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…
Category: Income
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…
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…
The crisis of hyperglobalization – and the path to a new green Bretton Woods
The crisis of hyperglobalization finally arrived. For several decades, the world had been governed by one idea: that more trade, more deregulation and more global capital mobility would automatically lead to prosperity. In the report “Out of the Ashes into the Fire,” Stefan de Vylder calls the period from 1980 to 2016 the era of hyperglobalization – an era in which the economy became increasingly…
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…
Harder to survive as unemployed
The government, together with the Sweden Democrats, will put forward a proposal for a new social security fund where income, and not the time worked, should be the basis for the insurance. The government calls it "the biggest reform of Swedish unemployment insurance in 40 years". The proposal is met with mixed reactions. LO calls it a "disaster" and says it is unfair and...
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…
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…
Life is the meaning of life
Life itself is the meaning of life and not just my own life but all life and the preservation of this in as peaceful and pleasant a way as possible is the meaning of life. Of course, we will be happier in a more equal and libertarian and more empathetic world than today's. Working for a better society makes us…
The truth about immigration
Integration is an investment – not a cost. Although it sometimes takes up to 5-8 years for refugee immigrants to get a firm grip on the labor market, it is significantly shorter than for many native Swedes without higher education. Young Swedes often try their luck in their 20s and 30s between temporary jobs, unemployment, and studies before they…