Many say they can do it themselves. They want freedom from rules, taxes and collective systems. And sure – if you are strong, healthy, have money and influence, it may feel reasonable. Maybe you don't see the need for equal wages or a strong social safety net.
But then I want to ask three simple questions:
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Are you sure you will always be strong?
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Are you sure that all your friends will always be strong?
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Are you sure that your children, parents or siblings will always be strong?
Because life is not a career path – it's a river. Sometimes you float, sometimes you almost drown. And that's when you realize how much it means to have a community that keeps you afloat.
You can never be completely on your own.
Even if you are strong right now and have a good salary – do you really build your own road? Do you produce your own electricity? Do you produce your own food? Do you research the chemicals in the food you eat, or the dangers in the nature around you? Do you take care of your own healthcare, your own power grid security, your own public transportation, or the movie theater you go to?
Even when you buy a hamburger, you are dependent on someone else's work. And if you are an entrepreneur – do you buy all your goods and services yourself? Or are you dependent on others being able to afford to buy what you sell?
We are all dependent on each other – all the time. It is not weakness. It is the very nature of humanity.
Historically, we are the weakest mammal
Humans are not inherently strong. We have no claws, no fangs, no protective fur. What has made us a global force – for better or worse – is that we can collaborate in unlimited numbers. We can create stories, rules, structures, rights and societies. That is our advantage. And that is what we risk losing when we pretend that everyone will fend for themselves.
Chances are you need help yourself.
Research shows that almost all Swedes receive financial support from welfare at some point in their lives – via unemployment insurance, sickness benefit, housing allowance or pension. According to Statistics Sweden shows the STAND register that a significant proportion of Swedes between the ages of 20 and 64 have a large part of their net income from benefits such as unemployment benefits, sickness benefits or income support at some point in their lives. This illustrates that the welfare system is not intended for a single group – but for all of us at different stages. This means that the security systems are not for “someone else” – they are for you, although perhaps later.
Building a strong safety net is not about helping “the weak”, it is about helping people – because everyone is weak sometimes.
Welfare provides freedom – not unfreedom
The neoliberal idea of welfare passivates is based on a myth. Studies from the OECD and Sweden show the opposite: countries with strong social insurance have better job creation, higher social mobility, better mental health and stronger trust.
The research duo Wilkinson & Pickett show in The spirit of equality that equal societies not only feel better – they function better. Crime, violence, disease and stress decrease. At the same time, longevity, trust and even innovation capacity increase.
And then inequality increased in the West, happiness has actually decreased. We have more – but feel worse. It's no coincidence, as this article explains:
Social solidarity smooths out the injustices of chance
At the individual level, success is a gamble. You may be lucky with your health, genes, location, education. But all it takes is one accident, one child getting sick, one job market crash – and everything changes.
And then it matters whether you fall into a safe embrace or into a hole.
Social solidarity is not naive – it is rational
There are those who call it naive to want a society where we care about each other. But it is more naive to believe that you will never need others. It is naive to believe that inequality does not damage trust. It is naive to believe that division is sustainable.
Social solidarity costs less than social disintegration. It gives security, strength, loyalty and faith in the future. And you don't have to be left-wing to understand that. You just need to have lived a life.
We don't build for the weak – we build for everyone
We need to build a society where it doesn't matter as much whether you are strong or weak right now. Because that will change. No one is always a winner. But together we can make it less dangerous to fall. The good thing is that a society of solidarity does not require high taxes from low and middle income earners but only from people the richer they are and especially from the very richest. We also have no shortage of money for the needs of the people, nature or peace. Solidarity politics is just about wanting and prioritizing. Should we benefit the very richest and wars or should we benefit our people, all people on earth, peace and nature?
It's not just consideration. It's wise politics.
And that is actually the essence of a free, civilized society.
Before some election in the 90s, I would think, the question was asked by a 20-year-old to a social or liberal politician at a polling station. The politician replied that yes, you who are young make a loss by paying taxes. But then you get married and have children, and then the tax is profitable because children cost money. Then the children move away from home and then it is a loss again. Then when you get old, you get back more than you pay once again. Tax is just a way to even out the costs during your life.
Quite educational.
But inadequate. As Johan Gripenstedt said in the Riksdan when he wanted to build state railways and the conservatives said no because they would run at a loss. Gripenstedt agreed with this, but explained that that was not the intention either. By existing, the railways were supposed to ensure that the whole country ran with a greater profit than before. They were infrastructure.
That's how liberals understood themselves in the 1800th century; unfortunately, they no longer do so.
Then, high taxes are not needed for ordinary people, but taxes on the rich and government money creation invested in the needs of the people and nature are needed.