![]() Social security in Scandinavia is more generous than pretty much anywhere else. The way they differ is mostly in their welfare state. This fact gets missed by a lot of people, but their economies are fully open and trade globally like most countries in the world. The ways in which they’re similar are enough that we can talk about them collectively – scholars call this the Nordic Model.įirstly, they are all free market capitalist countries. The styles of government aren’t identical either, but they do share some common features. While the Scandinavian countries are in many ways very different, they share a lot of common history. Some economists refer to it as cuddly capitalism, contrasting with what is seen as cut-throat capitalism in other Western countries. Some refer to this as democratic socialism, though this is far from correct. Effectively, they’re democratic countries in which its citizens are well cared for. Scandinavia and the Nordic countries can be best described as social democracies. So, what exactly do people mean when talking of Scandinavian socialism? Social democracy explained Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Therefore, I would like to make one thing clear. I know that some people in the US associate the Nordic model with some sort of socialism. In 2015, in fact, the Prime Minister of Denmark, in a lecture at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, addressed the issue directly. The flags of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark The simple fact is that Scandinavian countries are not, by any reasonable definition, socialist. If you’re looking for a country that matches this definition, your search won’t take you to northern Europe. That’s pretty much what Marx and Engels came up with in the 19 th century. Socialism is a political, social, and economic philosophy encompassing a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers' self-management of enterprises. So, let's set a few things straight! Is Scandinavia socialist?Īctually, to start with, what do we mean by socialism? One thing’s for sure though, Many commentators have clearly never set foot in the Nordic region and barely understand the Nordic way of doing things. All systems have positives and negatives and Scandinavian countries are no exception. ![]() The truth, as always, is a little more complicated than a simple good or bad. Let's take a look at the truth of the Nordic model.ĭepending on where you get your political news, you’ve probably heard of Scandinavian socialism as either the beacon of hope for the world or the worst thing imaginable. ![]() But “cuddly capitalism” is a much more accurate term. Global media (especially in the US) likes to portray Norway and Scandinavia as socialist.
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