Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Putting the Well in Welfare
When it comes to explaining their enviable lifestyle, most Danes will point proudly to
their nation's famous welfare system. Despite recent controversial reforms, it's a system
that remains one of the world's most generous. Danes enjoy equal access to medical ser-
vices, with free GP visits and numerous state subsidised goods and services, including pre-
scription medicines, dental care and physiotherapy. Childcare for children aged 0 to six is
heavily subsidised and the public school system offers free education to children from the
age of six to 16. It's a deal too good to refuse for most, with almost 90% of all Danish chil-
dren attending state-financed public schools.
Even in adulthood, minds are kept active with state-supported access to Denmark's icon-
ic
højskole
(folk high school), arts-focused schools offering courses in everything from
philosophy, debating, and creative writing, to dance, applied arts, cooking, and even
gardening. One in 10 Danish adults make use of these institutions, either to explore an in-
terest or to simply meet new people.
The origins of the
højskole
stretch back to the mid-19th century and the revered Danish
theologian and political figure Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783-1872). Arguing
that a newly democratic Denmark would only succeed if all its citizens were able to par-
take in the country's political life, Grundtvig went about establishing liberal arts colleges
for the rural poor. These schools would eventually develop into the folk high schools dot-
ted across the country today.
Grundtvig's ideas would play a formidable role in developing modern Denmark's value
of egalitarianism and civic responsibility. While class divisions do exist in Denmark, the
gap between rich and poor is much narrower than it is in many other developed countries.
Income disparity is also relatively narrow, discouraging the snooty judgment of less-profit-
able jobs.
Yet, as happy and holistic as Denmark is, it is not flawless. According to a Gallup poll
released in late 2014, only 43% of those under 45 feel like they are part of the community
as a whole, while a mere 24% of those in the same age bracket felt that they were thriving
socially. What this means for Denmark's long-term happiness remains to be seen.
