The Nordic Model - Embracing globalization and sharing risks

ENDNOTES
1
Wikipedia refers to popular views, according to which “the laws of aerodynamics prove that
the bumble bee should be incapable of flight, as it does not have the capacity (in terms of wing
size or beat per second) to achieve flight with the degree of wing loading necessary”. There is an
interesting sequel to this, because Wikipedia also reports that the erroneous view is based on “a
simplified linear treatment of oscillating aerofoils”, while “more sophisticated aerodynamic analysis
shows that the bumble bee can fly because its wings encounter dynamic stall in every oscillation
cycle”. The analogy with the bumble bee obviously suggests that the Nordic model is something
more than just high taxes and big government. On this analogy see also Thakur et al. (2003).
2
There are residual forms of social assistance which are means-tested also in the Nordic countries,
and which therefore give rise to “poverty traps”. However, it remains the case that countries
with universal schemes in general have less means-testing and less severe poverty traps than
many other countries.
3
This is the case notably if one starts from a (“Rawlsian”) perspective of a hypothetical individual
who does not know what his position in society may be or become (who is reflecting on social
choices from behind the “veil of ignorance”). The purpose for which Rawls employs this thought
experiment is to help make the theoretical case for certain basic principles of justice. Its practical
relevance is, needless to say, weakened by the fact that actual political discourse does not occur
in a vacuum but in a context where various actors have well-defined and often conflicting interests.
4
While now highly secular, the Nordic culture is strongly influenced by the Lutheran faith,
which gives prominence to a strong work ethic and solidarity between members of society (and
even conformist pressures). The long history of independent farmers and the tradition of local self
governance are other features worth noting. Scandinavian kings have shared some power not
only with the nobility and the church but also with the land-owning farmers for ages. The administration
of the state was rather effectively organized in the Swedish kingdom as early as the 16th
century. The Nordic countries have never been class societies to the same extent as, say, France or
England. In the 1920s (at the latest), the labour movement and the Nordic Social Democratic parties
abandoned the view that capitalism would collapse because of its inherent contradictions.
Instead, the reformist vision was that the socialist future should be built not on the ruins of capitalism
but on a flourishing and growing economy. Increasingly, as the labour movement acquired
influence and power, it became an element of stability in society – though later in Finland than in
the other Nordic countries.
5
See, e.g., EEAG (2007), chapter 4.
44 · The Nordic Model