Trust as Infrastructure

The Nordic model rests on something money cannot buy: extraordinarily high social trust. Citizens trust their government, their institutions, and each other. Far more Danes than Americans say most other people can be trusted, and that gap matters. High trust is what lets people accept high taxes — they pay because they believe the system delivers.

This trust enables policies that would collapse without it. Generous unemployment benefits work because people genuinely seek new jobs rather than gaming the system. Universal programs succeed because citizens believe others contribute fairly.