Comment by Bilal Håkansson on September 7, 2009 at 11:44am

Norway here. Off course, the oil makes for big profits, 35% of our export is oil and it makes for 60% of our earnings from export. However, Oil makes for only 20% of the GDP. Forestry, tourism, fishing and especially technology (IT, offshore) are the other main trades.

But it's mainly the political climate that made bot Sweden and Norway such good countries to live in. There's a strong sense of needing to care for each other; most people here are very close to their family members and extended family, and the traditional rural living made this 'we are in it together' feeling stronger. (Although urbanisation also had it's influences the past decades.)

That's why we have good and affordable healthcare, good socials services, good infrastructure and so on. That's being 'social' - in the States some people get this mixed up with 'socialism'.

But it's not the oil that makes possible here what other countries are craving for - it's purely politics.

Comment by Bilal Håkansson on September 7, 2009 at 11:49am

I think what people need to realize is that Scandinavia wasn't always the way it is today. For example, in Sweden, abortion was made legal in 1974 - 3 years after India. That was only about 30 years ago, and Swedes like to think our current views on things like abortion have always been what they are now since time immemorial. Even the Christian democrats support it.

The reality is that Scandinavia has taken it's current form by a gradual change of the political climate, it's not some sort of hard-wired socialist predisposition. The same change is possible everywhere.

Comment by Bilal Håkansson on September 7, 2009 at 11:57am

I think the most extraordinary number is "Prisoners per capita (per 100')":

* Norway: 64
* Sweden: 75
* USA: 715
figures per 100,000, not per 100.

Comment by Kenndy on September 7, 2009 at 12:24pm

Call me impressed...

Comment by Matt on September 7, 2009 at 2:54pm

You can't really compare prison populations until you look at how strict their laws are though. The vast majority of our prisons are filled with people who were convicted under drug related charges. Are their laws the same as ours in relation to this? Can a bag of marijuana give you jail time? The prison populations don't reflect the society, just the laws.

Comment by Reggie on September 7, 2009 at 3:22pm

The prison populations don't reflect the society, just the laws.

And not just the laws, but the enforcement of the laws. But there is no denying the bloated prison population in the United States regardless of comparisons.

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