A left-wing utopia? Stockholm, SwedenBenoît Derrier

Last week, LBC’s Ian Collins compared the Nordic model to communism. Collins claimed that Jeremy Corbyn’s free school meals policy is ‘Maoist’, and that the same policy in Sweden is taking a big leaf out of China’s very own Little Red Book.

But it does seem that the Scandinavians have it better in nearly every way. Norway and Denmark top the OECD happiness charts; people feel safest in Scandinavian countries; these nations enjoy low gender and income inequality. Guess which is the only country to top Denmark for the ‘best sense of community’. It is New Zealand, too far away for us to even bother with.

So what is the ‘Nordic model’, and why does it work so well for Scandinavians? Could it work for us? Why and how did they develop seemingly such a more sophisticated, egalitarian society? Is there anything wrong with the Nordic model?

Type ‘Nordic model’ into google, and you’ll see a number of images of beautiful women. So let me explain: the Nordic model is a loosely-defined system of governance employed by Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland (Iceland to a lesser extent). The classic Nordic model combines ‘universalist’ welfare aimed at promoting social mobility with an economic system which promotes free-market capitalism, with workers’ interests mediated by the government. Sweden and other countries maintain a definite commitment to privtisation and free trade.

“Right-wingers are obsessed with the idea that coalitions hinder efficiency, but the fact is that they work

Crucially, the Nordic model also embraces proportional representation (PR), meaning that every vote counts, as opposed to the UK’s ‘first-past-the-post’ model. This means that nearly every government formed in Scandinavia is a coalition. Right-wingers are obsessed with the idea that coalitions hinder efficiency, but the fact is that they work.

Lane Kenworthy of the University of California suggests that the Nordic model can be understood as a form of social democracy which promotes as egalitarian a society as possible within a capitalist framework.

So what does this mean for citizens? It means free education and universal healthcare, strong workers’ and individual equal rights, admirable inequality, safety, cohesion and ultimately a society within which every organisation and individual works well together. And do not believe the recent lies being spouted by right-wing news organisations such as Breitbart, claiming that Sweden has numerous ‘no-go zones’.

There is no debate or interpretation here: all the Scandinavian countries have homicide ratings far better than the OECD average, and citizens of Sweden and Denmark report that they feel safer walking home alone at night than in other countries.

So why is there so much misunderstanding about the Nordic model? Right-wing politicians, press and public figures link the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders to Scandinavia, and eventually conflate the Nordic model of social democracy with communism. This is incredibly ignorant given that the Nordic model has one of the best free trade and free product market rankings, and clearly advocates a capitalist system with very little regulation.

“You don’t have to be a diehard Marxist to be uncomfortable by the commodification of life through the sickening ‘hygge’ trend.”

But we must not only dispel myths about the Nordic model, but also consider its failings. Although happiness ratings are sky-high in sunny Scandinavia, the Nordic model still prides itself on unregulated free markets, which you don’t have to be a diehard Marxist to be uncomfortable with. I believe that true gender and income equality will never be achieved through capitalism, but even I have to admit that, for a flawed system, the Scandinavians’ equality and happiness ratings might be the best that we can hope for.

Racist tendencies also tend to manifest themselves with more seats for far-right parties in countries with proportional representation, and accordingly, the Danish People’s Party gained 37 seats at the last election. They advocate banning halal meat and the burka.

Even if we wanted to change to it, the Nordic model has a very specific applicability to Scandinavia. The nations are generally cohesive (unlike the UK), and have promoted a fertile environment for Nordic equality for hundreds of years, as the influence of Lutheranism (as opposed to Catholicism) has carefully fostered a caring and egalitarian society, albeit one which is deeply conservative with a small ‘c’.

Should we make the switch to the Scandinavian system? Yes, says Bernie Sanders. I believe it is as important to observe the failings of a system as it is to advocate its benefits. As such, the Nordic model is not perfect. But in a world facing the prospect of a G7 including Trump, May and Le Pen, it’s as close as we can get