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: Economic pressure
The Sweden Democrats' betrayal of their own voters
Worse unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed, higher unemployment, eroded welfare resources and tax cuts that have greatly benefited high-income earners. A new report from Katalys examines what the institute describes as the Sweden Democrats' betrayal of the workers, unemployed and low-income earners who helped the party to power. The SD received 29 percent of the workers' votes in the 2022 election and 27 percent among LO members….
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…
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…
“Goody, Goody Two Shoes” – the perfect swear word
“Goody, Goody Two Shoes” – the perfect insult for anyone who wants to take someone down a notch. And not just anyone, but the type who seems to float through life on a wave of superior excellence. We all know someone – or at least we’ve come across them. But where does this come from…
Saving the world starts with local protests
How do we save democracy, world peace, the climate and nature? Democracy wins the people and vulnerable groups through local protests historically. If they are of sufficient public interest, they spread. Today's capital is built on fragile international systems such as just-in-time. These are very sensitive to disruptions. If local protests spread, this could have a major effect. Could red-green…
Cooperation, care and human success - from the Stone Age to today
Stone Age Stone Age people survived not because they were the strongest or fastest, but because they could cooperate and care for each other in unlimited numbers. Researchers have found graves that show that even people with disabilities were cared for and buried with respect. This tells us that society depended on everyone…
The school's lack of results is due to cutbacks, lack of performance, municipalization and independent schools
In SvD, Henrik Dalgard raises important points about how a culture of adaptation and lowered requirements in teaching affect students and pupils. But it is crucial to place the problem in a larger context. The deteriorating results in school and students' reduced ability to write and analyze is not an isolated phenomenon. They are consequences of…
Social Democracy's challenge
In Movement, Johan Sjölander raises an important and pressing criticism of the Social Democrats. Sjölander puts his finger on a painful truth – that the party has long been accused of drifting to the right. Now the party has actually drifted far too far to the right. But Sjölander's criticism is too mild. The reality is that the Social Democrats, together with their allies…