system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What is it about Scandinavia that caused it's particular development of social-democracy?

edit: How do I add the ELI5 tag to the title?

edit2: I'm real sorry about the extra apostrophe!
gpt
This question may have many answers. But one important part of it is the very short time for democratic development and industrialization. 

* 
The weather favors strict adherence to community and social contracts, getting "left out in the cold" has always had a literal meaning in northern countries. 

* 
In many of the scandinavian countries the gentry has been quite weak, and thusly, when democratic reform kicked in, the conservatives where rather weak.
* 
Unlike in many countries, in Sweden, the working class and the industrialists came to terms quite early in what was called "the Saltsjöbad agreement" of 1938, where it was stated that both entities had a common goal of development. The working class promised not to protest too much when industry rationalized while the industrialists promised to make sure workers got payed a decent wage.

* It should also be said that looking back, there isn't really a extremely unique phenomena, many countries tackled the crisis of the thirties depression in about the same way. The New Deal in the US was a path towards a more socialistic society as well as many of the measures taken in a lot of other countries in the world. The economist John Maynard Keynes who favoured a sort of economic social liberalism was the go-to-guy for explaining what needed to be done. The difference being that Scandinavia, did not change their policies as the oil crisis hit in the seventies and solidified itself in trying to "outsmart the downturn" with more social policys, rather than less (As Thatcher and Reagan did). 

This is just a few explanations, and they are quite generalizing to the point of speculation, but the "jante-law" as referred to, is a bit more speculative i find.