OK, this is serious, even though it starts with -

I was watching the Opra Winfrey show today, and she was visiting with ladies in different countries via skype. There were probably others but I saw conversation with the women from Denmark, Kuwait City, and Rio de Janeiro. As you might expect, I was most impressed with the Danes, and not based too much on their appearance, although they were pretty, and looked slender and healthy. They lived with husbands and 2 or 3 children in modern smallish apartments or townhouses and space was well utilized, and decor was minimal. Everything was immaculate but looked comfortable. They acknowledged paying income taxes of 50% to 60% but all three interviewees agreed it was well worth the price in living in a society where medical care, education, and economic security were assured. Apparently if you lose your job the state pays you 90% of your wages for up to 4 years. Professionals presumably earn more than bus boys, but not at the multiples we observe in the US. Generally, the free education and equitable income levels encourages people to do what they value doing and they value creativity and job satisfaction more than incrementally higher income levels. When Oprah asked how they felt about living in a socialized state they seemed perplexed for a moment before responding they would call it a civilized state.

The ladies in Kuwait and Brazil appeared upper middle class and very comfortable. They disclaimed any awareness of poverty in their societies. The Kuwaiti lady mentioned having an abundance of domestic help and introduced her Philippine cook. Apparently they don't bring in desperately poor Palestinians to their enclave because of potential political dissonance, but bring in Indians and Philippinos.
The Brazilian lady seemed surprised to hear that Oprah's film crew had had to pay the local street gang hundreds of dollars to be permitted to enter the favella (slum)where the lady's servants live.

I attribute the egalitarian nature of the Danish society largely to the ethnic homogeneity; when everyone else is just like you it's probably easier to implement the golden rule. I'm sure the sense of fairness is cultivated by educational, social, and political infrastructures, but the interviewees bore no resemblance to the east bloc workers who used to extol the virtues of the glorious workers republics.

This program provided a jumping off point for a discussion of my concern that ethnic diversity in the United States impedes progress toward social justice. More on that another time. One caveat, the Danish ladies said the churches were empty and none expressed any inclination toward religion.