It is no wonder the Nordic model continues to inspire progressives around the world. While they haven’t weathered the neoliberal era unscathed, the Scandinavian countries still boast robust welfare states that offer free health care and education and give workers a voice on the job. They’re a ready-made argument against conservative myths about the dangers of big public sectors and high social spending.

Yet the original ambition of Scandinavian Social Democrats went far beyond the welfare state. Their goal was to liberate humanity from the shackles of both capitalist domination and state tyranny through the construction of democratic republics.

One of the key proponents of this democratic socialist vision was the Danish intellectual and politician Frederik Borgbjerg (1866–1936). Although largely forgotten today, he was immensely influential in the early twentieth century — one preeminent scholar lists him as the single most important individual for the emergence of democratic socialist thought in Denmark.