The Nordic welfare model, civil society and social work

Abstract

Over several years the United Nations has ranked the Nordic populations amongst the happiest in the world. We will describe some characteristics of the Nordic welfare state and the civil society, suggest a connection, and link it to social work. What characteristics? What are the parallels? Why this presentation? To point out some characteristics of and discuss some parallels between:  Happiness  Civil society  The Nordic welfare state: ideology and prerequisite  Social work Welfare state future Askeland, G. A. & Strauss, H. (2014) The Nordic Welfare Model: Civil Society and Social Work. In Noble, C., Strauss, H. & Littlechild, B. (eds) Global Social Work Education: crossing borders and blurring boundaries. Sydney: Sydney University Press. In a welfare state, people have rights and obligations. Progressive tax systems contribute to redistribution of wealth and income equality. This leads to social justice, solidarity in practice and a basis for a minimal income security for everybody. People have universal rights to free education, social and health services. Rights create security and trust between people, and contribute to happiness. Social work values overlap with the Nordic welfare state values. Critics: social problems still persist, welfare too expensive and creates dependency and irresponsibility. Support: the welfare state is, nevertheless, strongly supported by the Nordic people and politicians. Civil Society Income equality, women and family friendly, equality between women and men, democratic processes, high voting rates, transparency and trust in the public sector, strong unions, social mobility, voluntary organisations Nordic welfare state Ideology: universialism, solidarity, equality Prerequisite: high employment rate, incl women, progressive tax system, redistribution of wealth