[Peace-discuss] Living with Denmark's Democratic Socialism

Fri Nov 13 06:54:55 EST 2015

<http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/11/1448606/-Living-with-Denmark-s-D
emocratic-Socialism> Living with Denmarks Democratic Socialism 

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 <http://www.dailykos.com/user/Nancy%20Graham%20Holm> By Nancy Graham Holm 

Wednesday Nov 11, 2015 7:37 AM CST 

As an expat American whos lived in Denmark since 1991, Ive been longing to
write about Danish Democratic Socalism, but my colleague, Contenius beat me
to it with his entry last Friday (Daily Kos, 6 November). I like what
Contenius says: The Nordic Model could never be applied to the USA in its
current form but this is no reason to reject it altogether. The MIT study
that Contenius refers to, confirms that with reforms and fine tuning, the
model is sustainable. 

But I have something else on my mind.

What concerns me is why so many Americans want to  - choose to - find evil
in Denmarks form of democratic socialism.  Ive been participating in the
roller coaster commentary threads following
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/03/why-denmark-isnt-the-
utopian-fantasy-bernie-sanders-describes> Ana Swansons interview with
Michael Booth in the Washington Post  and Im sad to see that so many of the
comments are harsh and vitriolic in nature. No amount of evidence or
clarification is enough to mollify some of these commentators. They just get
angrier and more irritated because positive comments are assumed to be lies
or to have negative ulterior motives. You would think that Americans would
be curious about Denmark after both Bernie and Hillary mentioned it in the
Democratic debate.

Why so much anger?

Heres my best educated guess: Most Americans have been brought up to
believe that the USA is the best country in the world and that most people
in other nations wish they could live in it. This means that it feels
unpatriotic to admire someone elses political system; disloyal  close to
treason - to even consider the possibility that another socioeconomic system
might be superior.

Americas superiority is an assumption I carried with me throughout my life
and I probably brought it with me to Denmark when I was hired to teach for
one year at the national journalism college. The one-year gig became two and
then three and then five until I was granted academic tenure and permanent
residency. By then, I was well acquainted with Denmarks democratic
socialism and after marrying a Danish national and realizing that Id
probably be staying forever, I started to consider myself fortunate.  Let me
tell you why.

First, I like Danish egalitarianism.

OK. This clearly makes me out to be a liberal. As moral psychologist,
Jonathan Haidt teaches us in his provocative book, The Righteous Mind: Why
Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (2013) liberals need to
feel equal to everybody while conservatives need to feel superior to at
least a few. This makes Denmark a perfect fit for American social liberals
and a frustrating - even exasperating - experience for Americans who
identify as conservative.

Personally, I like how Danes value work and workers. They seem to understand
that nothing is produced or accomplished in society without labor and they
honor rank and file workers just as much as managers. In Danish society,
human beings are judged by the strength of their character, not by their
professional status or the size of their pay-check.  Weekend getaway
planning conferences often include everybody-at-the-office, not just upper
and middle management, but secretaries, cantine workers and custodians.
Everyone is entitled to express opinions and they do. In Denmark, medical
doctors do not wear white coats (except in hospitals) and they normally
introduce themselves by their first names. Professors and teachers are also
called by their first names and everybody else too that you might meet on
the job. The majority of work places have a kitchen and eating area so that
mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee breaks are social events with freshly
brewed coffee served in cups with saucers and bakery goods  including, on
occasion -  wienerbrød  (yes, what Americans call Danish).

Union membership is not compulsory in Denmark yet 80% of people with jobs
(skilled and unskilled) are members of a labor union. Kollektive
overenskomster means "collective bargaining" and this is the heart and soul
of their economic egalitarianism. Without government interference, it is the
employees and employers that negotiate salary, vacation, sick leave and
maternity/paternity leave. Women cannot lose their jobs because of pregnancy
and all pregnant women are entitled to paid-leave one month prior to giving
birth and up to one year afterward. Professional childcare exists so that
women can participate in the economy. All children are guaranteed a place in
a nursery until elementary school, subsidized through taxation.

Everybody  skilled and unskilled  is formally trained in Denmark. There
seems to be an education for just about everything, including the
execution of retail sales in department stores. Workers are entitled to
upgrade their skills through courses and it is not unusual for management to
send some of their staff to various courses on company time. If you lose
your job, unemployment insurance protects you, giving you enough to stay
inside the economic system; enough to keep you from losing your home to the
bank; enough to buy groceries and prescription medicines; enough to live
with dignity while you search for a new job. Losing your job in Denmark is
inconvenient but not a disaster.

Work/play balance is a Danish value and people who work excessively are not
admired but considered anti-social and unhealthy. Normally, everybody works
37 hours a week and gets 5-6 weeks of paid vacation in a calendar year. If
you change employers, you are entitled to carry your vacation time with you.

Health care is pre-paid through taxation. Doctors are paid by the State and
everyone is entitled to pick their own physician, and/or change doctors, if
they choose. The first line of care is with a general practitioner who makes
referrals to specialists, if necessary.  All diagnostic tests, treatments
and surgery are free of extra charge and the costs of medicines are
subsidized to make them affordable.

But hey! Democratic socialism is not communism. It is merely a pooling of
resources to share the nations wealth among its citizens. Democratic
socialism means that the decision makers are democratic; transparent;
accessible:  Not far away; not totalitarian.

I like the Danes highly decentralized system of political power so that a
nation of only 5.6 million people has 98 municipal districts and five
administrative regions. I like the fact that MPs -  Members of Parliament -
are not professional politicians but ordinary people: librarians, teachers,
dentists, building contractors, accountants, journalists, etc. that
represent eight different political parties, none of which, by the way, want
to dismantle the welfare state.

What impresses me most about Danish political campaigns is the prohibition
of television ads so that political candidates run on a level playing field
and do not have to raise gargantuan sums of cash. I like the fact that the
campaign period is short, not years but a matter of weeks.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Danish democracy is that registering
to vote is not necessary. All citizens over the age of 18 automatically
receive a ballot through the postal service at their home address. Voting is
not compulsory, but in national elections close to 80% of all elligible
voters do.

As an American, I know Denmarks system is not applicable to the USA.
Democratic socialism could only happen in Denmark because the population was
homogenous with a high concentration of trust. America was founded by
immigrants...from all over... folks whove had trust issues with
government from the beginning.  (There are still members of the GOP who
like to sing: theres no government like no government!)  Danes do not see
the government as an adversary but as a mirror. The Executive, Legislative
and Judicial branches are follow citizens working on their behalf.

This is what makes Denmark (and Scandinavia) different. People trust one
another. The challenge is to retain this trust in a society that is no
longer homogenous.

But in the meantime, Americans should stop demonizing Denmarks system. It
works.

And it makes us happy.

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