Scandinavia US

Rafael Castro: The myth of a Social-Democratic America – it won’t work…….


 

Any form of collectivism is an assault on the individual and liberty…

 

I would also add to this the fact that much of Scandinavian wealth was created before the advent of the modern welfare state. This means that the countries are living the socialist dream on borrowed time. Finland for example, has reduced its GDP at a time when they’re increasing their debt burden, while only promising to create an anemic 36 000 jobs over a ten year period. As farcical as it may seem, the SDP led government is actually proud of that statement.

 

This is an interesting article as far as the US is concerned, it shouldn’t emulate the ‘Scandinavian experience’, it’s a destructive dead-end wrapped in a bow. One of the more interesting conundrums is the fact that the homogeneous nature of these societies, is being upended by destructive multicultural polices they’ve been implementing over the past few decades. The social understanding described in the article is something that they’ve arrived at over hundreds of years. Massive influxes of people from all over the world, especially from Islamic countries, are not being “Scandinavianized” in the least and will lead to the eventual breakdown of a unique ethic.

 

That collectivist Scandinavian ethic has many strains already on it without the addition of the massive numbers of Middle Eastern immigrants and migrants. The situation today will only serve to hasten its demise. The US should reject the Scandinavian model with everything its got.

 

The myth of a Social-Democratic America – it won’t work

Given the multiracial and multiethnic character of America, the end-result of applying a Scandinavian model would be toxic. Opinion.

 

In recent years liberal America has spread the narrative that America would be a more just and better society if it jettisoned rugged individualism and adopted a Scandinavian-style welfare system. This narrative has been countered by conservatives with criticism of the Scandinavian model. High taxes Scandinavians pay are routinely cited by conservative pundits as the main reason a Scandinavian tax code should not be introduced into America.

 

This conservative line of argument is flawed and profoundly unconservative. Scandinavian societies, with their traditional egalitarianism and affluence are not the product of a tax code. The Scandinavian tax code mirrors values and priorities deeply grounded in Scandinavian culture and history. The Scandinavian welfare state was a natural development for extremely homogeneous societies forced to fend off a harsh and unforgiving climate together.

 

In other words, the Scandinavian welfare state mirrors the unique historical, sociological and geographical conditions of Northern Europe.

 

To believe that America would mirror Scandinavia if it adopted the Scandinavian taxation code, shows utter disregard for the absence in America of the collectivist ethos which undergirds the Scandinavian model. In Sweden, Norway and Denmark people are ready to pay high taxes because they traditionally believed a generous welfare state made everyone better off. This attitude was buttressed by a very strong civic spirit deterring people from taking advantage of society.

 

Without this collectivist culture and strong civic spirit, a welfare state easily degenerates into a factory of welfare exploiters. These are exactly the dynamics visible in Scandinavia today. In recent decades the welfare state was curbed in Scandinavia not just due to the burden it imposed on business competitiveness. There were two other ominous reasons the welfare state was retrenched:

 

Firstly, younger generations of Scandinavians, pampered by a generous welfare state, gradually realized it was easier to coast through life by studying and working little instead of working hard and being taxed at exorbitant rates.

 

More here.

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