Bigger left visions of need The hope of the future is big visions. Political labels have lost their meaning and often replace critical thinking. In Europe, left-wing parties have become less revolutionary and more reformist. The reforms are also very cautious at that. It started when the oil and overproduction crisis in the 1970s led to capital managing to misinform politicians that…
How neoliberalism breaks us down
The oil crisis gave rise to neoliberalism. I believe that the oil crisis of 1973 was largely based on misinformation and exaggerated fear, something that both Clara E. Mattei and Sven Grassman have highlighted. Mattei describes how the crisis was used to legitimize austerity policies and neoliberal reforms, while Grassman showed how Sweden manipulated its national accounts. The bourgeois government painted a…
Lack of routines causes system errors
Dan Davies' ideas from the book The Unaccountability Machine see the whole of neoliberalism as a complex system with built-in errors. Jan Wiklund believes on the blog Gemensam in the article "All failures are due to bad routines" 2024/09/18 that crises and failures are not due to individual scapegoats but to a system error that is integrated into the structure of neoliberalism. Sure can…
Cut the tax for low and middle income earners by half
Sweden's tax system actually has a very regressive tax system, especially compared to other countries in Europe. A regressive system puts a greater tax burden on those with lower incomes. But does it really have to be that way? High monthly basic deductions In countries like France, where a friend lives, you have a basic tax deduction of 1.300 euros a month, which corresponds to…
Refugees fleeing war and violence - more are not granted asylum
Frida Johansson Metso writes in DN 2024-09-13 about how refugee policy in Sweden has changed drastically since 1948, when the UN introduced human rights. She focuses on the incident at Alsike monastery in 1993, where the police brutally picked up refugees who had sought protection, even though some were later granted asylum. Today, many refugees fleeing war are treated as “alternatively…
Social benefits and mental illness
Reduced social benefits coincide with more mental illness Why do we feel so bad when we are doing so well? The social contribution has fallen behind in value since 1985. Economic decisions have had a profound impact on both social and psychological problems in society. In 1985, according to Bergmark, Å., "The dynamics of social contribution receipt - duration and exits from...
Harris and Walz: A Struggle for Equality and Rights in an Unequal America
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz face a challenging but possible path to electoral victory in the upcoming US presidential election. Donald Trump polarizes and appeals to an increasingly extreme right-wing base. Harris and Walz instead direct their focus to the rampant inequality in the country. This issue affects millions of Americans. They find it difficult to afford…
Optimism for skeptics
Optimism: More Than Just A Smile Optimism is not about seeing the world through rose-colored glasses and believing that everything is perfect. Rather, it is about finding hope and strength, even when life feels at its darkest, and continuing to fight for both your personal goals and for the good of society. It is the ability to see…
Ichi-go, Ichi-e – to be fully present in every meeting
Ichi-go, Ichi-e (一期一会) is a Japanese expression that roughly translates as "once, a meeting" or "once, a meeting". This expression has deep cultural and philosophical roots in Japan and conveys the idea that each encounter is unique and can never be relived exactly the same way again. Therefore, one should value and…
Private property a social construct
Property and the Origin of Wealth At the outset, it is important to understand that property, as we know it today, has not always existed. In early human history, land, resources and property were common assets, without fixed boundaries or personal ownership. The concept of private property has developed over time and is not a given; it is rather a social…