The Swedish lesson - David Frum

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/06/22/pm-the-swedish-lesson-commentary/?refid=0

This is a point I've often pondered: why Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and Greece but not Sweden or Denmark? Sweden is the punchline du jour for jokes about excessive secular government meddling in the business of their citizenry, and perhaps they do. But is that were the factor that decided which countries faltered in the latest crisis, wouldn't Sweden have been the first to go down?
There is a bit of a common thread with these countries, though. If you notice Spain, Greece, and Portugal all have common recent histories: in the middle of the last century these countries experienced communist uprisings followed by military rule. These military rulers suppressed dissent, often comprised of student and labor movements, with brutality, murder, kidnapping, and torture. In response terror cells sprang up and during the 1970s Europe was treated to waves of bombings, bank robberies, and hijackings. If America had radical chic, Europe had terror chic.
Once these terror cells were stamped out and the military governments receded and democracy restored, it's my theory that generous benefits were ladled out to the working class sectors as amends for the excesses of the military governments, as many of their membership still served in government capacities in the post-junta world. There was a coming together and generous benefits for workers was the glue, which is coming unstuck as we speak.