rather live under one which people didn't vote for than under one which people did vote for.

I'd rather think of the government as being the bad guy than the people as being the bad guys.

Simply math dictates that the more people you hate, the less happy you are. So, it's less depressing to hate people who run governments than people who vote for governments, because you hate fewer people that way.

MORE: I edited the sickening picture of dead food dogs in China after a complaint. (Those who want to see the full original can simply click on the altered version.)