hi doma,
actually, no.
i suggested the swedish model was in some ways a left of centre one (progressive taxation) and in others a right of centre one (obligations of the unemployed). that is why it is interesting to me and why i highlighted it.
no one here has argued that income should be shared equally by everyone on socialist lines. just that the curve of inequality may be less steep and may still generate decent outcomes. even better ones, if you are aiming to spread happiness and opportunity around some. especially if obligations also increase with protections. the temperate zone lies between the poles, not at the icy -isms you point to. I think of socialism as a barren and antique idea every bit as much as unregulated capitalism.
maybe you haven't ingested my opposing forces argument entirely. in my system, virtue is achieved not at the extremes but in the competition between principles. i don't see virtue in a system that demands that i must adopt any single principle. i think virtue appears in flexible systems in which many ideas are accommodated to some degree. in this universe, there are no single right answers, but there are plenty of wrong ones. your -isms are the definition of the wrong ones because they depend on single principles such as 'let the market decide' and 'everyone must have an equal income'. whereas a model which says, 'have a market but regulate it, demand proper disclosures and administer negative externalities' and that says 'have a government and make it smart and have it balance individual and social priorities' is my kind of thing: not sexy, but permissive of opposing forces.
many countries have raw materials assets. the norwegians and swedes seem to have used theirs to develop a robust mixed economy and fairly but not entirely equal social systems. and this seems to have produced a fairly successful economy. perhaps part of the reason for this is that many people feel that they are invested in their country and take advantage of its generosity not to abuse the system but to do something useful with their lives.
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