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…
Category: Austerity policy
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…
Iran – bombing democracy and human rights is very difficult
Air raid sirens cut through the night in Tehran. Missiles strike a country where people have long lived under severe oppression, economic pressure and geopolitical vulnerability. In the West, leaders and commentators once again talk about freedom, security and perhaps democracy. But historical experience points in a different direction. War has almost never built human…
The law was followed, but where did humanism go?
I do not question that the Migration Court of Appeal ruled according to the applicable law. Courts are supposed to apply the law, not engage in politics. But that is precisely why the question must be asked elsewhere: what kind of legislation have we created – and what values does it reflect? When a young person who has lived most of his life in Sweden, who has taken root…
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…
Emergency laws with legislative power
The government wants to be able to bypass parliament in peacetime and enact laws on its own in times of “crisis”. It is said to be about preparedness – but resembles dangerous emergency laws that have historically led to abuse of power. The government’s proposal for emergency laws thus echoes worryingly with history. It was precisely such “temporary powers” that enabled the Nazis to seize power in Germany in 1933 – after…
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…
Sufficient childbearing is a matter of security
Sweden's fertility rate has fallen to a historic low of 1,43 children per woman, well below the replacement level of 2,1. Karin Engdahl believes that political reforms are urgently needed to restore young people's faith in the future. She suggests reducing working hours, especially for parents of young children. Without more secure jobs, cheap, good and beautiful housing and investments in saving the climate. and stronger welfare…