Posted on 03/15/2020 4:47:36 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Bernie Sanders has placed ”democratic socialism” at the center of his presidential campaign and his vision for a better America. For proof, he points to Scandinavian countries like Sweden.
Sanders’ argument takes as its starting point the perception that the Scandinavian “third-way” economic model of democratic socialism - combining the wealth creation of capitalism with the safety net of socialism - works well, and that the U.S. could reach the same socioeconomic outcomes and prosperity by expanding the role of government.
But as a Scandinavian political scientist who has studied Nordic politics, economy and history in depth, I do not feel the Bern. The Vermont senator has embraced an urban legend; his love affair with Scandinavian socialism gets it all wrong.
Contrary to the prevailing narrative, the success of Nordic countries like Sweden - as measured by relatively high living standards accompanied by low poverty, with government-funded education through university, universal health coverage, generous parental-leave policies and long life spans - precedes the contemporary welfare state.
In fact, when we examine Nordic politics, economy and history as exemplified by Sweden, we find that the Northern European success story was not achieved thanks to a welfare model funded by high taxes, but perhaps despite it. It is high time Sanders stops misleading his followers on this score.
Rather than persistently suggesting that the American Dream can be realized by expanding government or raising taxes, it is time for Sanders and his comrades to go back to school and study history. The true lesson to be learned from the Scandinavian experience is that the Nordic-style welfare-state models haven’t worked nearly as well as American democratic socialists like to pretend.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
I’m glad this was posted.
Democratic Socialism is still Socialism. Eventually it morphs into communism.
That could be, but Sweden was never really socialist. It was a country with private property, private enterprise and a lot of welfare programs. So it wasn't in danger of going communist, because people owned property and didn't want to lose it.
Sanders doesn't know what he's talking about. "Democratic socialism" is a very slippery concept for him. One day it's Sweden or France. The next day it's Cuba, Nicaragua or Venezuela.
When he was younger the talk was of "worker management" in Yugoslavia. I don't know if there really was such a thing, but Yugoslavia - when it was still around - wasn't a democracy under Tito.
Well old Bernie does have a point about Communist countries being good places to live. Why else would West Germany have had to build a wall to keep all the citizens in its half of Berlin from fleeing to the Communist East? Oh wait, I got that backwards, didn’t I?
Well still, you see all those people in Florida building makeshift rafts and risking their lives trying to escape to Cuba. Surely Cuba must be a wonderful paradise if people are risking their lives trying to get there, right? Darn! Backwards again!
I’m almost starting to think that people actually living under Communism don’t think it’s such a great system. Old Bernie couldn’t possibly be wrong though, could he?
“ Research has suggested that the Northern European success story has its roots in cultural rather than economic factors.”
IIRC the conversation between Alan Greenspan and the Swedish finance minister went something like this:
Swede: “In Sweden, we have a very low poverty rate.”
Greenspan: “In America, among Swedes, we have a lower poverty rate.”
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