Most Americans are ignorant about just what democratic socialism really is so here is a comparison of the economics of the avowed social democratic society of Norway and the unfettered capitalism of the U.S. Well, actually, there is NO comparison. 

When it comes to economic policies that enhance the well-being of its citizens without negatively impacting the financial soundness of the country, The United States pales in comparison to that of Norway (and all the other Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland - and countless others including its neighbor to the north - Canada) . Indeed, the U.S. comes across as a 3rd world nation in many respects when you examine things closely.

Here are a few examples as they relate to the well-being of the citizens of the United States and Norway:

Norway provides:

• Free universal health care while the U.S. only has unpaid or, at best, expensive insurance-based coverage :
• Free higher education while U.S. college education is extremely expensive
• Financial security for seniors while the U.S. does not
• A minimum living wage for its citizens whereas the U.S. minimum wage is below the poverty line which generates a 29% poverty rate compared to only 10% in Norway 
• A minimum of 8 weeks paid vacation annually while the U.S. provides none
• 35 weeks paid parental leave while the U.S. provides none

Norway accomplishes all of the above:

• With a personal taxation rate of only 38.5% of GDP while the capitalist U.S. personal taxation rate is only marginally less at 37% and
• While generating a GDP per person of $75,500 vs only $59,000 per American.

As result of its socialist democratic policies Norway:

• is the 2nd happiness country in the world vs.14th place for the U.S.

For more information on what socialism, and in particular democratic socialism, is please refer to a previous article on my site entitled Are You A “Social Democrat”? Here’s What The Term REALLY Means whose introductory paragraph says: "There are many different types of economies - communism, socialism, capitalism and democratic socialism. We tend to use the terms concretely, which necessarily introduces inaccuracies and, as such, they serve as excuses not to think and to hold economic beliefs that discourage explorations of the mismatch between theory and practice. Do you know exactly how they differ? Read on!"