Episode 32-Guns, Safety, and Swiss Sense

This is Henry R. Greenfield's  first dispatch from Switzerland—part of a field series exploring how communities create safety, especially in countries where nearly half of households keep a firearm at home. 

Landing in Zurich, Greenfield unpacks Switzerland’s quiet paradox: high gun ownership, low homicide rates, and a civic culture built on shared responsibility rather than hollow slogans. Here, firearms are integrated into daily life through mandatory military service, an active network of gun clubs, and meticulous safe practices. Discipline, competence, and mutual expectations shape a society where safety isn’t just a rule—it’s a habit look at why Switzerland remains one of the safest countries in the world despite widespread gun ownership, and why social cohesion matters more than wealth or laws alone. From mandatory service to local voting and controlled immigration, Greenfield discusses how trust and civic duty shape safety.

• high gun ownership paired with low homicide rates
• mandatory service and normalized firearm competence
• social admonishment as everyday enforcement
• local democracy with frequent, simple paper voting
• Europe’s safety rankings and Swiss exceptionalism
• contrasts with the United States’ polarization
• immigration as controlled, contribution-focused policy
• technology and industry beyond finance and watches

Stay connected with Henry R. Greenfield  for more in depth discussions and expert solutions as he reports from Switzerland.

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting the Swiss Scene
• 0:25 Guns, Culture, and Safety
• 2:22 Europe’s Safety Rankings
• 3:40 Civic Duty and Local Voting
• 5:14 Social Cohesion vs Polarization
• 6:30 Immigration, Control, and Contribution
• 7:20 Technology, Industry, and Identity

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Welcome to the Greenfield Report with Henry R. Greenfield, your gateway to understanding today's geopolitical landscape. With 50 years of experience across 10 countries, Henry shares expert insights on world affairs, offering practical solutions and engaging guest perspectives. Dive into the Greenfield Report for lively discussions on the issues that matter.

SPEAKER_00: 0:25

This is Henry R. Greenfield reporting from Zerg Switzerland, the financial center of Europe, as well as one of the richest places on earth. A place where all men must serve in the military, and a great proportion of women also do the same. It is a place where every man who serves in the military has a gun and keeps it in his house. And if he would like after he's finished serving in the military, he can keep that too. It is a place of high gun culture. If you think the Second Amendment in the United States is strong, in Switzerland, guns are a key part of their society. You would wonder with all the guns around and gun clubs and teaching of children about guns when they're very young. Think of Tyler Robinson, who is the alleged murderer of Charlie Kirk, who learned about long guns when he was younger, and who, of course, obviously went off the rails and committed a horrendous murder. But in Switzerland, what actually happens? Well, let's look at the numbers. If you'd like to ask, what is the number one safest country in the entire world? Well, you already know where this is going. Yes, it is Switzerland, number one. Numbers two through ten are all in Europe. Europe, Europe, and more Europe. In fact, if you look at the top 20, they're almost all Europe, with the exception of number eight, New Zealand, and number nine, Australia. Otherwise, it's all Europe. But let's go back to Switzerland. Switzerland has more guns. Australia has a lot of guns. So what is it about the guns in the United States? And what is it about the guns in Switzerland? Well, let's take a step back again. Switzerland is the opposite of the United States in terms of trying to limit voting. In Switzerland, it is said that the average person in the country does not know who the president of Switzerland is. However, every person in Switzerland knows who the leader of their canton is. Cantons are each of the individual states that are put together to form the country of Switzerland, a country of three national languages, which are Swiss German, French, and Italian. And of course, English is spoken almost fluently everywhere throughout the country. It's a country of high educational attainment. It is a country of peace. It is a country of guns. It is a country of everybody serves, mandatory service. Are you getting the picture here about what is Switzerland? And it's also rich. Now, some of that has to do with making Switzerland a financial capital, which is their good fortune. However, the United States has a financial capital in New York. It has Silicon Valley, it has Texas, it has money everywhere. So it's not about the money. And it's not about the guns. It is about what? It is about social cohesion. It is about safety. It is about doing the right thing in your community. You are expected to do the right thing in Switzerland. And if you don't, you will be admonished. People will come up to you and say, don't throw that on the street. It's different than Singapore where they will find you. Instead, it is like a collective effort in Switzerland to make you do the right thing. And like in Singapore, where they took a very unruly population before Li Kwan Yu became prime minister at independence and turned it into the green, amazing country that it is today. And I know I've lived there seven different times. Singapore was not a very well-managed country, especially under those final years of the British. Today it is again a garden state. It also controls its guns very closely. But in Switzerland, let's go back. It is a Western country. It is a country that votes on everything. If you want to make a change locally, they vote. They don't just put it to the legislature, they vote. And everybody likes voting, and they do it simply, cheaply, and very efficiently. There is no argument about voting machines. Most ballots are done by paper, done, collected, and within a day the results are known. As I go around Switzerland in the next few days, I'm going to be adding to this Greenfield report. This is my initial one, sitting here at the Bahnhof, waiting to be picked up by my friend who works for the giant company Siemens. I hope to be able to interview him as Switzerland is also a technology leader in the world. Switzerland's not just banking, it's not just watches, it's not just being on time. It's not just guns that nobody uses. Oh yeah, they use it for hunting, they use it for shooting, but they do not use it for killing. It has one of the lowest murder rates in the entire world and one of the highest gun ownership rates in the entire world. How can that be? We're going to explore that question as we go through, but giving you a few hints. Of course, there is, as I already mentioned, social cohesion. There is a sense of what does it mean to be Swiss. In the United States, there seems to be now lost two polarized sides, one saying benefits, the other side saying no benefits, kick out the immigrants. In Switzerland, immigration is also an issue. Immigration needs to be enforced, and it is being enforced, as they get serious about making sure the people in their country are legal and are here to do something to contribute. Switzerland is not against immigration, but Switzerland is very much for controlled immigration, and they would like to have workers that are highly productive. This is Henry R. Greenfield, and with an ongoing report starting in Zurich, Switzerland, the heart of Europe, where the streets are the safest in the world and the gun ownership is as high as the United States, with almost 50% of all households having guns in their home.

SPEAKER_01: 7:16

Thank you for joining us on the Greenfield Report with Henry R. Greenfield. We hope today's insights into the ever shifting geopolitical landscape have sparked your curiosity and broadened your perspective. Stay connected with us for more in depth discussions and expert solutions. Until next time, keep exploring the world beyond the headlines.