The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social Democracy
Scandinavian social democracy is increasingly upheld as an alternative that could reform capitalism. The Nordic Model produces income equality, low-conflict politics, and happy people. When half of young Americans express that they would prefer “socialism,” they generally mean to live in a society t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746406/full |
| _version_ | 1819123492109418496 |
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| author | Mads Larsen |
| author_facet | Mads Larsen |
| author_sort | Mads Larsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Scandinavian social democracy is increasingly upheld as an alternative that could reform capitalism. The Nordic Model produces income equality, low-conflict politics, and happy people. When half of young Americans express that they would prefer “socialism,” they generally mean to live in a society that provides for its citizens as the Nordics do. Such aspirations are complicated by how social democracy can be viewed as a secularized form of Lutheranism, the Protestant creed that the Nordic region embraced in the 16th century. Lutheran norms and values carried into the modern era and made possible social democracy's two distinguishing features: fascist corporatism and socialist redistribution. A strong state facilitates statist individualism, which empowers individuals vis-à-vis employers, parents, and spouses. The outcome could be cross-culturally salient, as it brings people closer to our species' fission-fusion baseline. Yet in the modern environment, only Nordics seem to have a cultural imaginary that makes compelling the politics that drive such high levels of both productivity and egalitarianism. The region's storytelling reflects this Lutheran past and is used to negotiate modern adaptations. A better understanding of social democracy could help prevent that demands for “socialism” motivate a turn to actual socialism. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e0d1415aca504dd8be4ac337f5d3f1ff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T07:09:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e0d1415aca504dd8be4ac337f5d3f1ff2022-12-21T18:34:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-09-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.746406746406The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social DemocracyMads LarsenScandinavian social democracy is increasingly upheld as an alternative that could reform capitalism. The Nordic Model produces income equality, low-conflict politics, and happy people. When half of young Americans express that they would prefer “socialism,” they generally mean to live in a society that provides for its citizens as the Nordics do. Such aspirations are complicated by how social democracy can be viewed as a secularized form of Lutheranism, the Protestant creed that the Nordic region embraced in the 16th century. Lutheran norms and values carried into the modern era and made possible social democracy's two distinguishing features: fascist corporatism and socialist redistribution. A strong state facilitates statist individualism, which empowers individuals vis-à-vis employers, parents, and spouses. The outcome could be cross-culturally salient, as it brings people closer to our species' fission-fusion baseline. Yet in the modern environment, only Nordics seem to have a cultural imaginary that makes compelling the politics that drive such high levels of both productivity and egalitarianism. The region's storytelling reflects this Lutheran past and is used to negotiate modern adaptations. A better understanding of social democracy could help prevent that demands for “socialism” motivate a turn to actual socialism.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746406/fullcultural psychologysocial democracyfission-fusionevolutionary literary criticismpsychological-institutional coevolutionsocialism |
| spellingShingle | Mads Larsen The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social Democracy Frontiers in Psychology cultural psychology social democracy fission-fusion evolutionary literary criticism psychological-institutional coevolution socialism |
| title | The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social Democracy |
| title_full | The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social Democracy |
| title_fullStr | The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social Democracy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social Democracy |
| title_short | The Lutheran Imaginary That Underpins Social Democracy |
| title_sort | lutheran imaginary that underpins social democracy |
| topic | cultural psychology social democracy fission-fusion evolutionary literary criticism psychological-institutional coevolution socialism |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746406/full |
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