Anders Borg's confession and the false burden of debt In 2005, Anders Borg admitted that it was not welfare that caused the 1990s crisis, but a misvalued exchange rate and poorly managed macroeconomic policy. Despite this, welfare was left to bear the blame. The Moderates used this narrative to push through attacks on wage earners, privatizations and cuts. Already in 2006, when Fredrik Reinfeldt won the election,…
Category: The financial power
Financialization a bigger price increaser than food shortages
When rumors rule more than reality Food prices have skyrocketed in recent years, and the reasons are more complicated than they first appear. Financial market speculation and stockpiling by major players control food prices more than actual shortages of raw materials. Sweden has also made itself vulnerable by eliminating its emergency stocks and becoming increasingly dependent on imported food….
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…
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…
Nobel Prize on Power and Progress
An ideology in power that favors workers must guide technological development. It determines whether we get a fairer world. Technological progress has not always meant better working conditions or higher wages for everyone. We need to develop innovations that help workers become better at their tasks, not just replace them with automation. Then the technology would…
The Sweden Democrats are not social democrats
The Sweden Democrats and Neoliberalism's Discontent The far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) have emerged as a decisive political force. The Dissatisfaction Party capitalizes on the dissatisfaction that many Swedes feel with neoliberalism. Neoliberalism brings cutbacks, layoffs, market solutions, deregulation and privatization. In recent decades, this has led to widening gaps between rich and poor. Many ordinary citizens have experienced long-term unemployment,…
Piketty, Capital and the Ideology of Inequality
Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" Summary of contents: Thomas Piketty's book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" examines economic inequality throughout history and up to the present day. Piketty uses extensive historical data to analyze wealth distribution and income inequality, focusing on how capital and labor income have developed over time. Main thesis: Piketty argues that the world…
Visitation zones instead of competitiveness
In visitation zones, the police must be able to stop and search people without having a specific suspicion of crime. The idea is that it will make the streets safer, but many are against it. Critics believe that it can lead to abuse and violations of people's rights. This is especially true if it is used against certain groups based on skin color…
Small changes in more equal societies good for longer, good lives
Research points to five safe ways to influence health and extend life Living long and feeling well until the end is possible, according to research from Olle Melander, professor of internal medicine at Skåne University Hospital. The research, which also includes Melander himself as a "test animal", provides insights into how you can influence your biological aging and prevent age-related...
Work for all provides a more stable, state-regulated mixed economy
Work for all is the goal society must have. Brilliant text on the benefits of full employment and its positive side effects. Niklas Blomqvist questions the idea that the market itself can create full employment. For example, Blomqvist points out that attempts to follow this path in the last thirty years have not produced the desired results. He emphasizes that work for…