Does Norway scale?

Many people point to places like Norway as an example society. A society built on socialism that works. Why can't we just follow their model? Bernie Sanders and lots of others want to know!

First things first: does Norway work? While it's hard to say definitively, we can use various metrics to support the claim:

1. Norway is 2nd in the world in nominal GDP per capita behind only Luxembourg.

   a. And maintains the 6th position in purchasing power parity GDP per capita behind only Luxembourg, Singapore and a handful of OPEC countries.

2. Norway is, by a wide margin, tops in Human Development Index (an aggregate of life expectancy, education and income).

   a. and is tops by an even wider margin in inequality-adjusted HDI (same link).

3. Norway has among the lowest rates of poverty, at 4.3% (compared to 14.5% in the USA), in the world.

4. Norway has historically among the lowest murder rates, at 0.6 per 100,000 (compared to 4.7 in the USA)

5. It is one of the few countries in the world with a 100% literacy rate.

6. It ranks 2nd in Press Freedom Index.

7. Top-ranked universal health care. For everyone.

I'm sure there are many other pieces of data I could look at, but I've yet to find one that paints Norway as a bad place to live (unless you're a fan of warm weather ... but then you probably have plenty of money and time to take trips to Greece).

So the question is: can we adopt their model? I think the answer is "not really" or at least "not yet".

To answer the question, I think we have to look at why Norway works. I believe that the socialist model works because the entire population buys into the notion that everyone should have a good quality of life, and that they all win together. First and foremost, they are able to put money behind this belief. Their extremely high GDP per capita means they have a lot of funds, per capita, to spread around (via taxes or whatever mechanism). While much of their wealth comes from oil, they have also been good stewards of their fortunes. They have invested heavily in renewable energy, and they even have the world's largest pension fund to provide for their aging citizens! In short, a pragmatic, level-headed government has made the most of their assets.

On a technical level, Norway has large land area to support renewable energy (primarily hydro, with available space for wind). A higher density population may have a hard time achieving enough energy through just these means, and a poorer population may not be able to afford the infrastructure.

Furthermore, I think the population buys into the socialist approach because they are comfortable with the idea that everyone else in the country should be taken care of. This comes, I think, because of a very homogeneous society. 86% of the population (only 5 million total) is ethnic Norwegian. 80% of the population identifies as Lutheran. In other words, it's easy to love thy neighbor when thy neighbor is just like you.

Contrasting this with America, I think the bases upon which this socialist goodwill is built are not present. The population is too large (both in count and in distance from each other - really, what do I know about someone in Virginia or Florida or somewhere else far away) and too diverse. Many are weary of our immigrants from countries and backgrounds we don't understand. Many question their motives. Many fear their lifestyles. All this has to change before our society can band together and agree that we all can, and should, win. We have the money, sure, but we don't have the will.