Sus­tain­able Cap­it­al­ism in the Nor­dics?

Course content

Humanity faces significant challenges. Climate change, poverty, health & wellbeing, access to quality education, decent work, eradication of biodiversity, and growing inequalities are just a few of the interconnected “wicked problems” represented by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demanding urgent action. Against these challenges, the Nordics stand out as a valuable benchmark.  Nordic countries and companies are routinely cited as global sustainability leaders, frequently topping sustainability performance indicators like the SDG Index. While the Nordics have their challenges, their standout SDG performances invite deeper exploration.

This course delves into the essence of capitalism. We begin with the question, “is capitalism sustainable?” and proceed from there in this discussion-based course. We compare the US and the Nordic contexts, thereby contrasting “American capitalism” with “Nordic capitalism.” As a base text, we utilize the (forthcoming) book Nordic Capitalism: Lessons for Realizing Sustainable Capitalism by the course instructor, Robert Strand.

In our explorations, we aim to understand the cultural norms and institutional factors of the Nordic context and hypothesize how they influence sustainability activities and outcomes at the societal and company levels. As a matter of comparison, we invoke considerations of the Nordic context vis-a-vis the U.S. context while welcoming participants to bring their comparative contexts from whatever parts of the world they may come.