Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in Denmark
This article explores whether and how the neo-liberal ideology has adapted to the Nordic welfare model by studying the attitudes of voters and grass-roots members of the Danish party Liberal Alliance towards the welfare state. This inquiry into one of the key issues for the neo-liberal ideology is i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Scandinavian University Press/Universitetsforlaget
2016-11-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of Social Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/njsr/article/view/2099 |
| _version_ | 1797642337851015168 |
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| author | Troels Fage Hedegaard |
| author_facet | Troels Fage Hedegaard |
| author_sort | Troels Fage Hedegaard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores whether and how the neo-liberal ideology has adapted to the Nordic welfare model by studying the attitudes of voters and grass-roots members of the Danish party Liberal Alliance towards the welfare state. This inquiry into one of the key issues for the neo-liberal ideology is inspired by theory on how an ideology will adapt to its context. The expectation outlined in the article is for the neo-liberals of this party to favour features that make the Nordic welfare model distinctive – extensive governmental responsibility, especially for children and the elderly, and a universalistic approach to providing welfare. I have explored this question using a mixed-methods approach, where I analyse a survey of voters and interviews with grass-roots members of the party. Combined this shows that the neo-liberals in Liberal Alliance do support a role for the welfare state that extends beyond a minimum welfare state, especially for the care of children, but they view old age and retirement mostly as a problem each individual must deal with. Regarding the universalistic approach to providing welfare, the neo-liberals seem torn between two different tendencies, one being a perception of a fair way to provide welfare and the other the idea of a selective welfare state as a neo-liberal core idea, which leads to ambivalent attitudes. I argue that this results in a form of the neo-liberal ideology that has adapted to the Nordic welfare model. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:58:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ebfcd6a732a54cdb9f120117fbaa9eb8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1892-2783 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:58:37Z |
| publishDate | 2016-11-01 |
| publisher | Scandinavian University Press/Universitetsforlaget |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Social Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-ebfcd6a732a54cdb9f120117fbaa9eb82023-11-02T05:47:57ZengScandinavian University Press/UniversitetsforlagetNordic Journal of Social Research1892-27832016-11-01710.7577/njsr.20991278Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in DenmarkTroels Fage Hedegaard0Aalborg UniversityThis article explores whether and how the neo-liberal ideology has adapted to the Nordic welfare model by studying the attitudes of voters and grass-roots members of the Danish party Liberal Alliance towards the welfare state. This inquiry into one of the key issues for the neo-liberal ideology is inspired by theory on how an ideology will adapt to its context. The expectation outlined in the article is for the neo-liberals of this party to favour features that make the Nordic welfare model distinctive – extensive governmental responsibility, especially for children and the elderly, and a universalistic approach to providing welfare. I have explored this question using a mixed-methods approach, where I analyse a survey of voters and interviews with grass-roots members of the party. Combined this shows that the neo-liberals in Liberal Alliance do support a role for the welfare state that extends beyond a minimum welfare state, especially for the care of children, but they view old age and retirement mostly as a problem each individual must deal with. Regarding the universalistic approach to providing welfare, the neo-liberals seem torn between two different tendencies, one being a perception of a fair way to provide welfare and the other the idea of a selective welfare state as a neo-liberal core idea, which leads to ambivalent attitudes. I argue that this results in a form of the neo-liberal ideology that has adapted to the Nordic welfare model.https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/njsr/article/view/2099neo-liberalismliberalismwelfaretaxNordicideological morphology |
| spellingShingle | Troels Fage Hedegaard Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in Denmark Nordic Journal of Social Research neo-liberalism liberalism welfare tax Nordic ideological morphology |
| title | Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in Denmark |
| title_full | Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in Denmark |
| title_fullStr | Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in Denmark |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in Denmark |
| title_short | Neo-liberalism and the Nordic welfare model: a study of the Liberal Alliance and ideological adaptation in Denmark |
| title_sort | neo liberalism and the nordic welfare model a study of the liberal alliance and ideological adaptation in denmark |
| topic | neo-liberalism liberalism welfare tax Nordic ideological morphology |
| url | https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/njsr/article/view/2099 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT troelsfagehedegaard neoliberalismandthenordicwelfaremodelastudyoftheliberalallianceandideologicaladaptationindenmark |