As I savored my first cup of joe this morning, I was still processing my thoughts about an exchange I had with a friend yesterday. The topic was social democracy. I know the word ‘social’ is one of those red flag words in this country which gets inexplicable linked to the word ‘socialism’ fueled largely by the right-wing press looking for red button issues, but I’m of the opinion that ‘social’ is a good word and we should learn to embrace it.
My thoughts keep coming back to the notion of the role of government in making the lives of its citizens better. Every year there is a poll of the happiest countries in the world. Interestingly, the Nordic countries – Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Iceland – always lead the list. I’m fascinated by this list because I’m inherently of the opinion that we have a relatively short time on this planet and shouldn’t one of our key objectives be the welfare and happiness of we humans while we are here? Life shouldn’t always be a daily battle where we take a deep breath and sigh when we made it through another day. BTW, the U.S. usually falls somewhere in the 18-19th place on the list. I could offer opinions on our position, but for the moment, I’ll pass on that digression.
Why do the Nordic countries do so well? I have done a modest amount of research into this topic and pretty much think it is summed-up by one word – balance. The people in these countries are willing to trade-off priorities to achieve a balance in life. Amid their economic prosperity (capitalism), they also respect that work is not the end objective. In this country we work an average of 44+ hours a week, while the Nordic countries work about 37 hours. They don’t take their work home either. Virtually everyone gets 5 weeks of vacation a year, something we ‘earn’ after we have been with the company, maybe 10 years or more. Beyond work/home balance is the social network that looks after its citizens. People aren’t filing for bankruptcy because they have the misfortune of getting a disease they never asked for. Young people are not burdened with college debt at the very point they are starting out in life. Unemployment is not a financial or emotional disaster. Schools are among the best in the world. Citizens are not worried about mass shootings because everybody with a pulse can own a gun. It is all about balance – the social network and economic system are balanced using economic prosperity to fund the social ne which benefits its citizens. This is why I think they consistently lead the pack in happiness.
Sure, you will read that Nordic countries have among the highest taxes in the world. Its citizens, however, don’t balk at this because the taxes pay for the security and ‘balance’ that lets its citizens sleep peacefully at night. Cut out my tongue, but I would gladly pay higher taxes if those taxes funded a social network that benefits me and not feeds some invisible military/industrial complex that makes bombs and missiles all day, or allows the CEO’s of companies to earn salaries in the hundreds of millions each year. No system is perfect, for sure. But I humbly submit that there is a reason its citizens are among the happiest in the world. – balance. I know that comparisons are complex and the size of the country makes government less complex and the societies are considerably more homogeneous than this country, but really, do you think our priority is the happiness of our citizens?
So, as I pour a second cup of java, I wonder what we could be if we put our energies into what government ought to do – provide a system which provides the maximum benefit to its citizen yielding a happier place to live out our short lives on this marble.