The Scandinavian Welfare State Historical Origins 1890s-1930s Electorate and Parliament Political Principles Political-Economic Structure Culture of the Welfare State Current Challenges

Historical Origins of the Welfare State Continued significance of agrarian society during industrialization of late 19 th and 20 th centuries Agrarian cooperatives as means of managing production Rise of Trade Unions as providers of stability to workers Farmer (Agrarian Party) Labor (Social Democrat) coalitions beginning in 1930s –Consumer-Producer compromise –Parliamentary control –Consensus on state planning and rationalization of production –Model depends on planning for growth Particular national concerns –Finland and USSR –Swedish manufacturing –Significance of Norwegian periphery –Danish agriculture

Electorate and Parliament Social-Democratic Domination –Since 1945, in all but Iceland, Social Democratic party has been largest all but twice –Welfare state shaped by Social Democratic party Electors maintain consistent party affiliation thru 1970s –Left and Right blocs –Business and Labor “Payback” –Consistent growth –Wage solidarity –Wealth to pay for generous benefits SDP Emblem

Principles of the welfare state Universalism –Egalitarian distribution –Provision of services not means- based –“Cradle to Grave” Keynesianism –Full Employment –Macro-economic management by state through monetary and fiscal policy Contracts –Class –Gender –Age Corporatism –Inclusion –Consensus 1950s Denmark

Economic Stimulus for the Welfare State Marshall Plan and OECD aid for reconstruction Finnish reparations in kind relative austerity with 4% growth Markets managed to serve the collective goals of the state What happens when growth slows? –1973 Oil Crisis –Rise of neo-liberalism Swedish Appliance Maker

Political-Economic Structure Constitutional change –Diminishment of royal political role Denmark 1953 Sweden 1975 –Unicameral parliaments –Deep enfranchisement Strong state role –High Taxation –Large state bureaucracy –Egalitarian distribution Prominent Trade Union Role Industrial Focus –Export-Import Economies –Monetary policy favoring exports –Agrarian subsidy Danish Company, Lego

Culture of the welfare state Equality is uniformity –Ethnic nation-states –Socio-economic measure Equality privileged –Even access –Society measured by the welfare of the least well to do “Morally defensible system” –Domestic politics –International politics Solidarity Dark side of equality –“Law of Jante” –Paternalistic Planning –“Population management” Tense of thousands of forced sterilizations 1930s-1970s Swedish Liquor Monopoly Modernist and neo-Romantic Oslo

Challenges to the Welfare State Expense of the welfare system –Slow growth –Decreasing tax revenue –Increasing cost of benefits –State debt –EU pressures Deteriorating solidarity –New individualism –Values politics –Disaggregating nation Crisis of legitimacy –Public fragmentation –Diminishment of founding principles of the welfare state How to maintain a national system in a fragmented world?

Conclusion Political and economic foundations of the welfare state established Rapid growth Emergence of a politics and culture of the welfare state 1950s-1990s –The Good State –Society of Equality Challenges for the future