Sunday, March 9, 2008

What is life like in Denmark?

I remember once in junior school, my teacher relating a parable about how some men sat around a cauldron of boiling water. One man had some carrots, another some potatoes, another some meat, another some herbs and spices. After talking amongst each other, they all agreed they could make a delicious broth between them. The first man stepped forward, and unbeknown to the others, pretended to drop his portion of the broth into the cauldron, the next stepped forward and did the exact same thing, followed by the next and then the final man, each only pretending to drop his personal share of the broth into the cauldron. At the end, the men all sat expectantly waiting for the delicious broth they were about to receive. It was served up with anticipation, but each man was left with a bowl of nothing more than boiling water. They all looked at each other, each blaming the other for what had happened, but underlyingly experiencing some shame about their part in this outcome. I can't even remember why she told us this story, but it is the best summation of socialism and in particular, Denmark that I have ever heard in my entire life.

No comments: