Is the Nordic model any better?
I am not an economist and this week’s readings were some of the hardest for me so far. However, as Simone Weil said “students who love God should never say: ‘For my part I like mathematics’; ‘I like French’; ‘I like Greek.’ They should learn to like all these subjects, because all of them develop that faculty of attention which, directed toward God, is the very substance of prayer.[1] May God help me as I seek to understand Polanyi and may what I write make sense.
Karl Polanyi, a Hungarian citizen wrote The Great Transformation while at Bennington College in Vermont, just as World War II was starting.[2] In his book Polanyi was critical of capitalism in the form of the self-regulating market (SRM) and how it disembedded itself from social relationships.[3] Jason Clark writes “Central to Polanyi’s thesis is the assertion that society and social relationships are vital to humans, and that the SRM is problematic to that, owing to how the SRM is disembedded from social constraints.”[4] We see in Bebbington how success in the marketplace appeared to be an assurance from God of our salvation[5] With SRM, Clark suggests that “The locus of salvation moved from the nature of Christianity to one in which the SRM becomes the site of a ’secular salvation.’”[6] Our economy and our success in it becomes our Savior. This is an area of concern for the Church
However, is what Polanyi was suggesting a better model? In the Introduction to the 2001 edition of Polanyi’s book Fred Block writes “To be sure the considerable achievements of European social democratic governments, particularly in Scandinavia, from the 1940s through the 1980s provides concrete evidence that Polanyi’s vision was both powerful and realistic.”[7] I am unfamiliar with their economic system, so I did an internet search and found an article that was most recently updated in August 2024. Will Kenton writes “The Nordic model embraces both the welfare state and globalization—two approaches to government that can be seen at times as opposites. The core aspects of the Nordic model include:
- Public provision of social services funded by taxes
- Investment in education, child care, and other services associated with human capital
- Strong labor-force protections through unions and the social safety net”[8]
The tax rates seem high, personal income tax rates up to 55% and business income tax rates up to 44.3%, depending upon in which Scandinavian country a person lives. However, Kenton writes that the people and the government work well together to address various challenges which leads to a high level of trust. According to World Population Review, the five Scandinavian countries are in the top seven happiest countries in the world.[9]
These five countries are also the most liberal in the world.[10] Polanyi ends his book discussing freedom “Institutional and moral or religious.’[11] He discusses how in seemingly giving up his freedom/control a person finds “courage and strength to remove all removable injustices and unfreedom. As long as he is true to his task of creating more abundant freedom for all, he need not fear that either power or planning will turn against him and destroy the freedom he is building by their instrumentality.” [12] Whether this freedom is really the best for the society is a discussion for another day, but I wonder if their sense of happiness comes from the freedoms they have?
I also wonder if the high level of trust in one’s government, happiness and freedom found in this economic system also provide that same secular salvation that we see in an SRM? When things seem to be going well, do we find no need for God? In an international survey, when asked about a belief in God, depending upon the Scandinavian country, between 18.3% to 29.3% of people surveyed claimed to not believe in God, whereas in the United States only 4.8% made a similar claim” [13]. When I look at this, I am reminded of Proverbs 30 versus 7-9 “’Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.’”[14]
Again, I am not an economist, I do not know what the best economic model is. I am not sure a capitalist economy with an SRM is the answer, but neither is fascism, and because of our sin nature I’m not even sure we can obtain an ideal socialist economy as modeled by the early disciples. What I do know is Bebbington’s quadrilateral; Conversionism, biblcism, crucicentrism, and activism are central to my life.[15] I need to develop relationships with people and ensure that they know that their salvation will not come from their finances, our economy, or our government, but only through Christ Jesus. May we depend on Him for our daily bread.
[1] Simone Weil, “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God” In Waiting for God, (New York, NY: Harper, 1951), 105.
[2] Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Times, (Boston, MA, Beacon Press, 2001), xxi.
[3] Jason Paul Clark, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship,” Faculty Publications – Portland Seminary. 132, 2018), 58 https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes/, 124
[4] Clark, 127.
[5] David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britian: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2005).
[6] Clark, 135.
[7] Polanyi, xxxvii.
[8] Will Kenton, “Nordic Model: Comparing the Economic System to the U.S.”, Investopedia, August 20, 2024. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nordic-model.asp.
[9] World Population Review, “Happiest Countries in the World 2024,” 2024, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world.
[10] World Population Review, “Most Liberal Countries 2024,” https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-liberal-countries
[11] Polanyi, 262.
[12] Polanyi, 268
[13] The survey was the 2018 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) Religion questionnaire. Carlos Miguel Ramos , “Disaffiliation from the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in the Nordic Countries: Mistrust in the Churches, Changing Worldviews, or Something else?” Secularism and Nonreligion Disaffiliation from the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in the Nordic Countries: Mistrust in the Churches, Changing Worldviews, or Something else? | Secularism and Nonreligion
[14] Prov 30:7-9 (NIV).
[15] Bebbington, 3.
About the Author
Jeff Styer
Jeff Styer lives in Northeast Ohio's Amish Country. He has degrees in Social Work and Psychology and currently works as a professor of social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Jeff is married to his wife, Veronica, 25+ years. Together they have 4 beautiful children (to be honest, Jeff has 4 kids, Veronica says she is raising 5). Jeff loves the outdoors, including biking, hiking, camping, birding, and recently picked up disc golf.12 responses to “Is the Nordic model any better?”
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Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your post! As a lecturer what two main interests would you select from the book, The Great Transformation to share with your students?
In social work our Code of Ethics stress the Dignity and Worth of a person. Therefore, one interest is the commodification of people through labor and how that has impacted society including some of the various laws that were created. The commodification of land is another area of interest. For example, our local county commissioners would not allow farmland to be converted into a park because they were actively renting out the land for income. I question what is better for our county, green space to exercise and rest or a few hundred dollars more of income. Slowly people are beginning to see the benefits of nature to society; that land has inherit value by just being land.
There are other areas within this book that do interest me and I will probably take the time to fully read the book when I have more time.
Thanks Jeff! I resonate with your confession of lack of familiarity with economic things. I thought you did a great job of researching additional info and drawing connections between our previous readings. Well done.
How can we help people see the influence of the SRM on our faith today and the difference between “storing up treasures here on earth” and “storing up treasures in heaven”?
Ryan,
On Sunday I had a conversation with a friend from church. He described a vision he had during the service in which he saw a room light with a candle and a single chair that he knew would be very comfortable just be looking at it. He himself was outside the room in the dark and had a feeling of intense fear that prevented him from entering the room and sitting down. I told him that if that were my vision, my intense fear has always been, as a husband and father of 4 kids, not being able to financially provide for my family. There are days when you feel you are just one vehicle or house breakdown away from financial ruin and it’s scary to sit in that chair and give everything to God. I think the SRM promotes the feeling like you have to ensure you have money to not only survive day to day but for retirement and every unseen thing along the way. Overall maybe we combat this be helping people gain a different, more realistic vision of who God really is and how faithful he is.
Hi Jeff, I appreciate your quote by Simone Weil. She would have had a few things to say about the self-regulating market. I, too, found the readings complex and challenging this week. While reading, I wondered, “What does this mean for me?” I also found myself deeply disturbed by the deeply ingrained, unquestioned beliefs I found challenged in the readings, especially concerning neoliberalism. I kept thinking, “But my economics professor said this would work!” I am curious to know some of the “knee-jerk reactions” you experienced when reading the texts. Were any beliefs you hold challenged?
Elysse,
The last two weeks I have been disheartened seeing how much religion has tied itself to the market and how few people speak out about it. My knee jerk reaction is through must of this is, “but the Bible says . . .” Trust in God, not in wealth, do not store treasures on earth but in heaven are sayings that come to mind but then I see how much energy we individually and as a nation put into ensuring the success of the markets.
The idea that we have commodified land, labor, and money wasn’t a knee jerk reaction in that it was contrary to what I believe, but more of an aha moment in that we have expanded this greatly, we milk land and everything under it, we milk people for all their talents (music, athletics, intelligence, etc.) . I just never really considered when and how this began.
Hi Jeff, thanks for your post. I think most of us can relate to the difficulty in the texts this week. I’m experiencing a bit of discomfort in considering how much the west has free market economics engrained in every fiber of our culture, including the church. I’m having to ask myself what it looks like for the church to be counter-cultural, but finding it difficult to separate. However, it seems like the way land, labor, and money used to be viewed may be more aligned with way of Jesus than free market economy. One could argue that in a free market economy, there is more opportunity for prosperity and therefore generosity. What are your thoughts on this?
Christy,
A few years ago, I invited a friend to go to an Ohio State Football game and he offered to drive. I rode in his Suburban to the Northside of Columbus where we met some of his friends who drove us the rest of the way in their Porsche Cayanne SUV. I will never be able to afford either of those vehicles, but I know my friend has done so many positive things for the Church with his money. I know a handful of other people that have done very well through the free-market economy and are very generous. I absolutely love being able to be generous monetarily and have taught my kids how to generously give to God and others. Regardless of the economic system one lives in, I believe that the Church is ultimately responsible for loving our neighbors which includes helping meet their unmet needs (food, shelter, clothing, etc.). However, surveys show that very few Christians actually tithe 10% of their income, thus limiting what the local church can do. So, if the church won’t or can’t step up to meet these needs, then it falls to the government, which can make a more socialist economy more appealing. All this to say, if all Christians were more generous with their money, I would offer more support to the free market economy; the more money they make, the more they can give to God to help others.
Hi Jeff, when you brought up the wonder of having enough for retirement I thought of the 100 year life. Yet, reading this book and the volitility of the market it is a wonder that anyone would have “enough”. Yet, you bring up such a good point, God is enough and Christians are called to be generous. Do you think there ever could be a time when government wasn’t needed to step into the markets if Christians really did care for others as Jesus taught?
Diane,
My wife and I seem to have this discussion quite often. I do not think that we will be able to fully develop a society in which government intervention wasn’t needed to ensure that all its members are able to thrive. I think of Matthew Petrusek’s book Evangelization and Ideology, we read last Spring. In Chapter 4 he discusses the Hope Model “Unlike optimism, hope recognizes both the possibility and the limits of moral progress. It embraces both the promise of authentic movement toward a more just, more humane, more flourishing society and the lethal dangers of the conceited idea that a broke humanity has the power to fix itself” (page 97 on my Kindle). I will keep having Hope that more and more Christians will step up, but know that it will never be enough this side of the Kingdom of Heaven being firmly established here on earth.
Hi Jeff, Thanks for your honest blog. I think this is a key question: “I also wonder if the high level of trust in one’s government, happiness and freedom found in this economic system also provide that same secular salvation that we see in an SRM? ”
I always wonder why we measure the happiness factor around the globe. I have relatives in Scandinavia and I do not perceive them to be particularly happy people. At least not happier that my North American friends and relatives. As well, measuring human happiness is probably not synonymous with the creation flourishing as intended by God. What are some of the signs of a flourishing world? How might we measure flourishing?
Inside Christianity a flourishing world would be one in which a person practices various spiritual habits that draw them closer to God and allow them to love others.
Outside of Christianity, I’m not sure what the signs would be or how to measure that. I guess I would want to see people spending their time and money on developing and maintaining healthy relationships with the people around them. I would look for positive mental health, a lack of depression and anxiety and being comfortable with who you are and they way you look.
I am going to have to think more on this. I agree flourishing is different than happiness and that is probably what we should be measuring.