Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.22-081552/https://www.ft.com/content/9bc7496b-3504-47ac-aae6-7738de6adcf5
Who else has what we might call a Danish — that is, heterodox — cast of mind? The journalist Peter Hitchens is a church-and-king conservative with un-Tory views about trade unions, government housing and even the second world war. (Just as his brother Christopher, at the height of his leftism, backed Margaret Thatcher over the Falklands.) Who among Jeremy Clarkson’s fans or enemies knows that he has favoured a “liberal United States of Europe”, with “one army”, since long before the shocks of the past month or so?
The tragedy is that, in a tribal era, this kind of thing comes across as scattiness or wilful contrarianism, when it is just the mark of a thinking person.
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It is almost as if — can you believe it? — the country approaches each issue on its own terms.
Yes you could say that, but the truth is more complicated:
Welfare is generous but bosses can hire and fire with some freedom. (“Flexicurity” is the unbeautiful word
This is a great example of two contradictory interests that we have made possible to meet.
Employers can fire easily, which make it easier for companies to hire for expansion, but also fire if the expansion fails.
But we do that while at the same time also considering the welfare of workers.
The interest of both sides are considered!IMO that is the true beauty of “A Denmark state of mind”. The issues are considered on their own terms, but also carefully weighed in context to things it may negatively impact, in an attempt to find solutions that make different interests meet, and achieve balance.
This is probably also the reason why Danes are OK with paying some of the worlds highest taxes. We know they are high, but we also know it’s the basis for having one of the worlds most well functioning societies.And I think we’re doing it pretty well as a whole. Thanks to strong democratic values, and a tradition dating back to 1924 when the Social Democrats (Stauning) won the election. And a tradition of cooperation instead of confrontation was established between the left and right side of parlament.
PS:
Please read the article, it has a pretty good point which I cannot make nearly as well. 👍Employers can fire easily, which make it easier for companies to hire for expansion, but also fire if the expansion fails.
This is good. It makes a lot of sense that the financial welfare of people should be offloaded off the backs of employers (who need to be dynamic), and onto the state.
