There are evenings when life feels pretty simple. You've eaten, maybe read something, maybe exercised, maybe watched a bad movie that was still pretty good. Then there are evenings when your whole life suddenly opens up like an old linen closet and everything falls out onto the floor at the same time. Then you can start to think about how…
Category: Working conditions
Relationships alone are not enough – happiness requires a holistic perspective
Relationships important but no miracles Good relationships are crucial for well-being. A long-term Harvard study with that message, the New York Times recently highlighted. The research supports it. People with warm, stable relationships live longer and happier on average. Isolation, on the contrary, can be as harmful as smoking. More time with family and friends actually increases…
Pyrrhic victory for Western financial markets that breaks the US world power order
The Iran deal shows something bigger than a war The so-called peace deal between the US and Iran is a largely completed peace agreement, even if Netanyahu challenges it a bit by continuing to bomb Lebanon. But Israel will probably have to give in to Trump and the US can no longer afford the political and economic price of…
Inequality breeds right-wing extremism
Everyone runs – few arrive A nurse counts the minutes between alarms. A warehouse worker lifts at the high pace required by the band. A teacher takes the correction home again. All three have too tough working conditions. Sweden is even among the worst in the Nordic countries in terms of cultural funding, which is why librarians and museum officials have far too poor…
The Liberals – lost in the shadow of the right
A party with a democratic tradition The Liberals carry a historical heritage that few Swedish parties can match. When the party was called the People's Party, liberal forces contributed to voting rights reforms and political modernization. With support from liberal voters, the Social Democrat Hjalmar Branting was able to take a seat in the Riksdag as early as 1896. This history shows that the will to social reform and liberal freedom have long been…
Three-party systems normalize inequality and racism
This is how racism & right-wing politics were normalized despite voters wanting equal welfare: deregulation and healthcare choices created insecurity; surplus labor kept wages down; “winner-takes-all” in the Riksdag; S shot at the market in 2010. The anxiety became the fuel for the right. M attracts voters who like insecurity and SD attracts voters who like security. S is outmaneuvered when they don’t want to go…
Societies collapse when the elite withdraw
Societies collapse when the elite refuses to accept the right of the state to demand socio-economic responsibility from them. If the rich also refuse to invest in sustainable production, the problems increase significantly. Progressive taxation and protection for equal working, career and living conditions are needed. Read the article on Gemensam.
Anti-racism and equality policies must complement each other among the Democrats
Summary of the article “Kamala Harris Didn't Lose Because of Racism” (Jacobin, 2025-06-18): Kamala Harris did not lose the 2024 presidential election solely because of racism or sexism. Touré F. Reed argues that it is simplistic moralizing to claim that, and that it obscures more fundamental problems in Democratic politics and American class society. Harris did not primarily underperform…
Freedom, work, housing and social mobility now
Indeed, the Social Democrats must deliver freedom, work, housing and social mobility – not just manage neoliberalism, say three Social Democrats. So I say that we need a systemic shift back to welfare with a humane refugee policy, labor immigration to shortage occupations, improved pensions, a green transition, free dental care, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, restored social insurance, etc. There is rumbling among the grassroots For people is…
Better conditions for teachers strengthen Sweden's competitiveness
Every lesson requires more than just being present in the classroom. So we must create good conditions for teachers. Every teaching hour must provide at least the same amount of time for pre- and post-work. The older the students, the more time each teacher needs. Bo Jansson's government inquiry agrees. It also proposes reduced requirements for documentation and administration. Teachers…