Denmark Dreamin’

The title of this blog is inspired by the famous song California Dreamin’ even though this post is not about missing a sunny place. Instead, it concerns the myth of an actual nation where everything seems to be flawless.

We always end up talking about Denmark when I have conversations with friends about what is and is not functioning in Italian society. Despite our varied political orientations, we always tend to view Denmark as a sort of benchmark to be taken as a reference for measuring how bad we are. In this regard, this country really looks like an almost ideal society toward which all other nations should strive. It is true that the country in question is quite tiny, making management of public affairs relatively simple. However, despite having a population that is one-tenth that of Italy, there are considerable similarities with my country. Both, for instance, are compelled to rely on imports because they lack sufficient raw materials. Italy, on the other hand, has an undeniable climate advantage due to higher sun irradiation, which benefits both agriculture and the production of renewable energy. All things considered, there does not appear to be a compelling reason why Italian society should not function as well as Danish society. Why is this not the case? Why is it that creating a society in Italy that can reconcile a commercial economy with social justice seems anthropologically impossible? Why does not our political class ask these questions instead of always seeking out ridiculous justifications—often blaming events outside of Italy—for our shortcomings as a nation?

Italy will hold general elections at the end of September (*). We will make Italy a little more like Denmark is the straightforward electoral platform I would love to hear from one of the competing parties. That would be probably enough to get my vote.

(*) This blog was supposed to be published before the elections in Italy, but I could not complete it in time.

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Credits

This post was written with the help of DeepL and Quillibot.

Featured image by Luca Barth: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-riding-bikes-on-city-street-on-sunset-12998234/.