Speaking of "Swedish Models":
Posted on 03/14/2012 12:23:56 PM PDT by WesternCulture
The successful trademark registration of “Nordic Model” by Sweden’s Social Democrats has prompted a sharp reaction from the rest of the Nordic region's political establishment.
The move has led other political bodies to protest the Social Democrats' move, which has put the question of who created the Nordic Model into ever sharper focus.
"We may have understood if they had (trademarked) the 'Swedish Model', but when it comes to the 'Nordic Model' we have no choice but to protest," Jens-Erik Enestam, who heads the Nordic Council representing opposition parties from across the region, said in a statement Tuesday.
Sweden's opposition Social Democrats successfully registered the "Nordic Model", which is widely understood as a system mixing the market economy with a womb-to-tomb welfare state, as a trademark in Sweden last December.
The Social Democrats, who dominated Swedish politics for most of the 20th century, insist their workers' movement created the generous system and have criticized Sweden's current centre-right government for trying to hijack the phrase.
The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers, which represents the governments of the region, together lodged an official complaint with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (Patent- och Registreringsverket – PRV) on March 6th.
"The Nordic Model is a general Nordic political asset and cannot be considered either as only Swedish nor as belong to a specific political party. The Nordic model is part of the entire Nordic region's, and all of its inhabitants', cultural-political heritage," they wrote.
The councils also pointed out that they frequently use the term in their publications -- in fact 171 of their publications contain the phrase -- insisting it would be "practically unreasonable and wrong in principle to legally protect a term that is already used in a much broader context ... (and) that several countries identify with and regularly use."
But I won't deny Sweden and the rest of the Nordic Countries today appear like Paradise compared to most neighbors south as well as east of the border.
The reasons we're so well off basically is Capitalism, Realism and Lutheran work ethics, but for some reason certain people over here are too brainwashed with Socialist ideology to realize this.
But anyhow, who invented the 'Nordic' or 'Scandinavian' Model?
Actually, good ol' Otto von Bismarck and the Danish Socialists did.
Bismarck's Germany was the first nation to introduce modern time nationwide social insurance programs, this philosophy soon spread to Denmark where it was cross-fertilized with Socialism and finally, it caught a following in my country.
However, I'd say we Swedes are better at propaganda, marketing and branding than our neighbors. Whichever way you look at it, IKEA, H&M and Volvo are stronger brands than Lego or Nokia.
Back in 1970, the Swedish economy entered the new decade displaying a promising annual GDP growth rate of 7%, crowning 25 years of remarkable economic success. This was not a result of Socialism, but by well ran companies and a World eager to recover after the insanity of WWII.
However, instead of making good use of the money and power at our disposal, Swedish politicians and voters for some reason decided it was time to perform certain socialist experiments.
One of the least impressive results from this era of research remains that of the ever-growing public sector.
Around 1990, we Swedes were forced by harsh realities to make drastic changes. Since the global economic crises of the early 1990's, Sweden has downsized its public sector, cut taxes and constantly been working hard to create a business friendly atmosphere in all of society.
But this has little to do with the 'Nordic Model'.
One might speak of a NEW Nordic Model; a model of society that, despite PC multiculturalism and suchlike nonsense, manages to year after year produce new capitalist success stories and a corner of the World featuring an economy that despite its 25 million population is the tenth largest on Earth and so on.
But again, this has got very little to do with outdated Swedish Socialist ideas of the early and mid 20th century.
Socialism can perhaps be workable in a homogenous society where everyone shares the same work ethic and belief system.
In a multicultural society, it is a recipe for disaster.
Speaking of "Swedish Models":
The Nordic Model should really be called the oil / fishing model since that is what really paid for it. Two massive industries couldn’t support the Nordic model in countries with pretty low overall populations.
Wait,.....if it’s socialism, don’t the people own it?
A blind Freeper could’ve seen that post coming.
No hard feelings though:)
Instead, I hope you’ll appreciating this just as much as the beer I’m presently enjoying:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8rrFP2RMmo
Sweet Mother of...
[thunk]
Wonderful video, best enjoyed with the sound muted.
“The Nordic Model should really be called the oil / fishing model since that is what really paid for it. Two massive industries couldn’t support the Nordic model in countries with pretty low overall populations.”
- You don’t seem to know what you’re on about.
Are you shure you’re not an Obama voter?
Firstly, Norway has a lot of oil, the other Nordic countries do not. Libya has even more oil and about the same population size, so why isn’t Libya just as prosperous?
Despite Denmark’s and Sweden’s lack of big oil companies, Danish wages are actually higher than and Swedish standards of living could be said to outdo their Norwegian counterpart.
Some Scandinavians are fishermen, just like some people are in Chile, the US and China.
What has fishing got to do with it all?
If you disagree the Nordic Countries house plenty of well run companies like Ericsson, Scania, Electrolux etc, please tell us which nation/planet these companies originate from.
“Wonderful video, best enjoyed with the sound muted.”
- Perhaps whoever made the stuff wasn’t sadistic enough to choose “God save the Queen” or “Rule Britannia” for soundtrack.
(No, I don’t hate Britain)
“Back in 1970, the Swedish economy entered the new decade displaying a promising annual GDP growth rate of 7%, crowning 25 years of remarkable economic success. This was not a result of Socialism, but by well ran companies and a World eager to recover after the insanity of WWII”
Was that experience also aided by the fact of Sweden’s general nuetrality during WWII, which left her cities and industries in better shape starting out in 1945 than was the case with many of her southern neighbors. A neutrality from which some Swedish interests, particularly iron-ore mining gained $$ considerably, from Germany, during the war?
You are saying the answer to why the Nordic countries, without saying it. I’ll say it; it’s my treatise for the world as we see it today; it’s culture, culture, culture my friend.
Why Sweden today? Why South Korea (natural resources nearly zero, human resources immense), why tiny Singapore? It’s culture.
Why not the Philippines (humongeous natural resources -iron ore and bauxite on Mindinao, fantastic deep seaport in the middle of the China sea, tons of talented people - nurses and doctors working all over the world, tons of corruption, low general education achievment, and more nepotism than entrepenuers)? It’s culture, culture, culture.
It’s my treatise on the world as we see it today.
“Culture - a culminating social by-product of a long history of a people, is a stronger part of our social DNA than political or religious ideologies. “©Wuli2012
“Why is Russia still Czarist Russia? It’s culture. Why have the Chinese merely replaced the single emperor on the Imperial throne with a collective (the politburo) on the throne? It’s culture.”©Wuli2012
The “Nordic Model” is neither an absolute socialist model anymore than it is an anti-capitalist model. But its cultural base suggests that it is also not exactly transportable to some other land. Others can learn from it, study what is really working (or not) and how (or how not), and evaluate what that study means to them. If they take anything from it, it will likely be similar to how the Japanese once studied American manufacturing, to learn from it. Then they went home and used the American parts they like to build their own systems, systems that worked for them.
It’s culture.
So true but like you said so many want to fight tooth and nail to hang on to the failed leftist ways. I read an article not too long ago, on the Local, about how Sweden was becoming more and more individualistic. The cries from (the mostly Brit) readers were just maddening.
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