What, if Anything, Can America Learn from Norway?
(COMMON DREAMS) Karin Kamp, February 6, 2016 — Who would have thought that Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, would give Hillary Clinton such a run for her money in Iowa.
As journalist Ann Jones describes in “After Living in Norway, America Seems Backward,” Sanders believes America should look to “countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people.” He made those remarks at a Democratic presidential debate, adding that he believes in “a society where all people do well. Not just a handful of billionaires.”
At that same debate, Hillary Clinton seemed to dismiss Sanders’ view when she said: “What Senator Sanders is saying certainly makes sense in the terms of the inequality that we have. But we are not Denmark. I love Denmark. We are the United States of America.”
Having lived in Norway for four years, Jones thinks Sanders is really on to something. She describes the country as a social democracy and a “peaceful, prosperous land where nearly everybody seemed to enjoy a good life, on the job and in the family.”
The most liked Facebook comment came from Beverly Dancy, who wrote: “Americans have this streak of false pride. We believe we have it better than everyone else, everywhere else and it just isn’t true. Why NOT look at what is working well in other places and apply it here…what is there to lose? Oh right, that false pride that, we are No.1!” Yes, we are number one, Nancy Griffin cynically agreed: “Number one in military spending and the percentage of our population that we incarcerate.”