Sweden

Swedish Values and Political Philosophy:• Social Democracy:

– Key difference from communism is the liberal belief in gradual change rather than revolution

• Core Values:– Compassion and Collective Responsibility

• All individuals have a moral and collective responsibility to help others in need

– Democracy• People should be encouraged to participate

actively in government and have the freedom of choice

– Freedom and Tolerance• People have the right to express themselves and to

explore personal values – Social Equality

• Equal and universal access to social programs, redistribution of wealth through progressive taxation, and a mixed economy

– Private enterprise is important to promote growth in the economy, but this growth is not stable without significant government intervention and public enterprise

– Collective social action (welfare state)• Government funded social programs that will raise

the standard of living as well as quality of life

Political Spectrum Sweden

Left RightCentre

LiberalRadical Conservative Reactionary

Non Socialist BlockSocialist Block

Social Democrat Party•Reforms and peaceful changes•Have held power sporadically form the 1950s

Left Party•Communist party including violent change•Limited support

Moderate Party•Former conservative party•Main Right wing party•Generally conservative economic policies

Liberal Party•Has changed policies with the changing economic realities

Centre Party•Promote the interest of the Swedish farmers

Christian Democrats

•Attempted to deal with economic problems with a ‘Christian’ philosophy

New Democracy

•Neo-conservative beliefs

Green Party•Environmental party

Swedish Political System:• Parliamentary Democracy • Executive

– Monarch• Represents the country • Cannot participate in political affairs or be a member of the government

– Prime Minister• Head of government and accountable to the Riksdag• The speaker of the Riksdag chooses the PM who must then win a majority of

votes in the Riksdag– Appoints cabinet, government officials, and judges– Determines government policies and submits them to Parliament

• Legislative– Riksdag

• Any decision in this body must be made with the approval of the majority of the members

• Political parties that can keep the majority of votes stay in power• If they cannot then the speaker asks the other leaders of the political parties

to form a majority• Judicial

– Supreme Court• Five appointed members (serve until 65 or removed)• Are able to determine if a law is constitutional or not

VOTERS

Supreme Court

JUDICIARY

Other Courts

Riksdag

Decidecases

Prime Minister

Cabinet

Monarch

LEGISLATUREEXECUTIVE

GovernmentMinistries

Appointsjudges

AdvisesResponsible to

Responsible to

Decidepolicy

Administer and implement laws

Feedback

Responsible to

Passing a Bill:

• Prelegislative Process – Lots of debate and discussion before a bill ever

makes it to Parliament

• The system is based on consensus, simply due to the nature of the system, rarely does any party hold a majority of votes – This means that for legislation to pass it must have

the support of more than one party

• Generally this means that contentious bills do not get passed and that there will be lots of changes to a bill before it becomes law

Elections and Voting:• Electoral System:

– Sweden is divided into 29 multimember constituencies

• 310 members are elected from these

• 39 seats are allocated based on popular vote (by party)

• Preferential voting – Voters can also signify

which party they prefer by marking this on their ballot

The Swedish Economic System

Brief Economic History:• Limited Intervention (1900-1944)

– Economy was based on the export of goods and services– This changed with the Depression and the erection of high tariff walls world wide

as nations attempted to stabilize their economies– German rearmament rapidly expanded the economy

• Building Social Democracy (1944-1975)– During WWII Sweden had to impose price controls and production quotas– 1944 the Social Democrats created the socialist society in Sweden

• Comprehensive plan: free healthcare, pension, sick pay, and graduated taxation to pay for the system

– 1950-1960s• Best time in the economy huge exports, socialist policies strongly supported in this

time period – 1973-1974

• European recession triggers a crisis in Sweden

• Economic Crisis and Change (1975-1990)– A non-socialist government takes power and looks to fix the economic problems

• Decrease in government spending and attempts to attract investors and trading partners

– Return of the socialists• Major tax cuts and a move towards a more market economy (relative)

• European Integration (1991-Present)– What looked to be a severe rescission prompted Sweden to examine a role in the

EU• Divide the nation

– The Swedish population finally voted (by majority) to join in 1994

Swedish Economy:

• Private Sector– Consumers

• Largest and most influential group in the economy

– Business Enterprise• Cooperatives

– 1/3 of population members of cooperatives profit sharing and increases buying power

– Corporate Sweden • Large corporations

dominate the economy

Swedish Economy:• Public Sector:

– Fiscal Policy• Maintain full employment• Progressive taxation (depending on time period)

– Monetary Policy• Neoconservative policies especially within the bank post

1980– Indicative planning

• Meeting with all members of the economy to determine the goals of the economy (all levels of the government and economy)

• As a result of this system Sweden has one of the most peaceful labor records of any Western nation

– Collective bargaining – Co-Determination and collective ownership

• These actions gave greater voice to employees to all aspects of the Swedish economy

The ‘Cradle to Grave Welfare State’

• The Swedish Government provides comprehensive social services such as:– Free prenatal care– Maternity and paternity benefits– Free daycare and nursery

schools– Family allowances– Free lunches for older children– Free university education– Free medical and dental care– Subsidized lunches and bus

passes– Guaranteed 5 weeks paid

vacation per year– Pensions tied to the cost of living

The Cost

• In order to pay for these benefits Swedes pay the highest taxes of any industrialized nations

• Steep progressive taxes – The more money you

make the more you pay in taxes

• 60-80%

Conclusion:

• This system has provided Sweden with the highest standard of living in the world

• Low levels of both unemployment and inflation have been sustained

• 1982 the Swedish economy experienced a drastic downturn (economic recession)– The Third Way

The Third Way:

• This programs main goal was to keep unemployment and inflation in check and institute tax reforms

• Government created new jobs, instituted retraining programs and increasing worker mobility (attempt to keep workers in touch with the job market)

• Unemployed workers can lose benefits if they refuse a job or retraining

• The government stopped funding for companies who were not successful

• Tax reforms have abolished some deductions set the top rate at 60% and provide incentives to save

• Unlike any other nation Sweden has had the chance to experiment safely with socialism