
The recently released book Scandinavian Unexceptionalism shows that the leftist idealization of Scandinavian welfare policies is flawed. In fact, the Scandinavian experience is a great case for limited government and free markets. Scandinavians countries are not prosperous due to large welfare states, but rather as a combination of free-market policies, social cohesion and nordic norms. In fact, Scandinavian countries had high living standards, long lifespans and equal income distribution before the transition to high-tax nations.
What is more, the transition to high-tax policy did not only slow growth, but also deteriorated working ethics and created a class of socially poor on welfare support. Scandinavian culture thrives equally in capitalist America. In fact, Scandinavian Americans have much higher living standard, and even lower poverty, than their cousins in Scandinavia

A Scandinavian economist once stated to Milton Friedman: “In Scandinavia we have no poverty.” Milton Friedman replied, “That’s interesting, because in America among Scandinavians, we have no poverty either.”

You can download Scandinavian Unexceptionalism here.
The views expressed on austriancenter.com are not necessarily those of the Austrian Economics Center.
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June 24th, 2015
New free market book: “Scandinavian Unexceptionalism”
The recently released book Scandinavian Unexceptionalism shows that the leftist […]
The recently released book Scandinavian Unexceptionalism shows that the leftist idealization of Scandinavian welfare policies is flawed. In fact, the Scandinavian experience is a great case for limited government and free markets. Scandinavians countries are not prosperous due to large welfare states, but rather as a combination of free-market policies, social cohesion and nordic norms. In fact, Scandinavian countries had high living standards, long lifespans and equal income distribution before the transition to high-tax nations.
What is more, the transition to high-tax policy did not only slow growth, but also deteriorated working ethics and created a class of socially poor on welfare support. Scandinavian culture thrives equally in capitalist America. In fact, Scandinavian Americans have much higher living standard, and even lower poverty, than their cousins in Scandinavia
A Scandinavian economist once stated to Milton Friedman: “In Scandinavia we have no poverty.” Milton Friedman replied, “That’s interesting, because in America among Scandinavians, we have no poverty either.”
You can download Scandinavian Unexceptionalism here.
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The views expressed on austriancenter.com are not necessarily those of the Austrian Economics Center.
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