> I don't think it's politically possible to create a strong welfare state in a country populated by identifiable groups with differing socioeconomic contributions to the common good.

Maybe I misunderstand you, but strong welfare states exist, and they have always had groups with different socioeconomic contributions.

Denmark has always been a nation with strong cultural differences to the point where people simply cannot understand each other's dialects, there were poor areas, rich areas and so on and so forth.

What am I missing here?