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Sanders 2016 Presidential Campaign

Glenn Reynolds - Bernie's plan: Make America European again!

The socialist utopias of Sanders' dreams bear little resemblance to reality across the Atlantic.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds

In conventional political thought, Democrats are always trying to make America more European — Higher taxes! Free college! A smaller military! — while Republicans are a passel of cowboys who view Europe as a bunch of socialist libertines.

Bernie Sanders campaigns in University Park, Pa., on April 19, 2016.

But, as with much of conventional political thought, this isn’t quite right. And if the Republicans really want to mess with Democrats’ minds, perhaps they should launch a new campaign to make America more like Europe.

A good place to start would be with the Scandinavian countries that Bernie Sanders often uses as a model. Sanders’ problem is that the Scandinavia he has in mind is the Scandinavia of the 1970s. Scandinavians today have learned a few things since then, which Bernie seems to have missed.

As Swedish pundit Johan Norberg writes: “Sanders is right: America would benefit hugely from modeling her economic and social policies after her Scandinavian sisters. But Sanders should be careful what he wishes for. When he asks for ‘trade policies that work for the working families of our nation and not just the CEOs of large, multi-national corporations,’ Social Democrats in Sweden would take this to mean trade liberalization — which would have the benefit of exposing monopolist fat cats to competition — not the protectionism that Sanders favors. ... Being more like modern Sweden actually means deregulation, free trade, a national school voucher system, partially privatized pensions, no property tax, no inheritance tax, and much lower corporate taxes. Sorry to burst your bubble, Bernie.”

Likewise, as Charles Lane writes in The Washington Post, Donald Trump’s programs would actually make America more like Denmark. “Actually, the package Trump offers — ‘save Social Security without cuts,’ a vaguely pro-single-payer position on health care, plus temporarily banning Muslims and walling off Mexico — bears an eerie resemblance to the Danish government’s current policy mix.”

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Lane adds: “Like many American admirers of Scandinavian welfare states, Sanders lacks detailed knowledge of how those systems work, or an appreciation for certain cultural peculiarities that make cradle-to-grave welfarism politically sustainable there but not, so far, here. ... Denmark, tolerant and generous toward the Danes among its 5.6 million people, is deeply anxious about its 260,000 Muslims — so much so that a left-right parliamentary coalition recently authorized police to seize cash and valuables from refugees, ostensibly to help pay for their accommodation but also to deter them from coming at all.” Imagine the outcry if Trump proposed that.

And yet that would be nothing compared to the outcry if Trump proposed to make America more like Europe with regard to abortion. Sweden, for example, bans all abortions except by special request after 18 weeks. And, BBC News reports, there are serious restrictions on abortion after the first trimester: “Between 12 and 18 weeks of gestation, the women must discuss the procedure with a social worker. After 18 weeks, permission must be obtained from the National Board of Health and Welfare. Abortions must be performed by a licensed medical practitioner and, except in cases of emergency, in a general hospital or other approved healthcare establishment. Abortion is subsidized by the government. The country says illegal abortions have been eradicated.”

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When Texas tried to do something much milder, it was a national issue. But imagine if an American state tried to ban abortion after twelve weeks, like France and Germany. But it’s the European way!

This is just the beginning, of course. Look at the French reliance on nuclear power — it’s French and it’s greenhouse-friendly. And while many European countries offer “free” college to a select group of students, most are shunted into career tracks early, with little chance for change, and there are few of the amenities American students take for granted.

I suppose it’s too much to hope that Donald Trump will run on a "Make America European Again!" platform if nominated. But it would be fun to watch. And, for the rest of us, it’s worth noting that although Europe is mostly to the left of the United States politically, their idea of what’s left, and ours, are often quite different.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds, a University of Tennessee law professor and the author of The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the Opinion front page and follow us on Twitter @USATOpinion

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