This is a highly biased account of history intended to glorify authoritarian socialism. There is nothing inclusive about leftist authoritarian controls. Social democracy is about throwing people in prison for not conforming to some collectivist vision. It institutionalises the violation of human rights and promotes an ideology (the white-washed narrative promoted in the article) that rationalises it.
Northern Europe began stagnating as soon as it embraced social democracy on a large scale.<p>For example Sweden:<p>"From 1870 until 1970, Sweden was a free market success story. Sweden had the highest growth rate in the industrialized world. .. [After taxes were raised in the late 60s and 70s] Sweden stagnated":<p><a href="https://youtu.be/D0hnA341AWE?t=5m23s" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/D0hnA341AWE?t=5m23s</a><p>Sweden was the 3rd wealthiest country in the world in 1968. After it created a massive welfare state in the 1970s and 80s, its growth stagnated, and by 1991, it was 17th highest income country in the world.
Other notable facts:<p><a href="http://iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/Sanandajinima-interactive.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/San...</a><p>• Scandinavia is often cited as having high life expectancy and good health outcomes in areas such as infant mortality. Again, this predates the expansion of the welfare state. In 1960, Norway had the highest life expectancy in the OECD, followed by Sweden, Iceland and Denmark in third, fourth and fifth positions. By 2005, the gap in life expectancy between Scandinavian countries and both the UK and the US had shrunk considerably. Iceland, with a moderately sized welfare sector, has over time outpaced the four major Scandinavian countries in terms of life expectancy and infant mortality.<p>• Scandinavia’s more equal societies also developed well before the welfare states expanded. Income inequality reduced dramatically during the last three decades of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century. Indeed, most of the shift towards greater equality happened before the introduction of a large public sector and high taxes.