An interesting study called Danish Exceptionalism: Explaining the Unique Increase in Social Trust Over the Past 30 Years show us something unexpected. A lot of Americans today argue that the Nordic model could not be applied to American society because of the low level of trust between Americans. But back in 1980 the US and Denmark had about equal levels of trust. The Danish welfare state homogenised its citizens (in labor market risk, educational opportunity, etc), which increased trust between citizens over time. Denmark built a state which was conducive to trust; it was not the level of trust which built the state.
