Consider Scandinavia

Sweden’s prime minister recently visited Bronx Science to see first-hand the high school that has produced the most Nobel Prize winners in the U.S. and to take back lessons for his country’s school system. He admired the school’s diversity and the level of student-teacher interaction there.

While Stefan Löven mulls the example of Bronx Science, we might do well to consider what lessons his country and its neighbors have for us. The region where the life expectancy and standard of living are among the best in the world surely has something to teach, even if it is thousands of miles away.

Riverdale’s contingent of environmental advocates might look with envy to Norway and Sweden’s energy approaches. While anti-fracking groups plead for a place at the table with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and industry groups, Norwegians can boast a strong say in their country’s energy policy. In a nation where oil revenues by law go to the people, elected officials both determine where to spend the profits and how to meet Norway’s changing energy needs. Sweden has enacted a plan to completely swap fossil fuels for renewable energy sources by 2020.

Both policies reveal a radically different idea of energy that prioritizes human welfare over enriching corporations. How can we apply the same spirit?

As the Women’s Equality Agenda stalls in Albany, leaving the unacceptable status quo for women in place here, studies consistently show Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark as excelling at removing the gender gap.  They ranked in places one through four plus six, respectively, in a 2013 World Economic Forum report that analyzed countries for gender disparities in income, education, health and other categories. (The U.S. ranked 23rd.)

The feat has fueled endless debate among social scientists. At a glance, Scandinavian cultures appear to place more value on social justice for all than the identity politics that characterize much American debate. Perhaps if we imported that sensible approach, we wouldn’t find ourselves reliant on obstinate officials to achieve equality.