Denmark’s “Democratic Ownership” Agenda Shows We Can Run Our Own Lives
Denmark's new budget promises more state investment and welfare spending, but also a commission on helping workers take control of their workplaces. Marking a break with decades of pro-privatization dogma, the bill is a small step toward an economy that serves social need, not just profits for shareholders.
Christiansborg Palace, the government building in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Wikimedia Commons)
On December 6, Denmark’s Social Democratic government signed the annual Finance Act together with its parliamentary supporters — a document marking a break from at least a decade of austerity and tax cuts for the rich. Instead of the usual neoliberal assault on Social Security, the new budget increases public spending and boosts central parts of the welfare system such as child and elderly care, education, and health. The act also brings a sizable stimulus package in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — and historically high levels of investment in climate action and defending biodiversity.
So, the budget as a whole is encouraging. But speaking as an economic adviser employed by the Red–Green Alliance, there’s one small corner of the document that interests me the most. On the suggestion of the Red–Green Alliance, the act establishes an “expert working group” to promote democratic ownership and workplace democracy. If successful, this promises to put local communities and working people in charge of their own fate — the first time in decades that there’s an alternative to the privatization juggernaut.
Minority Government
Before diving into this promising agenda, it’s worth saying a few words about the Danish political situation. The Social Democrats lead a minority government whose majority relies on the Socialist People’s Party, the Social Liberals, and the Red–Green Alliance (and, informally, the ecologist Alternativet). Its stability is based on principles outlined in a “government understanding” negotiated between these parties after the June 2019 election. In these talks, the Red–Green Alliance managed to extract promises from the Social Democrats that “inequality will be reduced” over the next four years, “taxation at the top will not be lowered,” and “the social safety net will not be impaired.” The positive direction of the Finance Act, and the one before it, harks back to this understanding.
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