The philosophy of the social welfare state, which dominates both countries, is fundamentally based on the concept of collective and total responsibility by all citizens for all citizens in all areas of life. The tax system guarantees that there are no extremes of either wealth or poverty. Social and cultural homogeneity has permitted the two countries to maintain stable conditions essential for the kinds of innovative social experiments that have characterized their correctional systems. The centralized national correctional administrations have authority over both institutional and community-based corrections. Staff training has high priority. Given the objectives of the two correctional systems, i.e., criminality reduction and social reintegration of offenders, the institutions are small, numerous, and specialized. Regarding institutional living, the two countries have adopted innovations in inmate rights and privileges, inmate organization, grievance procedures, correspondence and visits, the furlough system, work programs, educational programs, and treatment programs. Probation and parole are important features of the correctional systems. The United States could learn from Sweden and Denmark in the areas of reducing prison populations, constructing smaller facilities, diversifying institutions, increasing the use of community-based alternatives, and adopting shorter incarceration terms. 6 footnotes, 27-item bibliography.