The Swedish Models myths and realities

On Reason TV Johan Norberg discuss Swedish myths and realities with Michael Moynihan.

The definition of an independent classic liberal

To be an independent classic liberal means to try to promote - in the tradition of the Enlightenment and of Humanism - tolerance, democracy, rule of law, human rights, scientific progress, free trade and social development.

The most important issues are defending liberty, freedom and human dignity, whether it is threatened by abuse or poverty.

Liberty and freedom according to Responsible liberals and SocialDemocrats, a difference of opinion

In the US we are now seeing the debate that Sweden had in the 1970’s. Should you have a Big Government, statist state or should you keep the system as it is but put into place legislative frameworks for the citizens to make their own choices within these frameworks?

I am extremely disturbed that the US seems to be going the way of Sweden in the 1970’s. It led to disaster both from the point of economic power and prosperity but also from the point of personal liberty.

Up until 1970 the political opposition in Sweden, mainly Folkpartiet, the Responsible Liberal Party, had been in fierce opposition to socializing polices. However the SocialDemocrats change tactics and abandoned pure socialism to what Nobel Laureate and party leader Bertil Ohlin called "central directive and regulation socialism", in the US it is called Statism.

Because of 1968 all parties en Sweden became radicalized and the opposition stopped. Sweden’s decline started, taxes were raised by 50 % overnight and the Public Sector tripled in size.

Sweden was in 1970 the world’s third strongest economy and we declined to the 17th, our welfare system could not be sustained any longer in the 90’s and small and medium sized business owners had been eradicated, Sweden has the fewest small and medium sized business owners in all of the developed countries

Do not go there!

Libertarian Paternalist, a responsible classic liberal


From Bertil Ohlin’s Memoirs “Socialistisk skordetid kom bort”("The Socialists crop was never harvested") 1940-1951 Bonniers 1975.

Bertil Ohlin was not only a party leader but also a professor of Economics as well as Nobel Laureate. He was the founder of The Stockholm School of Economics.

In particular, responsible liberalism saw it as a danger to the liberty of its citizens the development of the growth of an increasingly centralized political power. The SocialDemocrats [Swedish Big Government statists,] were always adherents of such practices that increased the political influence.

Only when a very strong case could be presented could we in Folkpartiet [Swedish Responsible liberal party] agree to such measures. We preferred makings laws that put a framework in place and with full freedom within this framework. The SocialDemocrats always wanted to increase what they called “the Societies influence” and minimized the individual’s right to self-determination both in private as well as in business life. Instead of the old "nationalization policy, pure socialism" we now saw on the horizon the beginnings of a new "central directive and regulation socialism" [In the US called Statism] emerging which, however - it must be stressed – was strongly opposed by us and the other parties in opposition and only developed very slowly after 1948.

Responsible Liberalism

I moved to the US from Sweden and shook my head as regards to the US so called liberals. In my eyes they had totally lost their way. They talked and acted like old school statists at best and socialists at worst. US Libertarians with a capitol L was not even close to libertarians, classic liberals.

The I found the Responsible liberalism of former California Governor Pat Brown. In his inaugural speech presented January 5, 1959 he put into word exactly how I felt what classic liberalism is. It is not class, racial or gender divise politics of the poststructuralist left but politics of hope:

http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/documents/inaugural_32.html

The essence of liberalism is a genuine concern and deep respect for all the people. Not monuments or institutions or associations, but people. Not one race, or one creed, or one nationality, but all the people. When people come first and special privilege is scorned, government is truly liberal.

In a liberal atmosphere, the individual stands secure against invasion of his dignity or intrusion on his conscience. He has the right to require justice and fair play, the right to demand protection from economic abuse and selfish threats to his security. At the same time, government must not, in naïve good intention, stifle his initiative or smother his growth. Men must indeed have freedom to breathe the air of self-respect.

A liberal program must also be a responsible program, a reasonable, rational, realistic program. We must know how much it will cost and where the money is coming from. Benefits must be measured against burdens. A program which pampers the people or threatens our solvency is as irresponsible as the one which ignores a vital need. But we will always remember that there is a difference between responsibility and timidity, and we are resolved to be governed more by our hopes than by our fears.