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Working just fine in the Nordic countries. For those ready to argue they are not purely socialist, you're confusing socialism with communism.

bryanlarsen 4y ago
Socialism is defined as the means of production owned by the state. So the Nordics aren't socialist by the classical definition. Welfare state or social democracy are better terms. But whatever you call it, I want it.
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago
  Owned or controlled by the state. You can have socialism without state ownership if the state has sufficient control. (And that means that socialism isn't binary - you can have degrees of state control.)
  - bryanlarsen 4y ago
    Ikea et al aren't controlled by the state any more than American corporations are controlled by the US government.
Turing_Machine 4y ago
No. The Nordic countries all have market economies. dictionary.com: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community as a whole, usually through a centralized government. merriam-webster.com: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy: Political system in which the (major) means of production are not in private or institutional hands, but under social control. Wikipedia (just for the heck of it): Socialism is a political, social, and economic philosophy encompassing a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership[1][2][3][4] of the means of production,[5][6][7][8] as opposed to private ownership. I'm not "confusing socialism with communism". You're confusing "market economy with high levels of government spending" with "socialism".
legitster 4y ago
Although, in many aspects the Nordics often have more "free market" behaviours than the US. I am surprised by how many services are privatized (2/3 of roads in Sweden are privately operated!). And they face less arbitrary import restrictions! And ease of doing business isn't any less in these countries: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?most_recent_value_desc=false https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?most_rec...

bryanlarsen 4y ago

Socialism is defined as the means of production owned by the state. So the Nordics aren't socialist by the classical definition. Welfare state or social democracy are better terms. But whatever you call it, I want it.

AnimalMuppet 4y ago
Owned or controlled by the state. You can have socialism without state ownership if the state has sufficient control. (And that means that socialism isn't binary - you can have degrees of state control.)
- bryanlarsen 4y ago
  Ikea et al aren't controlled by the state any more than American corporations are controlled by the US government.

Turing_Machine 4y ago

No. The Nordic countries all have market economies. dictionary.com: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community as a whole, usually through a centralized government. merriam-webster.com: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy: Political system in which the (major) means of production are not in private or institutional hands, but under social control. Wikipedia (just for the heck of it): Socialism is a political, social, and economic philosophy encompassing a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership[1][2][3][4] of the means of production,[5][6][7][8] as opposed to private ownership. I'm not "confusing socialism with communism". You're confusing "market economy with high levels of government spending" with "socialism".

legitster 4y ago

Although, in many aspects the Nordics often have more "free market" behaviours than the US. I am surprised by how many services are privatized (2/3 of roads in Sweden are privately operated!). And they face less arbitrary import restrictions! And ease of doing business isn't any less in these countries: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?most_recent_value_desc=false https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?most_rec...