Current Events > Norway (democratic SOCIALISM) vs. USA (Capitalism) compared in pic

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/4/6/AAefUOAAC5iK.jpg

Which do you think is better?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model#Norway

Norway
Norway's "grand compromise" emerged as a response to the crisis of the early 1930s between the trade union confederation and Norwegian Employers' Association, agreeing on national standards in labourcapital relations and creating the foundation for social harmony throughout the period of compromises. For a period between the 1980s and the 1990s, Norway underwent more neoliberal reforms and marketization than Sweden during the same time frame, while still holding to the traditional foundations of the "social democratic compromise" that was specific to Western capitalism from 1945 to 1973.[17]

Norway was the Nordic country least willing to join the European Union. While Finland and Sweden suffered greatly from the 1990s recession, Norway began to earn enough revenue from their oil.[6] As of 2007, the Norwegian state maintained large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, among them petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood and fresh water. The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product.[18]

Yes you read that the STATE OWNS positions in Oil, Gas, Minerals, Lumber, Seafood etc.

Yes BUT MUH FREEDUMZ

There's a cost invovled to having the number 1 military in the world, and let's be honest... would Europe be the same Europe without America backing them through NATO?

mAh gunZ

https://theweek.com/articles/783700/democratic-socialism-bad-why-norway-great

If democratic socialism is so bad, why is Norway so great?

As I explain here, democratic socialism is a political tradition aiming broadly at democratic control of the economy, achieved through electoral processes. In concrete terms, that generally means a completed cradle-to-grave welfare state plus democratic ownership of big swathes of the economy through mechanisms like a social wealth fund or state-owned enterprises. Importantly, this definition rules out authoritarian systems like the state socialism seen in the Soviet Union. Democracy means at a minimum regular, free, and fair elections, where a conservative party has a real chance of victory.

On the policy side, American conservatives have one international example in their case against democratic socialism: Venezuela. That country is ostensibly socialist and undergoing a severe economic crisis so bad they're running out of toilet paper, says Tucker Carlson and therefore leftism always causes economic disaster. The initial problem with this argument is that Venezuela is not a real democracy, as President Nicolas Maduro has been blatantly rigging constitutional and electoral processes to cling to power. Venezuela may embrace socialism, but it definitely doesn't embrace democratic socialism.

A more important rejoinder to this argument is Norway (and the other Nordic countries to a lesser extent). Norwegian workers are heavily protected, with 70 percent of workers covered by union contracts, and over a third directly employed by the government. The Norwegian state operates a gigantic sovereign wealth fund, and its financial assets total 331 percent of its GDP (as compared to an American figure of 25 percent). Meanwhile, its state-owned enterprises are worth 87 percent of GDP. Of all the domestic wealth in Norway, the government owns 59 percent, and fully three-quarters of the non-home wealth (as most Norwegians own their home).

Reliable statistics on the Venezuelan economy are hard to come by, but Norway is unquestionably more socialist than Venezuela according to the above definition. Indeed, it is considerably more socialist than supposedly-communist China, where only 31 percent of national wealth is owned by the state.

Norway is not some destitute hellscape. Indeed, not only are Norwegian stores well-stocked with toilet paper, it is actually considerably more wealthy than the U.S., with a GDP of over $70,000 per person. Even when you correct for the moderately large oil sector (which accounts for a bit less than a quarter of its exports), it still has a cutting-edge, ultra-productive economy far from some petro-state living off oil rents like Dubai.

Socially, it routinely ranks as the happiest (2017) or second-happiest (2018) country in the world. The rest of the Nordics are also usually among the top five as well even more remarkable when you factor in the phenomenon of seasonal affective disorder and the extreme northerly position of the Scandinavian peninsula.
On a snapshot of other quality-of-life measures, Norway boasts:
A life expectancy of 81.7 years.
An infant mortality rate of two per 1,000 live births.
A murder rate of 0.51 per 100,000.
An incarceration rate of 74 per 100,000.

Dont you get it TC??? It has the word socialism in it and its socialism! So it must be evil and UNAMERICAN

/s

But how many guns do they have

Timmyjinkle posted...

There's a cost invovled to having the number 1 military in the world, and let's be honest... would Europe be the same Europe without America backing them through NATO?

So you are literally saying you concede that America is worse off but it is necessary to protect the world or some bs like that?

Lol at post #4. Very clownish take.

wow

Ratchetrockon posted...

wow

exactly

We could have this tomorrow, were the 14th amendment ever taken seriously, and the actual purpose of the government moved away from sweetheart deals and kingmaking.

Really, the only thing preventing individual states from doing this, is the gigantic federal beast devouring all the revenue - yet still somehow spending 125% of what it brings in.

WingsOfGood posted...

exactly

makes me sadangry a little bit

Norway is awesome! Went to Bergen on vacation a couple of years ago.

The people there were pretty friendly if a little shy at first.

We had some good conversations with strangers about the US and shared some laughs about it's current state. This was when Trump was still president actually right before he ordered the flight ban from Europe so we were lucky we got back before then.

There were a lot of people living there from other countries on work visas too. Especially from Australia and UK.

Completely inaccurate headers. The US does not have unfettered capitalism. It has corporate socialism.

Norman_Smiley posted...

It has corporate socialism.

Capital feudalism

Norman_Smiley posted...

Completely inaccurate headers. The US does not have unfettered capitalism. It has corporate socialism.

It's a corporate welfare state.

There's 2 types of people who like capitalism.

greedy people and dumb people.

Think how wild and delusional it is to live how some people here live and still convince yourself and others it's not greedy.

WingsOfGood posted...

So you are literally saying you concede that America is worse off but it is necessary to protect the world or some bs like that?

Considering what a hell hole the world was before the USA became more involved it certanly is necessary.

Then lets adopt those policies!
*throws chair*

Comparing the US to Norway is completely apples to oranges. Yes, they have great social programs and work life balance. They are also 2% of the size of the US and have no real diversity of thought. One of the major issues in America is the sheer size of the country and the different values that are spread out across it. We have a cult of ignorance in certain states that hold back other states. If New England, California, or New York were their own countries, you would see a much higher standard of living.

Diversity:

Norway 0
America 1

In case you wonder why

opopopza posted...

We have a cult of ignorance in certain states that hold back other states.

Which is why we never should have abandoned federalism.
Yes, some states will be racist assholes, but that corrected itself then, too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Migration_(African_American%29

Yuuko-Chan posted...

Diversity:

Norway 0
America 1

In case you wonder why

Glad you admit that our main problems are all rooted in racism.

Norway is a capitalist country

Norman_Smiley posted...

Completely inaccurate headers. The US does not have unfettered capitalism. It has corporate socialism.

That is unfettered capitalism

So move to Norway, you won't be missed

PoundGarden posted...

So move to Norway, you won't be missed

You can't when you live in a country were everything is priced so that you can't afford that type of freedom. Hmm...freedom...what we pride ourselves in. I didn't even purposely set that up lol.

Lost_All_Senses posted...

You can't when you live in a country were everything is priced so that you can't afford that type of freedom. Hmm...freedom...what we pride ourselves in. I didn't even purposely set that up lol.

He has a good job so that's not it. I think he just likes to bitch

PoundGarden posted...

He has a good job so that's not it. I think he just likes to bitch

I think you just like pit bulls

norway is not socialist; they just have a more robust welfare state than the US

Prismsblade posted...

Considering what a hell hole the world was before the USA became more involved it certanly is necessary.

Lol it's still a hellhole and the US is doing most of the damage

The fuck is this post

Ar0ge posted...

Norway is awesome! Went to Bergen on vacation a couple of years ago.

The people there were pretty friendly if a little shy at first.

We had some good conversations with strangers about the US and shared some laughs about it's current state. This was when Trump was still president actually right before he ordered the flight ban from Europe so we were lucky we got back before then.

There were a lot of people living there from other countries on work visas too. Especially from Australia and UK.

How much did this cost you man? Also, how long did you stay. I'd really like to go to any Scandinavian country, just don't really know what I'd do cause me and my girlfriend are the most socially active people but I'd still like to talk to and meet other people there.

PoundGarden posted...

So move to Norway, you won't be missed

Amazing how any legit criticism of the US is met with "then get out", instead of actually trying to fix the problem(s).

WingsOfGood posted...

Yes you read that the STATE OWNS positions in Oil, Gas, Minerals, Lumber, Seafood etc.

yeah, state operation of mineral resource operations is a big part of how they fund their budget

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/09814fbc520946869d6eaa65099c2983/national_budget_2020.pdf

NoMeLx22x posted...

How much did this cost you man? Also, how long did you stay. I'd really like to go to any Scandinavian country, just don't really know what I'd do cause me and my girlfriend are the most socially active people but I'd still like to talk to and meet other people there.

I don't quite remember how much we spent tbh. It was in early 2020.

A nice tip when flying to Europe if you can, usually it's always cheaper to fly to London than direct to anywhere else, at least for us flying out of Florida. Then flights from London to pretty much anywhere in Europe are relatively cheap.

So we flew into London and stayed a couple nights, then flew from there to Bergen. We were in Bergen a whole week and stayed at an Airbnb. Explored the town, ate at some local restaurants/pubs. Went hiking up some of the mountains in that area and we booked a boat tour through the fjords. The old historical part of the town was super cool to explore.

averagejoel posted...

norway is not socialist; they just have a more robust welfare state than the US

"Norway is not socialist, just has free healthcare, tons of social programs and the state owns the wealth!"

"Let us make universal healthcare in USA"
ShUt Up SoCiAlIsT ScUm!!!!!!

Solar_Crimson posted...

Amazing how any legit criticism of the US is met with "then get out", instead of actually trying to fix the problem(s).

And often the people saying it are the same people that condone January 6th

WingsOfGood posted...

The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product.[18]

Which the state owns....

But not socialist?

I wonder if our white population has similar stats

Privilege is a thing

FL81 posted...

Norway is a capitalist country

This is correct. It is actual an example of social democracy. A lot of Americans, including Bernie Sanders, conflate social democracy with democratic socialism. I've noticed in general there is a strong effort among Americans to divorce the word socialism from its association with worker control of the means of production.

WingsOfGood posted...

"Norway is not socialist, just has free healthcare, tons of social programs and the state owns the wealth!"

"Let us make universal healthcare in USA"
ShUt Up SoCiAlIsT ScUm!!!!!!

I'm literally a communist

Funny thing is that we could still do all that while still being the most capitalist thing to happen since Keynes

I'm not a big expert when it comes to various types of governments, but I would imagine the social services Norway has in place is a lot easier to implement with a population of 5 Million versus 320 million in the U.S.

Houston posted...

I'm not a big expert when it comes to various types of governments, but I would imagine the social services Norway has in place is a lot easier to implement with a population of 5 Million versus 320 million in the U.S.

The size of the population has nothing to do with it. We implement social policies for 320 million people all the fucking time. We just don't implement these specific ones because billionaires can't profit from them

America needs all that money to pump out tanks it won't use

Houston posted...

I'm not a big expert when it comes to various types of governments, but I would imagine the social services Norway has in place is a lot easier to implement with a population of 5 Million versus 320 million in the U.S.

So the country that can't even take care of the people within its borders wants to play world police everywhere else?

Houston posted...

I'm not a big expert when it comes to various types of governments, but I would imagine the social services Norway has in place is a lot easier to implement with a population of 5 Million versus 320 million in the U.S.

it's not at all clear that this is actually the case

If Norway wasnt an European country you can bet the US wouldve tried to destabilize it by now