Explain how the cultures of Northern Europe have led its people to create powerful governments and thriving economies give examples

The have developed the Nordic Model.

Explanation:

The Nordic Model combines a capitalist economy with a welfare state. Ideologically, it can be said that the Nordic Model is essentially Social-Democratic.

In these Northern European countries, the economy is not centralized, and the means of production are not owned by the state, as it happens in socialist/communist countries like Cuba or North Korea, and in the Past, the Soviet Union, and Mao's China. The opposite is true: the economy is mosty free, there are few trade barriers, corporate taxes are not too high, and competition and innovation are promoted.

At the same time, people pay very high taxes, in the form of income, sales and property taxes. These taxes fund a welfare system consisting in free healthcare, free college, unemployment benefits and public housing. Note that things are not actually free because people fund them through taxes, but people pay those taxes according to their income, and if for example, they need medical care, they do not have to pay a lot of money out of pocket (frequently, the do not have to pay anything at all to visit a doctor, or get prescriptions).

The system has been succesful because corruption is low. There is also a great deal of social cohesion, and most people are glad to pay their high taxes because they know those taxes are being used well.