I seem to remember that Denmark scored very well on last year's WSJ/Heritage Foundation (gasp!) Index of Economic Freedom. Top five, if memory serves, with the US tied for ninth. The index measures a wide range of indicators including tax burdens, regulatory environment, banking practices, etc. At any rate, it hardly sounds as though the Danes have abandoned the market, the profit motive, and economic growth in favor of a heavily regulated and centrally planned state - though it is true that they have chosen to maintain a substantial social welfare system. What is remarkable (and maybe instructive) is that, for the moment, they appear to have squared the circle to accommodate these two elements that were long thought to be antagonistic.

Denmark is also raking in so many petrodollars that the government has actually hired a philosopher to advise them on the morality of various investment opportunities available for the state pension system. As long as the North Sea remains relatively stable in a geopolitical sense, the Danes may be able to have their growth and redistribute some of it, too.

With apologies to any Norwegians and/or Danes whom I have offended, it was Norway, not Denmark, that hired the philosopher to direct the ethical investment of their oil profits. Denmark is a net exporter of oil from the North Sea, but the figures I could find put them around 300,000 barrels day for export. Norway pumps around 2.4 million per day.

Sorry. I would offer to resign if I thought that it would make any difference.

"The conjunction of ruling and dreaming generates tyranny."