Sweden

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Sweden
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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

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Political Spectrum Sweden
Reactionary
Liberal
Conservative
Radical

• Left

• Right

Centre

• Centre Party
• Promote the interest of the Swedish farmers

• Left Party
• Communist party including violent change
• Limited support

• Christian Democrats
• Attempted to deal with economic problems with a
  Christian philosophy

• Liberal Party
• Has changed policies with the changing economic
  realities

• Green Party
• Environmental party

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

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

• New Democracy
• Neo-conservative beliefs

Non Socialist Block
Socialist Block
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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

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JUDICIARY
LEGISLATURE
EXECUTIVE
Monarch
Riksdag
Riksdag
Supreme Court
Government Ministries
Other Courts
VOTERS
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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

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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

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The Swedish Economic System
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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