Listen to any serious debate on TV or radio in the UK and you hear that the UK's infrastructure is decaying, Heathrow Airport is overcrowded, the rail infrastructure needs upgrading, childcare costs are too high, obesity levels are rising, the educational achievement of children is lagging behind much of the developed world and several other issues. Inevitably, politicians and thinkers here look abroad for solutions and one of the things usually cited is that people need to emulate the Scandinavian model - a reference to the social and economic life in the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

 

So on my recent visit to Denmark; I was intent on getting a better understanding of this model which is so admired by many in the UK and around the world.

 

There is much to admire about the Danish infrastructure and aspects of their lifestyle. Right from the airport, you see a very large and efficient operation - compared to Heathrow. Copenhagen's main roads are wide multiple highway affairs. The extensive cycle paths allow people to cycle to just about anywhere is the envy of the world. Busses and trains are efficient, streets are clean much else speaks of a society with a high standard of living in terms of material things and technology. I joke with my hosts that Denmark is a village of five million people compared to London or many cities whose population is more than the whole of Denmark. However, for a population of five million, it has some world famous and world class companies like Lego and Maersk (the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the world since 1996). The healthy lifestyle I see in Copenhagen (where people go jogging in sub zero temperatures) leaves much to be admired. From discussions, I also learn that people are generally educated for longer and even tradesmen like plumbers need several years of training.

 

The high standard of living is partly as a result of high taxes - even by European standards. An income tax rate of 40% is not uncommon and high earners can pay up to 50%. Added to that is Value Added Tax (VAT) of 25%.

 

So is everything just fine in this advanced Scandinavian ‘village'? Well, rural Denmark - where most of the population live - does have some of the problems you see in the UK including higher levels of obesity various social issues. On the economic front, the public debt is over $140 Billion (45% of GDP). Recently, Lego and a large Danish butcher have had to lay off workers and there was a scandal regarding how the government bailed out one of the main banks with little in return for the Danish taxpayer. As in much of the Western world, the generous welfare state is gradually being rolled back due to the current economic climate, the realisation that it can sometimes be a disincentive to work and due to it being just unsustainable in its current form.

 

Speaking to Danish friends and reading articles however revealed social issues beneath the Danish surface. A news article said around 600,000 Danes are on antidepressants (Lykkepiller). For a population of 5 million, that is a huge number. A Danish friend told me of a building in Copenhagen where 11 people jumped to their death in suicides in 2012. Two of his friends had committed suicide. Danes are very proud of their strong culture of ‘liberalism' being a country that has legalised pornography, alcohol for 16 year olds and many other things, yet Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures show that Denmark was second in the youth drunkenness chart (Britain came first). Liberal sexual attitudes also lead to their own emotional and psychological problems and family breakdown.

 

So Denmark, and indeed the Scandinavian model, presents the classic paradox for Western liberal capitalist societies. Whilst they may manage an enviable level of material progress, there exists a spiritual vacuum and there is increasing social breakdown as families become fractured, individualism grows and the liberal lifestyle causes more and more harm in society.

 

If the only things humans need are bright modern airports and technological and material advancement, then all is fine with the Scandinavian model. However, in addition to material progress, we need guidance about right and wrong, values that build strong families and a clear understanding and fulfilment of a meaningful purpose to our lives. The Muslim world can set a model for others to aspire to where all aspects of life are fulfilled whilst avoiding the harm and excesses that liberal societies are experiencing. The re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" state that implements the solutions and guidance of Allah (swt) will be that beacon that the world so desperately needs.

 

 

Taji Mustafa

Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain