The writes Veronica Palm for Tidningen Rörelsen. Statistics Norway has reported that food prices in Sweden have increased by 22 percent in one year. This leads to difficulties for single parents to buy nutritious food for their families.

Food prices are also the biggest factor driving inflation in the country. It increases rents and interest rates and limits contractual requirements. In Norway, political pressure and competition from low-price chains are pushing inflation.

But in Sweden, three food giants control 90 percent of the grocery trade in Sweden. Food prices skyrocket. To solve the problem, different political parties propose different solutions, such as introducing a food price ceiling, raising the child allowance and temporarily abolishing food VAT.

The market does not solve food prices by itself

But a structural solution to the problem is also required. Market-driven privatizations and sell-offs miss people's basic needs such as e.g. food prices right now. Society needs to consider a new type of economy.

Most privatizations such as those of schools, healthcare, electricity and pharmacies have failed. Certain things, often those that people cannot do without such as school, care, care and pharmacy or things that are also common natural resources such as electricity, forests and mines, the public sector manages better. We should return to the boundary that existed between private and public that existed around 1980.

Society needs to invest more in research into green technology and green energy so we stand up to the competition, save the environment, the climate, nature and not become so vulnerable to international energy crises such as the Ukraine war.

We need to re-regulate the electricity market so that our main responsibility is national electricity supply and only when this is satisfied, we can export electricity.

Food prices require reforms for equality

We need to realize that equality builds power and a functioning society.

To afford an egalitarian society with good jobs for all on reasonable terms, the state needs to start combining progressive, adequate taxation with government deficit again.

Then in a more crisis-like world, we need to handle more of our production ourselves and rely less on globalization. Globalization is problematic both for the exporting and the importing country.

We also need to have one strong national defense so that we can ignore joining NATO and instead be so strong militarily on our own. Sweden needs to pursue such a neutral foreign policy that we become a peacekeeping, independent force that can avoid war.