ABSTRACT
In Part III we explored the internal and external forces threatening to undermine the institutional arrangements of Nordic social democracy. We concluded that while the threat was real, its demise was not inevitable: there was still space for choices that accommodated the new realities yet left intact the fundamental institutions and, therefore, achievements of Nordic social democracy. But the fact that choices exist does not mean that they will be made. Part I of this book developed a theoretical framework for analysing the constraints on rational choices resulting in distributive justice. The pivotal problem was seen to lie not in human nature but in the opportunities and incentives to free-ride built into institutional arrangements, and especially those concerned with knowledge dissemination. Part II examined the operations of Nordic institutional arrangements, identifying those which, by making free-riding less attractive and reducing the cost of informed participation, resulted in aggregate individual and organizational choices compatible with (relatively) egalitarian outcomes.
