NBC Touts Norway as Fix for America's 'Flawed Democracy'

A hypocritical NBCNews.com article argues that America is a “flawed democracy” that can be fixed by copying the “World’s Best Democracy” — Norway.

In “Norway Is the ‘World’s Best Democracy’ — We Asked Its People Why,” NBC pretends to provide an objective look at why the Economist Intelligence Unit — based in London, where the country’s parliament actually considered banning America’s president — downgraded the U.S. to a “flawed democracy” and rated Norway the best.

The article doesn’t mention one reason the U.S. is a flawed democracy: it isn’t one; it’s actually a Republic. […]

Feigning fairness, the article points out that Norway’s democracy does have one flaw — it’s TOO CONSERVATIVE: “It’s (sic) current government is led by the Conservative Party and includes lawmakers from the right-wing populist Progress Party, which wants to slash taxes and immigration.” …

Well, when all the progressive politicians claim falsely that the USA is a democracy, the fellow-traveler media aren’t going to deviate from that party line. And said politicians have said so for decades upon decades, with Woodrow Wilson even taking things a step further:

… [I]t is very clear that in fundamental theory, socialism and democracy are almost—if not quite—one and the same. They both rest at bottom upon the absolute right of the community to determine its own destiny and that of its members. Men as communities are supreme over men as individuals. …

That is why I get a bit rankled when people say that Democratic Party “has become” a radical far-left party, when it is the case that they have been such a thing long before many of us were born.

Also it was before oil.

There is this myth spread by globalists, socialists and also American conservatives that Norway somehow was super poor before the discovery of oil.

It’s just not true, but even in Norway have been repeated so often that it has become.... an alternative fact.

Goebbels would have been proud.

See some of my recent answers on this thread.

Just because “most Norwegians”, and they would btw, so I agree with you there. Just because they would agree with you that Norway was extremly poor before oil, doesn’t make it true.

It has been repeated a lot, especially by socialists in Norway to rebuff nationalists who argued that our nation was worth protecting and preservering. And, by repetition it has stuck.

Norway mid sixties was on par with France economically per capita. Below Sweden (at that time), but way above southern European nations such as Spain, Portugal, Greece etc.

You're right. With no oil, it wouldn't be a "poor" nation, but it would still be far behind its much more industrialized neighbors in northernmost Europe, don't you think? Not sure about eastern Norway, but my understanding is that the economy of western Norway pre-1966 was dependent primarily on the harvesting of resources, rather than building things in factories. Eg fishing (sardines, whales, cod, shrimp...), lumber, some minerals, and hydroelectric power sold across the border to Sweden. By the 60s, whaling was banned. By the 70s, sardines & shrimp were hard to export due to cheaper 3rd world competitors. And I don't believe Norway has ever been a significant exporter of agricultural products, has it? (ie from the land, not sea ... and no, I'm not ignoring reindeer meat, brunost, lefse, gamelost, lutefisk... :-))

I know there is/was at least one large industry - shipbuilding, and a few smaller niche ones such as fishnet underwear and cross-country skis. I remember seeing shipyards at Larsnes, Bergen, Haugesund and Hundvag(Stavanger), but my memory is that they had been going downhill due to cheaper foreign competition, until the oil boom revived them with orders for deep sea drilling platforms, oil-exploration ships, platform-servicing ships, and so on.

But no, Norway would not be a "poor" nation today without oil. I think it would be perhaps on a par with Switzerland, Finland, Ireland. Below Sweden, Denmark, Germany, UK, France, Benelux. Above Italy, Greece, Iberia, Balkans.

It seems to me that your main point is that the Norwegian leftwing is making a case that "without oil, Norway would not be a country that its citizens could be proud of, or want to fight for to preserve & protect it" - right? That of course is crapola! And it's same crap you hear from the leftwing in the US and other nations who push a globalized UN-centric agenda, where they have to first convince people of the worthlessness of their own countries before they can sell them on turning their sovereignty over to the UN.

(And of course I'm not including Bergen in the discussion, because .... :-) )

I will get back to you in more detail later.

But, the reason I care about the “You were all just a bunch of poor hillbillies before oil”....

Is that is is heavily used in todays immigration debates.

Every Pakistani and Somali belives this.

So they are like - well you were poor hillbillies until we and oil came....

And, since you were just a bunch of stupid hillbilles that stumbled into oil, isn’t it your obligation to share it with the world.

Take care man and make sure to look after Russians under your bed.

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