Brussels, 01/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Although the social welfare system of Nordic countries has always been upheld as a model for the effective management of social risk and for reducing inequality, a new publication entitled “Rethinking social risk in the Nordics”, initiated by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), redresses the somewhat over-optimistic picture that Europe has of the Nordic social model. During a debate organised on Wednesday 29 February relating to the publication of the work in question, Ville-Pekka Sorsa, the editor, brings into question a number of aspects of the Nordic countries' social protection model, especially the notion of “universalism”. Although one can see certain resemblances or convergence in social policy between the Nordic states, those countries have nonetheless adopted differing approaches in assessing and managing social risk, sometimes placing emphasis on public, occupational solutions for assessing, distributing and managing social risks, and at other times placing emphasis on private sector instruments.
In the above work, Sorsa also highlights a certain tendency (towards the Right) of the Nordic social model because it is influenced by the neo-liberal thinking that dominates today's economy. This can be seen by the fact that some Nordic countries have turned to a “workfare” system of conditional allocations - i.e. welfare benefits awarded on certain conditions, such as searching for work or undergoing training - and towards a more finance-oriented and privatised social protection system.
Maria Jepsen, who heads the research department at the European Trade Union Institute, has moreover pointed out that the Nordic states, and Denmark in particular, are becoming less and less egalitarian.
After the conference, Sorsa expressed serious doubts about how relevant it was to take the contemporary model of social protection in the Nordic states as an example for addressing the crisis. “We must learn from the bad lessons that the Nordic model teaches us”, he concluded. (SD/transl.jl)