Very disappointed you did not describe the specific format of the Scandinavian countries, Erik. If I could take claps away, I would. I have no idea if you ever read what I wrote, but you would have gleaned a very important aspect you do not write about.
- The Scandinavian democracies have One House and One House only. Plus, the members are voted in proportionally.
It is very unique in the western world, because most other nations have two Chambers and sometimes even an empowered president on top of that.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, said the French and they are right.
In Scandinavia, the voters have the most control of all voters in the world because their votes are not diluted across multiple political institutions and they vote proportionally.
Your article makes many other interesting points, but you are also veering away from the essence that explain why the Nordic nations are so democratic. The article it too long, too many pathways, and then the missing piece the resistance, the essential voting system itself.
Very disappointing that you did not mention it, did not realize this. You should rewrite this article or write an article anew because you missed the most important structural aspect why Scandinavian countries are so democratic, why they deliver so well.
Yes, again, there are important assessments in your article, and yes it depends too on what the people in these seats ended up deciding. If in the US all members of Congress embraced the We The People ideal fully, then they would deliver the best outcomes for all, too. It is not just the system, your points are well taken.
Yet the system delivers haves and have-nots when voters can't get the ones they want in winner-take-all like we have in the USA. The system puts sand in the machine when there are Two Chambers that won't cooperate, a President that vetoes bills. Sometimes there are winners when the politicians can’t get much done for years in a row. The voting system is the bedrock of how much a nation can deliver for its own people. It must be mentioned.
I know you like economic assessments. Here is an economic look at voting systems and their outcomes set apart against one another.
Five types of political systems delivering to the rich or sharing more with all. See how they are different (and the outcomes are statistically significant). Source: nationmaster.com, CIA World Factbook and others, created 2006.
It matters what system a nation has. Scandinavian countries do so well because they picked the best system possible (for small nations).
The Scandinavian system would not work well for the USA (just like it did not work well for interbellum Germany).
