Hear the buzz as the Nordics bumble ahead

By Rein F Deer

Date: 16/03/06

The bumble-bee is an industrial designer's nightmare.

It is bulky and furry, with wings which are obviously too small. In theory a bumble-bee should not actually be able to fly at all. But it does, and in a very energetic style compared with many of nature's more elegant creations. This is no doubt why the humble bumble-bee has been picked as the Nordic countries' coat-of-arms. Scandinavian countries have taxation which is much too high, matched by sky-high public expenditure (of course!) and a harsh labour-market climate.

This disastrous cocktail is washed down with a melancholy, yet sturdy, disposition. In theory the Nordics should never even get airborne. But we are doing just fine. Year in, year out, Nordics top the world statistics for competitiveness, living standards, life-expectation, and educational accomplishments. We hand out free education, free healthcare, free day-care for children and generous maternity leave, and still somehow our economies bloom.

Trade unions up north are strong but strikes are rare. In France, by contrast, workers prefer to head for the streets waving red flags and eating baguettes. The picnic strikes rarely have much effect. Some 20 years ago the London Sunday Times asked readers for the dullest thing they could imagine. The Queen's spectacles won the competition, but second was "a family with two Volvos". But what's so bad about dullness? Spending on R&D in Europe is highest in Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, in that order. It is one reason why Ikealand, Nokialand, and Legoland are doing so well. The other reason is that Nordics were the first real global tradesmen, Vikings, who made a virtue of their remoteness. They also have a peculiar understanding of a civil society. Don't get me wrong. Every northern employer would prefer his workforce on Chinese wages and US social security, with European standards of education. But Nordic governments do not allow that. Instead they control their capitalists.!

As long as they behave they get well-educated, motivated and loyal workers. Nordic countries prefer to educate their children with the money that Mediterranean governments would hand out as subsidies to agri-business and other buddy entrepreneurs. There is no Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Scandinavia, and no Enarques.

From our perspective under the Northern lights, we see a latter-day French revolution in progress, with a geriatric leading the troops under the alarming slogan: "Brutalité, senilité, stupidité!" The Germans have the same disease. Comrades, look north. We may not have discovered the political Holy Grail. But try to become Vikings. Or bumble-bees. It might work for you too.

Comment feature on the Northern European economic model and welfare state, which could serve as a model for the rest of the EU, the author suggests.