To understand contemporary Denmark, the most important year to keep in mind is 1968, a year famous for the student demonstrations that broke out around the world. In Denmark, these demonstrations are known as the “Studentopstand,” or student uprisings, and the youth of the same generation are known as “Sixty-Eighters.” The movements prompted adults in Denmark to listen to what the youth were saying, with an open attitude of adopting and accepting the aspects of the youth movements that they could.

The students’ demands were essentially a rejection of traditional patriarchal values, aiming to bring about a freer and more open society. At the University of Copenhagen, for example, the students demonstrated against authoritarian systems by occupying the university’s main administrative offices and voicing their opposition to the Vietnam War and their grievances about society. The university responded by expressing understanding towards the students’ views; it was then that Denmark began its transformation into a freer and more open society. But why were the students’ ideas greeted with such open acceptance? The answer may lie in the students’ own behavior. Although students did occupy the university’s head offices during the daytime, come five in the evening they would leave quietly; in other words, their actions were intended only to make their demands heard.

From this time onwards, the Danish government would make a point of responding to the ideas of the younger generations in an open and unbiased manner. The Christiania district (see p.84) in Copenhagen is symbolic of this change. Covering 34 ha, the district was originally home to naval storehouses, but in 1969, when the navy stopped using the area, young people moved in with the ambition of creating a home for the dispossessed. These young people declared Christiania a free city in 1971. The Danish government once again responded by listening to the young activists’ wishes, and in 1973, permitted the Christiania project to remain active as a “social experiment.” There have been many twists and turns to the story of Christiana since then, but the experiment lives on today as a self-governing district operated according to its own unique rules, including prohibitions on weapons and the use of violence.

1- Freedom & Tolerance

The “Sixty-Eighters” who transformed their society and the existence of Christiania help illustrate the Danish values of freedom and tolerance. Behind those events, however, we discover the long and abiding history of a society steeped in the belief that “respect for others is respect for yourself.”

For example, Denmark extended suffrage to women back in 1915, earlier than Britain and other major nations. In Japan, by contrast, women were not allowed to vote until 1945, after World War II. It was this long Danish history of respect for others that made it possible for the older generations to be tolerant when the ideas of the Sixty-Eighters came on the scene. Contemporary Danish society can be said to have turned the Sixty-Eighters’ ideals of freedom into a reality.

The search for the roots of this attitude of freedom and tolerance takes us back to the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre), which was formed in 1905 with a support base among urban intellectuals and rural peasants. Although small, the Danish Social Liberal Party was often involved in government as a party concerned with issues of freedom; it did not acknowledge the existence of societal authority and was only interested in what was important for humanity, a concern reflected in its politics.

Today, Denmark is known for a high level of social welfare supported by high taxes; historically speaking, however, these policies originate with the Danish Social Liberal Party. The party was frequently a member of coalition governments and thus was able to continue moving the country in the direction of a welfare state grounded in principles of equality, regardless of the governing party at any given time. Among Danes, there is a strong sense that these high welfare, high-tax policies reflect a society the people have chosen for themselves.

The Danish Social Liberal Party fostered the emergence of the Social Democrats that for many years have been the leading party in the Folketing, or Danish Parliament. Meanwhile, the Socialist People’s Party, which split off from the Danish Social Liberal Party was the driving force behind the emergence of the Sixty-Eighters. In that sense, we can say that the Danish Social Liberal Party also played a major role in the formation of today’s free and tolerant society.

3-Communal Society

Among the people of Denmark, there is a firm belief that the happiness of the community should be valued along with the happiness of the individual, and it may be this belief that lies behind the Danish high-welfare, high-tax system. That system was not created unilaterally by the government but rather was formed through discussion and agreement among the people who make up Danish society. The folkehøjskole private adult education institutions that appeared throughout Denmark in the 19th century are one of the best illustrations of the fruits of this communal outlook.

These schools are based on the ideas of N. F. S. Grundtvig̶a philosopher and writer who is known as the father of modern Denmark and have spread throughout the country as places where people of all social classes can learn social norms and receive education through dialogue while living together in a common space.

In the late 19th century, Danish peasants (who received only a compulsory education) would use the fallow season to enroll in these institutions, where they would learn self-reliance and the meaning of being a Dane. Grundtvig’s philosophy remains a part of Danish education today, where it provides a foundation for character development and for learning about cooperation.

The folkehøjskole can still be found all over Denmark. Each school has its own unique characteristics and provides a range of courses including art and design, the humanities, and sports; there are no minimum academic requirements for enrollment and no entrance exams.

4-Flexicurity

Denmark’s per capita GDP exceeds that of Japan. The country’s employment policy balances labor market flexibility with security for periods of unemployment, and so is known as “Flexicurity.” Flexicurity is achieved by combining the following three elements, which are collectively known as the “Golden Triangle.”

(1) Relatively relaxed employment regulations, allowing employers considerable freedom to dismiss employees.

(2)Generous unemployment benefits and other social security benefits (up to more than 90% for people with lower income).

(3) Ample proactive labor market policies including job search support and occupational training.

These policies make it easy for companies to lay off employees and for individuals to change jobs, thus creating a highly fluid labor market. Laid-off workers can find new jobs by learning skills through occupational training, which has the benefit of making the labor market more adaptable to changing industry structures. In 1993 when this Golden Triangle system was introduced, the Danish unemployment rate was nearly 10%. By 2008, that figure dropped to 3.3%, although more recently it has tended to fluctuate around 6%. Underlying the introduction of this social system is a high percentage of small and medium enterprises within the country, a high rate of unionization, and a high tax rate that Danes pay for social services.