Peace Of Mind; How to create a truly egalitarian society.(Denmark's social policy ensures stability)(Cover Story)

Byline: Emily Flynn

Among developed nations, Denmark is the most egalitarian place in the world. No country cares more about keeping its people on roughly the same socioeconomic plane. The Danes devote almost a third of their country's GDP to social transfers (for health care and education, to name two) for lower-income families, compared with 14 percent in the United States and 22.5 percent in France. This redistribution of wealth effectively creates a nation of middle-income people, or close to it. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an almost perfectly fair 38 percent of the country's total income goes to the middle 40 percent of the population. The richest 20 percent of Denmark's population, which totals 5.4 million people, has only 2.9 times more disposable income than the poorest 20 percent. In the United States the richest 30 percent of the population holds 52 percent of the nation's total disposable income, while the poorest 30 percent holds just 11.8 percent.

Because ...