Legacies of Universalism

The Scandinavian welfare states stand out when it comes to future-oriented social investment policies and the associated social and economic performance (e.g., human capital formation, equality, inclusive growth). This chapter first explains how the inclusive social investment approach in Scandinavia came about. In the second part, it asks, is Scandinavia able to politically maintain this historical path and uphold its widely praised qualities and inclusive social investment approach? To answer this question, the authors offer an overview of the political conditions under which social investment had emerged as a political and policy paradigm and how this policy legacy structures the contemporary politics of social investment. Universalism/inclusiveness and social investment are two components of the same political-normative sequence that has generated unusually broad cross-class and cross-gender support for the social investment state. An empirical analysis of party manifestos shows that the different parts of the entire political spectrum are connected to form an unusually broad support structure for universalism and social investment. The authors assess if this coalition can be upheld and adjusted so as to be able to cope with new political challenges.