Interesting article. Regarding the "socialist" debate in the other thread, I think there are some big differences between Norwegian and American socialism, resulting from big differences in the societies. For that reason, many Americans immediately shun the idea of Norwegian (or European, for that matter) socialism.
(obligatory wall of text warning)
The major difference? The unproductive class, or at least a perception of it. Unproductive, underproductive, or whatever PC term you want to call it. The only products that many American people "produce" are children that are poorly raised, crime-prone, and otherwise poorly equipped to become productive members of society. You could write a whole book on what causes this class division, but for the sake of the socialist argument it's sufficient to say that the division (or the public perception of it) exists.
And of course, the productive class abhors the idea of supporting the unproductive class -- who have never been, and most likely will never become, members of the productive class. Welfare programs in this country are a tragic joke designed to sustain the unproductive class -- not elevate it -- and those paying for the programs often recognize this. Why do these programs persist, then?
They're a vote-buying tool for politicians. The more money we give to politicians (in taxes), the more power they have over us. They can regulate our lives, control who gets home loans, who gets unemployment, retirement, and medical benefits, who pays how much for gasoline, which businesses move jobs and to which states, and myriad other things that have far-reaching consequences. And all of these are, of course, pitted against each other as dangled carrots to buy votes.
As beetle stated, and the impression that I've gained from reading about Norway on this BB, there is a comparatively small unproductive class in Norway. Americans would be far more receptive to ideas like socialized medicine if they didn't think that the majority of it would go to unproductive drug users, wife-beaters, and lazy fatasses. I think many welfare states (european) have the advantage of the perception that every person in their society puts in an honest day's work, even if it doesn't pay as well (or maybe doesn't pay anything beyond subsistence) as theirs does. People don't mind helping out an underdog who is struggling to stay above water despite all his hard work, but when he says "give me your raft, I don't feel like swimming" he can piss off and drown.
All the above is, of course, just my perception of things.
A big for staying out of the EU, though. The solution to most problems is less government, not more.
