When are they going to abolish the royal family? Are they going to let them fleece the taxpayers forever? Sweden still needs socialism. The means of production should be the public commons and collectively owned.
Isn’t it easy to maintain what you have because of your strict immigration policy. You also don’t have the social, ethnicity diversity that the United States does correct? There’s just a lot of bigSweden and the United States we are much larger much more complex and much more diverse am I correct in saying that. Which makes it so hard to implement such a large social programs because so few people will be contributing to it.
Seems that your american consumer mindset ( no citizen) is back , never thought that people in retail deserve to a week-end or at least a sunday with their family too.
@@kenhinds3278 The US also isn't a settler colony with the largest prison population in the world with a history of slavery and genocide that has more than 1,000 military bases around the world and several wars going on and is not a police state were the police can kill people on the street with impunity and since 9/11 a populace under constant surveillance and where any US citizen can be arrested and detained indefinitely without a trial and in which corporations can commit a host of financial and other crimes such as addict a large segment of a populace and not go to jail and where its presidents can get rich after leaving office if they aren't rich already and whose Senate is a millionaire's club and the speaker of the House is worth $100 mil and whose Congress is bought off. Hey, I say if you're gonna make excuses, don't bullshit around; go big.
prodbysonder Sweden is better in many ways. I wish the U.S. would take some notes. I heard that Sweden is a social democracy more than a capitalist economy with free markets. Is there any truth to that or what is the common opinion of Swedish people?
@@12GAGE_tx Contrary to what many Americans and Swedes believe, Swedeb actually has a more free and competetive market than America. Less regulations and all that. Sweden also has more billionaries per capita which many don’t know. We do however have a higher income tax and higher VAT than the US, but then again we don’t have the inheritance tax like the US, so generational wealth is transfered at a higher rate here. The government does control the means of production here, our industries and properties are privately owned. Hope you got your answer.
@illest33 But they’re not socialist. You can have socialist aspects, without being a socialist country. Aside from healthcare, everything else is very capitalist.
Socialism in America mostly refers to welfare. Whereas socialism in Europe mostly refers to worker control of private production. In the context of America, then yes Sweden is a socialist country. It is the incorrect term to use, sure, however, Americans refer "socialism" to "welfare" and Sweden is a strong welfare state. It is confusing, but it is used correctly in the context in which it was given.
@@Name-jw4sj Just because Americans refer to it as socialism doesn’t mean it’s actual socialism. You can have socialist policies without being considered a socialist country. Like Sweden.
Sweden is social-capitalistic with a free-market economy. There's a clear difference from pure socialism. What it entails is basically that it is a capitalistic country with socialistic rules and regulations that both the government and businesses must adhere to for the benefit and security of its people. This involves a lot of things that would be too much to get into here, but the basic principle is strong rights for individual citizens along with extensive welfare and safety nets ensuring everyone can live a comfortable life no matter your situation.
Wait didn’t Sweden tell Bernie multiple times publicly to stop calling them socialists?? 😂 lol I know someone who lives there and they’ve told me they’re definitely capitalists.
Sweety, they are social-democrats. They belong to an European political family called socialist. So in Europe socialism or social democracy is the same. It has nothing to do with communism (it doesn't exist anymore) or USSR socialism (it doesn't exist either). If you have to call it, yes Europe could be defined as a capitalist society (but not the one from the industrial Revolution) So, just a normal society where people try to take care of each other, where we know it is cheaper to have free education, health services and all the rest. That's why they are so entrepreneurs they have education and everything else....
@@Therese.Adair. I think it maybe was a click bait strategy. But even in that case it's a mistake to do so. Anyone who knows Sweden is not socialist might think they don't know the topic they are talking even before starting watching the vid.
Well the population has grown since than... what about people who only have the weekend to run errands.. honestly I avoid the stores on weekends because I don’t like crowds.. but my point is clearly a lot of people choice sunday to shop
@@danielakalamudo4360 The government right now pays money directly to schools for education. School vouchers send that money directly to parents to buy school supplies, etc. Kids can then go to any school they want to and can even go to private schools with the voucher money.
I'm not entirely acquainted with the System, but I do like the Idea! And it does seem like school choice is a Worth a try!!! Here in LA, you see the incredible difference within the public system in different neighborhoods!! That could be the great equalizer!
Socialism, democratic socialism and social democracy are three different concepts that are often conflated. Some people use the word ''socialism'' to refer to communism, the economic model implemented in the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries from 1945 to 1990. Others use the same term to refer to democratic socialism. Social democracy was more left-wing and progressive from 1945 to 1990 than from 1990 to nowadays. After 1990, politicians who were members of European social democratic/democratic socialist parties started describing themselves as social democrats to emphasise the fact that they represented a modern version of social democracy/democratic socialism, which was more friendly towards the free markets than that implemented by European social democratic/democratic socialist parties from 1945 to 1990. After 1990, European social democrats accepted some elements of neoliberalism to a significant extent, despite the fact that the strong welfare state, an important aspect of social democracy, remained in place. Until 1990, social democratic/democratic socialist parties believed not only in the strong welfare state, but also in the strong role of the government in regulating the economy, as well as in promoting full employment, economic activity and prosperity. During that period, the economic policy of certain social democratic parties even included elements of central planning, but the economies those parties presided over were arguably still capitalist (that depends on how you define capitalism and socialism), as social democrats believed in the right of individuals to have their own property and never implemented full nationalisation. Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as many big businesses, were privately owned. However, most key industries and bussinesses were controlled by the State. That is one of the main differences between old-school and modern social democracy. The party that is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectrum in Sweden, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, was more left-wing before 1990 than after 1990. The same applies to all European social democratic parties, as I mentioned above. One could argue that, until 1990, the economic policy of these parties was democratic socialist and that, after 1990, that policy became social democratic. Someone else could argue that their economic policy was social democratic before 1990 and social liberal after 1990. That depends on the context in which certain words are used. In any case, I personally believe that the economic model of Sweden is much more fair than that of the United States.
Bernie Sanders: We need to be more like Sweden. Everyone in the comments: Sweden is not socialist. Every conservative: You want to make us like Venezuela 0_o
Thats because the right wings in US use scare tactics against the people. I think there are two reasons. They benefit from it, and the second, that they are not that good at economics. They really dont understand. But yes. Sweden is a socialist country :)
@@allaboutmusicmovies9606 they have a free market in Sweden. Not a socialist country. He said that in the video. And anyone who knows economics knows socialism doesn’t work. Common sense.
@@t.j.5574 You think there cant be capitalism in a socialist country? Then you dont know much about socialism. And yes i live in a socialist country so I know it works very well, much better than a country with free capitalism. I love your argument that its common sense when you dont even know what it is.
@@Buffett305 duh, socialism is authoritarian; it's the only way you can redistribute other people's money: by force. And that's what Bernard Sanders want, not a Swedish model: th-cam.com/video/K2d3DMC6qyg/w-d-xo.html
As much as i hate to say it, "social democracy" will never work in the U.S for the simple reason that Americans are very individualistic, its part of their culture. They focus way to much on their own "American dream" and personal goals. In the other hand Sweden is considered to be a collective one, which they focus on the well being of others also very minimalistic. And please stop comparing a small country with only 10 million people to one with 330m. We all know that small nations are easier to micro manage.
Exactly. And the last comment he made about an individual can live comfortably on unemployment--but shouldn't--is exactly why the Swedish model won't work here. Too many people would take advantage of the government largesse not caring that it would hurt everyone else in the long run.
We don't micro manage in Norway and Sweden. We manage by big workers and employer unions, and other organizations. The government just says "fix this, or we will have to make a law". They don't like being told, so they negotiate. That way our law has no minimum wage, it's not needed.
@Slender Man agree man, but being individualistic is not all bad, that part of american culture has drived them to become the most dynamic economy the world has ever seen, and the world surely benefits (leeches) from it.
I come from Israel, so naturally we adhere much more to the American way. To be frank, we all believe the Scandinavians have figured out how to run a country, the correct way. We see how throughout history they've built their own pigeon nest. On the other hand, I also believe their model can't work where people are diverse and hetrogenic who usually are competitive and hold contradictory beliefs (like the American society or the Israeli, for instance). Now with all the immigration waves coming into north Europe, unfortunately and most likely, their pigeon nest will be exploited by different types of groups with different types of backgrounds and mentality (AKA hawks), Thus the Scandinavian model will cease to be such a success (I hope not!!! but history tells otherwise...). So to conclude - YES to Scandinavian model in homgenic countries with strong moral levels and cooperative people. YES to the American model in diverse societies where competitive people with different goals live.
DG From a Swede, you have understood Swedish system better than most. Our system is built on the fact that most people contribute, if that falls, the system will lose. And immigration of a of uneducated people will be an issue.
You comment seems oblivious to the diversity of Sweden. More than 200 immigrant languages are spoken in Sweden. Sweden has a larger RELATIVE immigration than the U.S. (thus, per million). Already 5 years ago, there were about 400,000 speakers of Arabic in Sweden. Sweden's population was 9.7 million in 2015. Let's pick a SMALL group for a quick everyday example, for example Chinese: I see Chinese practically every day. Granted, I do live in the capital.
Sweden seems better, because it’s a extremely small homogeneous easily manageable society, while the US is a melting pot of diversity and people with different cultures, if you look at Swedish Americans they tend to out earn native Swedish and have a higher living standard.
@@DivinesLegacy I've heard this argument from Americans so many times, and you all never seem to explain exactly how it works. 'homogeneous' = dogwhistle for 'no lazy black folk who exploit the system' and all of the conservative stereotypes for other minority groups. You're using the existence of economically disadvantaged groups (with little power) to excuse the fact that America doesn't decommodify basic necessities and curb economic inequality. It's a total non-argument.
@@DivinesLegacy You just don’t like minorities, just say it. Your argument has been disapproved multiple times by multiple people, you’re using it simply to push your ethnocentric bullshit.
Socialism is when the means of production is controlled by the state. Thats definitivly not the case of sweden. The swedish economy is just as free, if not freer than the united states of americas economy. The thing that makes americans think sweden is socialist is our big tax funded welfare state. Welfare does not equal socialism
@@justinbentley5880 no it doesnt. The most fundamental rule of socialism is to have a planned economy. If a country doesnt, then its not socialist. Sweden is not socialist in any way possible. Democratic socialism is also a misinterperated term. Sweden isnt a socialist country with a democracy. Its a free market country with a large welfare state
@@filipperic5133 no, It is by the state. Karl marx stated early that the state was to be responsible for the public ownership, and every example we have seen of socialism has been when the state has been responsible for that.
There are no true socialist nations, even Venezuela and Peru are not 100% socialist. Sweden is simply a capitalist nation with a welfare system that is significantly less financed than that of America. For example, America spends 250% more per person than Sweden on government-funded healthcare, 40% more per person on government-funded education. Comparing the two is like comparing an apple with a galaxy. Most of Swedens tax income comes from fossil fuels and cars and has for 50 years. With a population of 10 million these industries alone contribute 70% of GDP per person. This is not possible when you have 330 million people and a $22 trillion economy.
Hi, I live in Sweden. My wife got a surgery for brain tumour in 2011. She was picked up by a helicopter as we live on an island. The surgery lasted for more than 5 hours. The tumour was not bad, and she is still living a good life. The only invoice we got was for the helicopter ride, it was 250 kronor, that’s about 75 dollars in your currency.
@@davidosterman5373they pay quite a bit tax. Now I live in the United States and earn around $4,000/month. My health insurance is at $1,000/month with a $3,000 deductible! Thats about 25% of my pay! Now let's talk about the taxes I pay on top of that! How about the doctor bills we get for everything even with the.damn insurance! We have considered giving up our citizenship them come back here illegally so we.could get free health care because it's stupid high!
I have to smile at all the uproar in these comments about socialism, as though it were a dangerous and poisonous concept, which is just what our propaganda wants us to believe.
@@tcaldwell1782 “reverse racism” isn’t a real term. It would just be called racism. Also, racism is natural for all humans to feel. It’s not hatred, it’s understanding. Understanding that there are differences between peoples.
@@davidattalin7073 socially speaking that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Very free society when it comes to lgbtq stuff and not quite religious.
@@Erikslust damn I have wanted to move to Sweden for a long time...it's kind of my dream but this comment made me feel really selfish because I would honestly not benefit the country at all...in fact, I would drag it down in a way. Guess I just have to stay here but I will always love Sweden from afar
@@Erikslust Sure there is immigrants that are from the working class and farmers fleeing to Sweden because of war, as most Swedish people are working class and their education is not higher education. You have limited collage students that have lead to a higher demand of immigrant workers with higher education, they might need some years to learn the language and get a job. But it is well known that education is highest priority in immigrant families, Asians always strive to be medical doctors, middle easterners are more broads spectrum in the higher education fields and many are successful business owners, restaurang owners and hairdressers. For a long time a immigrant medical doctor would only get employed as a cleaner or in retail, and when more and more immigrants have been starting to get employed in their right field of work, you complain that their taking your jobs. Immigrants might come poor because they had everything they own, their homes and businesses destroyed in wars, actually the rich ones had better opportunities to flee from the war zone than the poor, so they need time to start over. However I am proud of Sweden's generosity, morals and compassion, they have saved so many desperate peoples lives and created a save place for children to escape wars and hunger because of wars. I don't think you have to do it, and you have the right to choose what is best for your country, because of course massimmigration that happens during wars are a burden on the welfare system. If you don't want that, look at what your government can do to stop the wars and the military and weapon industry that is fueling it. Invest in your police force and make it better and look at what reasons is causing the drug and theft crimes among youngsters, i can not tell you why, because the people from immigrant families that I know are all educated and are raised to respect laws, and not do drugs, alcohol or any violence. And poor people are still people worth saving and given a chance to do better, if Sweden is teaching us anything is that with the social programs we are taking care of the poor, sick and weak and giving them more chances to succeed, and even if they just become workers, we all need workers and many working fields are well paid thanks to unions. You should look at the tax cuts that have been made for big businesses and rich people the last decade leading to cuts in our social programs and the under funding of the police force. However I heard that the police force is going to improve, and I really want them to do a better job and be more strict with criminals.
When talking about the cars, it is important to point out that nordic countries like Sweden and Norway have ridiculously high taxes when it comes to owning an automobile causing many poor people not being able to purchase cars. This is why cars in these countries are typically 'newer' because cars in general are seen as a luxury that is taxed. This video as a whole doesn't give a good representation of both economic systems and is clearly bias towards the sweedish system.
There’s no poor people in Sweden lol. People don’t need cars over there, majority of people take the trams, trains or buses. It’s Good for their psychical health to move a bit, exercise and mental health. In other words, infrastructure is beyond well developed.
@@allebuum That's a good point, varying factors can be responsible for people having less cars. Now I am assuming when you say no one is poor there, you are referring to the effective poverty rate being around 7% which is significantly lower than the US which is around 17%. My position still stands that the reason the cars are nicer is due to government evolvement whether it's from high taxes (that still exist) or the states willingness to compete in industry. Keep in mind I never said that Swedish system was bad, I just thought the video was biased towards it which gets in the way of an accurate analysis.
@@bashful514 I’m saying no one is poor there because I’m born and raised in Sweden lol. And that’s coming from someone that grew up in a “rough” area, but our buildings in that “area”, along with the apartments, appliances, walls, floors, roads etc was in way better living standard and condition than most apartments and housing constructed buildings in the US. Life was good for someone like even me.
"Social democracy is a government system that has similar values to socialism, but within a capitalist framework". I know its fucking hard to figure out for some of you, but the fact that the word "Social" is present does not make Sweden apply the Socialism economic philosophy.
It is still capitalism even if government provides the capital. Yes indeed, a nation can be simultaneously capitalistic AND socialist. What matters is who has the capital and who gets the profits.
I have been an advocate for social democracy since being stationed in Wiesbaden Germany. Even back in 2000, before the EU and still using marks instead of euros, the friends I made, who were germans, explained a little about the government for them and other countries (comparisons and similarities) spoke to a government working for the people instead of for whatever party they were in. I am saving this video for the next family get together. My family is Scandinavian and German so copious amounts of alcohol is a staple (if only they had the constitutions of our lineage lol) and this leads to debates. I should say this leads to verbal diarrhea with me adding fuel by proving them wrong. It's ok, I like the fact that they won't talk to me for a month or so after lmao
I became chronically ill when I was 20 years old and I can say with total confidence that I would be dead if my husband did not take me in. I lost my job, I can't drive, I have no education at all (not even high school). The emotions I have toward America are indescribable. I would love to move to Sweden but I don't want to drag it down...I don't want to be this sick uneducated burden on such a vibrant country....but sadly without me providing another income, we will be paycheck to paycheck forever. Because I need healthcare. I feel doomed to be poor and sick and dumb forever.....the pain and suffering I have had to endure due to poverty and sickness is the reality for everyone I know. We work so much to barely get by just to get ill from how much we have to work just to get put out on the streets as soon as we get ill. I was set up to be dead in the streets just cause I couldn't afford to survive.
@@brookecharland7063 I understand your pain, and I hope somehow things will get better. I know that there are Medicare and Medicaid programs. Do these programs not help you in any way? Or maybe Social Security?
I have heard that Sweden has told Drs and hospitals to send coronavirus patients home instead of keeping them in hospitals. They give them morphine which helps possibly kill them as opposed to treating them as they should be. Hope this isn't true but it comes straight from a dr. And they are told to mislead these patients. Please research for your own good. Best wishes
I’ve always wondered what it’s like to live in a Scandinavian country. So many people here in the USA sarcastically say things like, “you go live in one of those socialist countries and see what it’s like … “ All I can say is it can’t be worse than American “democracy”. We have a horrible income gap, the highest amount of incarcerated people per capita, massive gun violence, the worst healthcare system and a bunch of religious zealots who want to incorporate religion into politics. Additionally, we are an incredibly divided country in our political and moral thinking (calling us the UNITED States of America is a joke). In closing, I fail to believe living in America is better than living in Sweden or its neighboring countries.
Sweden full embraced capitalism after monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s. Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country. Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich. th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles. It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism. They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them.
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s. Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country. Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich. th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles. It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism. They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them. Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets.
Your argument regarding income gap is just stupid. The Mises Institute has debunked your argument regarding income inequality. The think tank noted that if Sweden became a state in the USA, it would be poorer than the poorest state (Missisipi). The Swedish historian Johan Noberg noted that Sweden relies on the limited entrepreneurship that goes in the American healthcare industry. If that collapses, bye bye Swedish healthcare. Gun violence occurs in the inner city state which is ran by democrats. I prefer unsate freedom than totalitarianism. Colion Noir has debunked your nonsense.
@@mathematicalgeek8657 Are you seriously saying there is no income gap in America? Yeah, there's no gap between the incomes of billionaires like Bezos and Musk and some person making minimum wage. Your comment about gun violence is total BS. Have all the mass shootings happened in inner cities? No. And, if things are so bad in Sweden, why have I read (in multiple articles) that people in Scandinavian countries are the happiest? Since when are those countries Totalitarian? Not surprised that you found a way to bring Democrats into the mix, and - of course - blame them for things.
I found liberty in Iceland; on returning to the United States I was appalled and shocked at the boundaries and limitations of liberty; it really isn't the land of the free and home of the brave; not compared to iceland. But is still vastly superior on those important qualities to just about every other nation on Earth.
Love the topic! I think what's really important to consider it the different political cultures: Sweden has a deep trust in their government to not be corrupt and a trust in fellow citizens to not take advantage of the system, whereas Americans have an inherent distrust in the efficacy of government and the corruptibility of politicians and much distrust and cynicism regarding fellow citizens' differing political beliefs. .
@@justinrumsby1017 That's exactly the way the elites in the US and Britain want to keep it. If you keep the peasants busy fighting amongst themselves and living in fear of government they will never organize to demand what they deserve.
Yes, and look where that trust in our government brought us swedes.. mass importation of violent people who couldn't read a childrens book in their own language. Multiculturalism is pure evil and will be the end of the western civilization of we don't stop it.
Sweden takes care of the social justice of its citizens, especially the healthcare, education, retirement and minimum wage. What more can people ask for, for a good living environment?
But the people there don't enslave their fellow countrymen, unlike other developed countries. Swedish employers pay their employees reasonably so that the employees can live comfortably, unlike many employers in developed countries, who like to enslave workers and give little salary.
@@cwsb9397 Yeah it's not like you can just quit your job and work for a better company or anything. You are obligated to stay with that employer and never start a business.
Daniel Lassander We have a different system with the so called collective agreements, between the trade unions and the companies. They set the wages. That makes the minimum wage laws redundant. In practice, it means the lowest wage in Sweden is around $2275/month or $14.22 an hour. In the US it’s (the last time I checked) $7.25 an hour. So the lowest salaries in Sweden are about twice those in the US.
Hi, I live in Sweden. My wife got a surgery for brain tumour in 2011. She was picked up by a helicopter as we live on an island. The surgery lasted for more than 5 hours. The tumour was not bad, and she is still living a good life. The only invoice we got was for the helicopter ride, it was 250 kronor, that’s about 75 dollars in your currency.
Interesting. It was good to see both of your perspectives when comparing the countries. I'm American, but I often wonder what this country would be like if we adopted some of the policies more common in Scandinavia.
@@rhythmandacoustics Canada is nothing like the US. Most Canadians live in a few metropolises(Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa) while the US is much more spread out.
Question for someone living in Sweden: At the end, he says that you could live comfortably on unemployment, but shouldn’t. Is there a cultural stigma against taking advantage of the system in Sweden? That’s a big fear in America-that there are too many people who would be happy to live off government benefits and not be socially pressured into being productive members of society.
there are already people who who would rather live in ghetto section 8 neighborhoods than get a job, it would be worse if the Swedish model was adopted
@@RobertoGonzalez-my8um Socialism has so many Stigma pushed onto it, but 'Second Thought' cleaned up with the Myths and Stigma, as well as makes many good Arguments for it, despite not even going into what 'Some More News' pointed out: A Pandemic is a Stress-Tester and the System was therefore recently stress-tested. The Results show us Capitalism literally does not work at all. I hope you look into both of them, starting with the videos 'Socliaism for Beginners' and 'Capitalism vs Covid!'.
On American tv, there is always the domination of male sports' games on prime channels, and player and result reports are on the news right up there with really important news. Even though the majority of women and children are not interested in male competitions, the chauvinism never stops.
Hopefully the U.S improves sufficiently and deal with the issues we been facing without getting into dumb political quagmire. We a lot of potential that’s being wasted right now.
Very nice analysis using current statistical data. I live in Canada and there are many similarities between our two countries. We have a stable social democracy and a healthy social welfare system. Our tax rates are similar and like Sweden and other Nordic countries we have a social safety net to fall back on. Plus, we have the most beautiful scenery in the world.
@@craigme2583 that is a choice. You are not required to take out a $100,000 loan. Comically, people from all over the globe flock to the US for education and medical.
Gas costs around $26 dollars a gallon in Sweden. I just recently met a couple from there who told us. They have to take crowded busses and trains on a regular basis. Maybe school and health care should be free, but we should NOT have to pay this much for a burger! A burger combo in CA costed $6 last week, and now it’s already 7?! Why are meat places suddenly being burnt down??? Look into it more, hard to believe it’s a coincidence with people in the government also telling milk places to throw out their milk??
Strong social programs for the working class is good for capitalism. Social democracy creates customers who create demand. Social democratic policies are the only thing can save capitalism from destroying itself.
That may be the stupidest comment I've seen. I DON'T enjoy being low income, and clearly, there is no hope of ever being rich. It doesn't matter how hard you work in America, or how much education you have. You're either lucky or you're not. Most, like me, are not.
Tycker ni är väldigt duktiga och pålästa (bra jobbat!!) i det ni presenterar men många gånger när ni i era videor refererar till statistik gör ni det väldigt snabbt och utan hänvisning till egentlig källa. Ett tips är att lägga källorna som länkar i beskrivningarna! ✨💪
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s. Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country. Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich. th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles. It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism. They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them. Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets!
@@GameLorePage the whole idea of the system in sweden is that it is not just for you. The selfish kind of thinking you brought here is better of in the U.S
bopp Be my guest and work for someone elses benefit your entire life. In fact I can have you come over and work for me. I will offer you all accomedations necessary to survive.
One of the things I constantly hear about free healthcare for all is that the quality of care can be very poor and wait times for specialist appointments and basic testing like routine bloodwork, CT scans, MRIs, etc. can be really long. I also hear that basic procedures like colonoscopies and endoscopes can include long wait times. This is why most people get private health insurance on the side so they have more access to better doctors/quicker procedures. What has been your experience with this?
I live in Canada, and that is the case here, but then this is also a capitalist country. So of course they're pinching the pennies on the free health care. In my experience, there is no "Left" in capitalism. There's the right, then there's the left leaning right. I can't speak for Sweden, as I have not lived there, but I'd imagine the health care there to be better than Canada, due to the heightened taxes. The entire financial system of our country is also on a perpetually downhill course with inflation. So I predict that we won't have free health care in Canada anymore within the next 30 years. It'll start with corporations getting into health care, like the "Telus cares" initiative I've heard about, then more corporations will likely get into it, then the government subsidized health care will back out, as it's already largely started to do, post-Covid. And once the government is no longer a part of health care, that's when the corporations will begin by adding a fee of some-sort; which, much like our Netflix subscriptions, will continually see increases until it becomes something that, much like American health care, a large portion of the population can't afford. If it goes by that exact plan, that time may even come within 20 years. You'd think that an insane number of people would protest such a thing, but the majority have been conditioned to believe that if a corporation owns it, then we have no rights. Just like free speech on the internet, RIP to that within the next 10-15 years.
@@sizlax "In my experience, there is no "Left" in capitalism" - that is how Neo-Liberalism emerged. That is right wing in privileged and social station, but left wing in pretention and box ticking, as long as it suits the economic goals. This also includes appeasement of the most vocal united minorities.
The difference between Sweden and the United States is one has a divided that's purposely created and the other is focused on benefitting the whole country for the betterment of everyone in doing so it makes a better country for everyone.
Ummm there's sooooo much red tape you have to snip through to get special care if you have a specific diagnosis. For example, my wife has polycystic ovarian condition and needs midformin for treatment. After the 10th Swedish doctor we saw only 1 new what that was. On the positive side, treatment was nearly paid for by taxes. Only medication was paid out of pocket which was close to nothing.
That's what some people in the states don't see... Yeah you can earn more faster, but just wait til you or your family has health problems.... They'll be worse after the financial hit then beforehand
Sweden is not a socialist country. It is very much a capitalist country with strong regulations and public access programs that ensure their their capitalist economy can survive.
I am a Canadian who has lived in the EU (Belgium and Spain) for over 20 yrs. I totally agree that the Swedish social democratic model is much better for the VAST majority than the US "f-you buddy; I'm alright jack" model. Canada has had what USA calls 'socialized medicine' (ie public health insurance) since the 1960s and it's one of the MOST highly supported govt programs in Canada. No politician in Canada who wants to get or stay elected would propose a US health health insurance system - that would be political suicide. One thing Sweden and many EU counties have that Canada does not is free (or nearly free) college and university tuition. This is becoming more of a barrier to low income Canadians.
Apple and Oranges...The US has massive diversity each state is like its own country. Sweden has only a slightly larger population than New York City and the state of California has a larger population than Canada. Bringing socialized education and medicine to the US would be a VERY significant undertaking.
Sweden is the obvious answer. As an young American who worked his way through college (when you could in the 80s) I was so impressed by Sweden and Swedes - I worked there and lived there in 1987-88. People seemed so happy go lucky. Sweden to me is elegance mixed with nature with a touch of intelligence and a breath of fresh cold air.
I'm a South African lucky enough to get out of my country and live in the UK but after watching a few of your videos I want to move my family to Sweden. Thanks for your wonderful videos.
Sweden is also largely a mono-culture. That makes the job of "equalizing" much easier. All of the countries that can claim similar "success" as Sweden is that they are mono-cultures too. it is much more difficult for countries that are very culturally-diverse (like the US) to get these results. By taxing income so highly, you drive people to the options that let them pay less taxes - owning their own business.
When people talk about taxes I always think "Which taxes are we referring to, exactly?" and "What is the money going to?" I'm okay with paying taxes in Sweden because I get a lot for it and society benefits as a whole. If I lived in the US, I would be very pissed off at how my money goes to illegal wars rather than health care and education. We need to remember that the point of democratic governments is supposed to be that they work for us, not corporate interests or anything else. Taxes should make life better for the general public. When I see how US politics works it makes me think that most voters are in a abusive relationship with their elected officials and they don't know that deserve better. Progressives like Bernie aren't radicals. They are just in favor of dignity - being paid for the work you do, not being poisoned by your water, not having to pee in bottles because you don't have enough time to do your job. Pretty basic stuff. It's not so much about ideology and more about which politician actually gives a shit about you and who doesn't.
Illegal wars? Dude I get that some of our wars are controversial yet if China or Russia goes off invading countries, what is Sweden going to do about it? Last time I checked it was a majority of American funding and troops that defended South Korea from a North Korean invasion and that is the reason why 50 million Koreans don’t live under the horrible dictatorship of the north and now the South Korean economy is 80 times larger than the north
I don’t see Sweden or any Nordic countries going and defending Taiwan 🇹🇼. The country that is one of the only in Asia to grant full LGBTQ rights and become one of the most advanced nations on the planet. We constantly sell them weapons, and helped them fight off multiple Chinese invasions attempts. Most Ukrainian aid is coming from the USA, most of their weapons, medical aid, food donations, and others are all American. I get that Vietnam and many middle eastern wars were unnecessary. But this is the reason why Taiwan, South Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, and many others are still alive
I've always ask, "but what do I get for those higher taxes?" Nobody has feet answered me. Thank you, this made alot of since. Socialism is feared like a plague in the USA.
Yes, we fear it because if you look at history, socialist countries have always brought its people to ruins. Sweden is clearly a capitalist nation, only they have welfare programs. From this video I actually realized they are more of capitalists than we are here in the US, and that's sad because the US is supposed to be based on capitalism.
@@avapilsen One of the main reason socialism did not work in communist countries is because it was introduced in poor and broken countries at the beginning of the last century, while capitalist countries, at the same time, were already advanced. Communism did not stand a chance unless they were willing to accept some form or level of capitalism as China did. We can't know much if we keep looking at the history from one-sided view. Sweden is well developed because IS capitalist country but it is also a socialist country. High taxes, welfare programs, state-sponsored education etc- that's all socialism, but strong economy based on competition of individual companies are capitalism. So, as you can see, they don't have a problem with capitalism vs socialism. They employ ideas which work well, without prejudice, and that's all.
@@avapilsen More capitalist?? idk if universal healthcare and free tution universities are capitalist, depennds where. I guess on lack of minimum wage and regulations is what u mean
Sweden Is social democracy, right? But social democracy Is a system within socialism. Sadly, most ppl ar confused And dunno what socialism And capitalism mean. Even US has welfare. Does that mean they ar not capitalist? No? Then why should be Sweden, just cuz it has some capitalist policies, considered capitalism? Here Is a definition of social democracy : "Social democracy is a political, social and economic philosophy within socialism[1] that supports political and economic democracy.[2] As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal-democratic polity and a capitalist-oriented mixed economy. The protocols and norms used to accomplish this involve a commitment to representative and participatory democracy, measures for income redistribution, regulation of the economy in the general interest and social-welfare provisions.[3] Due to longstanding governance by social-democratic parties during the post-war consensus and their influence on socioeconomic policy in Northern and Western Europe, social democracy became associated with Keynesianism, the Nordic model, the social-liberal paradigm and welfare states within political circles in the late 20th century."
@White Ness Oh, wtf, of course I can. The socio-economic, race, gender and I dunno what other issues is contained in the word "social justice". There is no need to mention quality of genders or races explicitelly. And Sweeden didn´t ever have a race issue, they didn´t even have more then one race when the social democracy got into power. Still, most social democracy countries ar quite homogenous or they don´t have systematic racism, so I really dunno why is it the race that moves u so much... I understand that this is an issue in the US or Americas in general, but that doesn´t mean it is a big topic everywhere. Somewhere, "social justice" is more connected to tribal discrimination, ethnic discrimination or religious discrimination, while race is irrelevant. So it would be very ignorant to put one issue over another and make it a wordwide definition. Soviet Union had no issue with race for exemple (it wasn´t "social democracy", but it was socialism).
@White Ness U really believe the only way to get rich is throuth systematic racism? This is extremelly weird thinking. I think u have a very though life with this kind of mentality and very low trust in people. By WORK, smartness and responsibily. Scandinavien ppl in general have very strong sense of responsibility and freedom (wich is connected). I am not an exert on Scandinavia, but I think they have very low corruption and strong political activism. Of course, not all socialist countries ar exectlly "rich". Systematic racism is NOT a word issue. I said it clearly in my previous answer. U just need to know way more about the world. Way, way more.
Love this content!! Recently I’ve caught interest in these types of topics so this video really had my attention all the way through. Also, we need to see more of these videos on here!! 👏🏼😍
@@aachen800 what does cultural homogeneity have to do with wanting the average person to have high quality of life? Canada is doing much better than the US and very diverse.
@@jacobthomsen402 @jct When all of the members in a system share common goals and beliefs, they feel a brotherhood, and are more likely to care for each other. When the goals and beliefs of people in a system are different, and opposing, a highly centralized government doesn't work as well.
Can not make much sense about the comment regarding the cars in the US. One of the differences I noted whenever coming back from a trip overseas is how much betters the vehicles in the US are, a vehicle that someone who works in a restaurant drives often is a SUV with an auto-transmission that only a relatively wealth person could afford overseas. Smaller, cheaper, low quality cars - like FIATs - do not even exist over here.
It seems like in the US,car is basicaly your main and almost only option to get anywhere. Many European countries have quite decent public transport,so we don´t need to use car too often nor we need good car to travel for hours,when most of the time we use car to get to the shop. For using car 2 times a week and to get from one part of the town to other we don´t need good car for a lot of money.
@@tefky7964 I truly envy the high speed rail in Europe. Relatively short flights are not cost effective, and driving for a few hours is too much of a pain; and that where high speed rail would fits in. Regarding the statement in the video that there are many beaten up cars in the US, it is really a non-sense. It is extremely difficult to see even a relatively old car, and it is close to impossible to catch sight of a clunker. It simply does not make economic sense to have a relatively old vehicle due to the expenses of maintenance and repairs (it can easily cost thousands of dollars to fix a vehicle with many problems). Most people would simply junk a car after a few years. It is simply much cheaper and less problematic to buy a newer one.
@@waldtk3000 Well,I did never use the high speed rail in Europe,I use just normal public transport. I guess that this might be just truth about post-socialist European countries,but even today,many people Europe older cars,because they are extremely cheap,there is really many new parts for them,so they are cheap too and they were designed so people could repair them almost everywhere. Ofcourse the technology advanced,so these cars are technologicaly really inferior,but in many of them,we still find specific parts,which were just designed extremely cleverly to make up for the lack of technological options. Modern cars are pretty much designed to be completely unrepairable even in service and they are expected to be consumer goods,changed every few years. Old cars were the opposite.
@@tefky7964 In my case, I could never envision myself using public transport within the perimeter of a city; cars are just way more convenient. Besides, cities in the US tend to be more spread out. I used to work on cars and motorcycles/scooters, so I am aware of the challenges of working on modern cars. It is a curse and a blessing at the same time, but more of a curse. All the sensors and computers built in modern car makes it much easier to diagnose problems most of the time. At the same time, cars got more complex and have far more parts and components; and everything is so crammed together in a tight space (barely any real state to fit a human hand).
@@waldtk3000 Public transport is usable even when the city is more spead out. It might be just that I never found that ,,love for cars",but atleast in my case,public transport is +/- fast as car,yet in a train I can do other things. When I am 40 minutes from school, I feel like 40 minutes of sleep in a train are more pleasant than 40 minutes of driving car right after I jump out of the bed. It is not just about sensors,I think that more irritating are the facts that manufacturers of cars (and just everything else) use components fall apart after specific time and that many parts are not created from many smaller parts like older cars,they are truly just one big part. In other cars,there was for example a tube connecting two important parts,so if the tube was broken,well,you take out two screws,take out the tube,buy some random one,which you find at home and it work again. In many modern cars,there aren´t two big parts are not connected by a tube,they are all one,big cast,which you just can´t repair,buying new one cost a lot of money and it is cheaper to buy a new one. Another thing,which has been totaly angering everyone around me who works with cars- you just can´t repair them without service. They are designed in a way,that even if you want to change even the smallest,the least important part,you just have to basicaly disassemble most of the car,which takes a lot of time and hard,so people don´t have any other option than use a car service.
As an American who knows Sweden from coast to coast, I tell you, all: The biggest mistake you can make is to move to Sweden (permanently) - if you - dont -- want to speak the language. English is for tourists. Learn Swedish, Learn Swedish. It is a beautiful language. You can even understand Danish afterwards! (Ok , sorry about the joke ) Jag älsker Sverige, Heja Sverige, Allihopa !!
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s. Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country. Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich. th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles. It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism. They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them. Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets!
Ah, finally a comparison video that actually gets basic facts right and uses this format to explain things in a low key way without dumbing it down. Great work, really enjoyed it.
A few things they neglected in the video..... 1. Cars in the US vs Sweden A) In California wealth inequality is extreme due to years of left wing policies like rent control. The poverty line is $122,000 USD. This is because if you earn $80,000 you only have $57,492 after taxes... Cheap Rent is $3,500 or $42,000 per year. That leaves you $15,492 after rent. $150 for gas an electric (High due to left wing energy policies) $150 for Water *expensive in Cali due to bad policies and bad leadership who didn't store water that lead to a shortage* $66.66 for Garbage $100 for basic cable and internet (I pay $170) After all is said and done that's $9,343.92. That leaves you with $6,148.08 before paying for transportation. Car that's 400 a month = $4,800 Car Insurance that's $75 if you have an amazing history. $900 Leaves you with $448.08 for food for the entire year. Or $9.34 per week. This is without paying for a cell phone, Netflix, gym membership, etc... B. Sweden has a 150% vehicle tax. So a vehicle can often be $30,000 USD more than it would cost in America. So the people who have a vehicle are wealthy people so the poor people simply don't have cars... which is why you don't see poor/older vehicles. There's also a congestion tax 10, 15, 20 kron, the max is 60 kron per day. There's also a yearly tax for your vehicle. The 37% tax rate is only half of the story. There are also many "hidden taxes". So if you earn $37,000 you are taxed at 60%. Swedish people have a great work ethic, they earn 50% more when they move to America. This high tax rate is stifling their economy which is why in economics you have to consider both the seen and the unseen aka unrealized potential. In America a poor person can buy a car for $5,000 but they have a big flat screen tv, video games, eat out regularly, and a $900 smart phone. Americans consume 44% more than citizens of Denmark so I assume it's very similar to Sweden. Poor Americans are have larger homes than the middle class in Europe, the lifestyles are different. 2. Swedish Socialism In the 1970's Sweden implemented a good amount of actual Socialism. Once they did this they did not create Even One Net New job for 50 years! Up until the end of 2015 Denmark had a 180% vehicle tax. Now it's only 150%. They also have a 25% sales tax. Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan also have a very low GINI Coefficient.... Inequality is not a problem... poverty is. Right wing economics solves for poverty, left wing solves for inequality but creates poverty/stifles the economy. If you were Bill Gates neighbor earning $1 million per year. There would be EXTREME Inequality. But you wouldn't complain about it because you are also doing well. The problem to solve for is poverty, not inequality, embrace freedom. In freedom people will always be unequal. We all have different interest, time preferences, skills, talents, etc... If I have high intelligence and am willing to put myself through 11 years of studying to become a brain surgeon... I should be allowed to. The guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7/11 should also be allowed to do as much or as little as he wants. That's freedom, but don't expect me to support the man who chooses not to work while I bust my ass for 11 years.
@@marcusdavenport9847 Mostly right on the first point, cept blaming all of that on "left wing policies, like rent control". If all below that in point "A)" is true, and rent control didn't exist, then you'd have all the same problems without rent control, but with a higher homeless population, since only the higher income people would be able to afford rent there. Hell, at 3500 a month for rent, I'd be curious to know who works at the McDonald's out there, since they'd likely all be homeless, or working a second job at Carl's Jr. so they could get in their 160ish hrs a week to afford basic living. One of the biggest things that American capitalism ignores when it comes to "Freedom", is equal opportunity. While it's true that everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome in their lives, comparing the "problems" of the wealthy elite, to that of the proverbial "guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7-11", is more often than not, comparable to that recent meme, "First world problems". As in, it's a world of difference, and suffering does not have a cap, the "cap" is, dead. Until that point, the more financial, and psychological trauma one deals with in their lifetime, the more difficult it becomes to do anything about it. As eventually it gets to a point that the person doesn't wish to live at all, and just the fact that they haven't ended themselves, should be seen as a success. It's not even as bad here in Canada as it is there in America. I honestly don't know how anyone in their right mind can defend American Capitalism. I mean, it literally murders children on a daily basis by putting required medications, and medical care behind a pay wall.. Helpless children that are citizens of your country. American capitalism puts the priority for financial gain, ahead of human life. Even here in Canada, children are affected; not by the medical system, but by the suffering endured by their parents. And the children have no choice in it, but it will affect them during their core developing years, and to some extent, through the rest of their lives. The base fact remains, that positivity begets positivity, and the same in reverse is true for negativity. So when you treat the lowest portion of your population like they deserve to live, and to have a warm place to do that, and food, as well as to have options and opportunities in life; then you will have a more happy, and fruitful society. But if you treat the lowest part like literal garbage, then blame them for all the problems in your society. You end up with a angry, vindictive, substance abusing element in your society, which will only taint the rest of it, and continue to raise abused children that will carry on that torch of suffering; as well as going to school, and bullying other kids, to even further spread all the suffering and self-hate in our society. Why do you think on the world happiness index, the US is so much further down the list than Sweden? It's also because the more well to do people in society aren't having their days ruined by pissy service workers that struggle from day to day just to attain basic survival rights. Anger, hatred, and greed, are things that spread like a cancer. Can you really argue against the logic of a happier society; after all, isn't that the true measure of success in leadership? It's not like they're brainwashing their citizens through a constant flow of propaganda, that tells their citizens that they should be happy with what they have, even if they have nothing at all (Like some other countries..), in order to push themselves higher on that list than they should be. And with people on the lower end of society making so much more than American minimum wage, there's less reason to skip out, and slug around on welfare. I mean, what do you expect people to do when you pay them a miserable low, barely living wage, then introduce a welfare/disability system. Of course they're gonna take the latter options, over being treated like garbage for the over-hyped privilege of boasting that they have a job to work.
Thank you for providing these insights and factual comparisons. One challenge is applying these economic and social programs that can work in a smaller, more homogeneous culture in Sweden, to a much larger and more geoculturally diverse US.
Did anyone here even watch the video? Or just instantly look at the title and comment "Sweden isnt socialist"...because not even 2 minutes into the video they explicitly say that Sweden isn't socialist. I suppose you can say it's a title "clickbaity" per se, but I'm not sure this video is aimed towards people like us who know that there's a such thing as "social democracy". I think its geared towards educating very ignorant americans who litterally think that anything that isnt capitalism is "communism/facism"
I agree with the person above ^ . I now live in the south of Sweden where we rarely have snow and winter is in general mild here. I don't like it at all! Winter should be snowy. There's nothing better than taking a nice walk in snow, or see the landsapes and trees full of snow while the sun shines on it and everything just glitters. Or to take a walk to the forest and have a winter picnic with hot cocoa. :) I really miss living more north. And also, if you don't have winter season, you will never experience euphoria when spring and summer arrives. Swedes get reborn during summer and everyone is outside and full of life.
A few things they neglected in the video..... 1. Cars in the US vs Sweden A) In California wealth inequality is extreme due to years of left wing policies like rent control. The poverty line is $122,000 USD. This is because if you earn $80,000 you only have $57,492 after taxes... Cheap Rent is $3,500 or $42,000 per year. That leaves you $15,492 after rent. $150 for gas an electric (High due to left wing energy policies) $150 for Water *expensive in Cali due to bad policies and bad leadership who didn't store water that lead to a shortage* $66.66 for Garbage $100 for basic cable and internet (I pay $170) After all is said and done that's $9,343.92. That leaves you with $6,148.08 before paying for transportation. Car that's 400 a month = $4,800 Car Insurance that's $75 if you have an amazing history. $900 Leaves you with $448.08 for food for the entire year. Or $9.34 per week. This is without paying for a cell phone, Netflix, gym membership, etc... B. Sweden has a 150% vehicle tax. So a vehicle can often be $30,000 USD more than it would cost in America. So the people who have a vehicle are wealthy people so the poor people simply don't have cars... which is why you don't see poor/older vehicles. There's also a congestion tax 10, 15, 20 kron, the max is 60 kron per day. There's also a yearly tax for your vehicle. The 37% tax rate is only half of the story. There are also many "hidden taxes". So if you earn $37,000 you are taxed at 60%. Swedish people have a great work ethic, they earn 50% more when they move to America. This high tax rate is stifling their economy which is why in economics you have to consider both the seen and the unseen aka unrealized potential. In America a poor person can buy a car for $5,000 but they have a big flat screen tv, video games, eat out regularly, and a $900 smart phone. Americans consume 44% more than citizens of Denmark so I assume it's very similar to Sweden. Poor Americans are have larger homes than the middle class in Europe, the lifestyles are different. 2. Swedish Socialism In the 1970's Sweden implemented a good amount of actual Socialism. Once they did this they did not create Even One Net New job for 50 years! Up until the end of 2015 Denmark had a 180% vehicle tax. Now it's only 150%. They also have a 25% sales tax. Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan also have a very low GINI Coefficient.... Inequality is not a problem... poverty is. Right wing economics solves for poverty, left wing solves for inequality but creates poverty/stifles the economy. If you were Bill Gates neighbor earning $1 million per year. There would be EXTREME Inequality. But you wouldn't complain about it because you are also doing well. The problem to solve for is poverty, not inequality, embrace freedom. In freedom people will always be unequal. We all have different interest, time preferences, skills, talents, etc... If I have high intelligence and am willing to put myself through 11 years of studying to become a brain surgeon... I should be allowed to. The guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7/11 should also be allowed to do as much or as little as he wants. That's freedom, but don't expect me to support the man who chooses not to work while I bust my ass for 11 years.
@@marcusdavenport9847 wow that was a lot. But I agree with your last statement. It sounds cool, but when you get down to the nitty gritty taxes aren’t fun.
What about medical plans? How much does it cost? Wait times? Is there a wait lists? Who decides if you can get treatment for cancer and such. The priority of which you get it? Different types of Hospitals? How are you treated at the hospitals? Do they rush you out? After care? Fully covered meals, amenities? Is it different in other Nordic countries?
When doing the gini index, you can have equal wealth in countries in Africa too. Not because everyone is rich but because no one has money and everyone is poor.
Every time i hear the words "Sweden" and socialism together I feel like I'm gonna throw up. There is no socialism here and there has never been. Socialism means workers control production and we have nothing of that here. Sweden use to have a relatively strong welfare state, especially before the 1980. But all industrialized countries have welfare systems and they all have capitalism too. It's onely a matter of scale. Sweden use to be number one in equality in the OECD. That was like 30 years ago. Were not even top ten anymore. Sweden has since the 1990s fallen in love with tax cuts for the capitalist class who pays less than low income workers in tax, and new public management, having the state spreading money over private companies like no where else. That's why we're falling in the OECD equality index faster than any other county. So please, americans, stop believing in nonesense about Sweden being some socialist utopia or nightmare for that matter. We're simply not socialist. End of story.
True enough. But "socialist Sweden" is just the setup to change to a strawman Venezuela. In other words, when people in the US say we should have stronger social safety nets/be more like Sweden, the conservatives say socialism sucks.. just look at Venezuela! (which the US also *made* suck to some degree). So yeah, I think many of those conservatives know Sweden isn't socialist, but they don't want to have that real discussion so they skip a few turns on the roundabout to go to someplace else. I think the best strategy for the left, at this point, is to go back to saying "social safety nets" instead of "democratic socialism". After all, the *only* industry that's being considered for nationalization is health insurance, and that's just because it's been in a death spiral for what, 60 years? With people dying, suffering, or going bankrupt, that industry is going to end as we know it anyway. Nationalization of that could still be a single-payer/public managed system like Germany, or similar to the public/private school system discussed in the video. Obviously there are problems there too but, better than what we have! :D
They said this in the video. They said that the US only presents sweden as being socialist, so a lot of americans think it is. They literally said that it's more a social democracy with a free market system
People forget communism. Social democracy and socialism is the same in Europe. Even for Swedens that don't throw up. They all belong to the European socialist family. It's a name.
The lefts idea of socialism: we hate white people, we hate religious people, we hate capitalism, we hate immigration policies, we hate hate entrepreneurship, we hate freedom of the press and freedom of speech if it opposes our views, we hate anyone who questions our ideas, we hate those that have more than us, we want equality even if that means having to kill millions of people who are opposed to our form of equality. Lol
@ '' Learn the differences between American Capitalism and Swedish Socialism. Sweden's economic and political model is often misunderstood, especially by Americans not familiar with social democracy. In this video, we present an unbiased comparison between American's economic model and Sweden's economic model, and let you decide for yourself which system you think is superior.'' _Evan Thomas ..... What was the title of this post again????? just Curious.
@ I have had no less than 100 debates with people who referenced a Scandinavian country and or Switzerland as a socialist country or even less factually correct as a social democracy. It's a capitalist free market which relies entirely on fossil fuel and car corporations for its tax income, it spends 250% less per person than Ameican on government-funded healthcare and 40% less per person on government-funded education.
Socialism in America mostly refers to welfare. Whereas socialism in Europe mostly refers to worker control of private production. In the context of America, then yes Sweden is a socialist country. It is confusing, but it is used correctly in the context in which it was given.
2:24 That’s not really what I imagine when I think of a socialist country. Socialism doesn’t just mean strong labor unions, it means workplace democracy from the ground up.
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s. Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country. Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich. th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles. It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism. They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them. Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets.
Började detta året läsa till sjuksköterska och man är ju evigt tacksam att skolan är gratis och att man dessutom får ett studiebidrag på 3200kr varje månad. Heja Sverige!!!
"Started studying to be a nurse this year and you are eternally grateful that the school is free and that you also receive a study grant of SEK 3,200 every month. Go Sweden!!!" And you'll be paying back for the rest of your life. In the United States, you will pay for your education BUT for the rest of your life pay only half in taxes what you are going to be paying. Still, I can see why government will subsidize USEFUL education. In the United States you can pay for totally useless college education BUT you chose to do so. Does Sweden pay all that for "gender studies"? Maybe so, but what is the employment for gender studies graduates?
The difference between countries just like comparing the U.S. to Japan, is the people themselves. They have a different culture. It is not an equal comparison.
Agreed the one thing that most people don't take into account is that Sweden doesn't have anywhere near the cultural diversity that the United States has.
Have relatives in Sverige and have visited many times, my impressions and discussions were always good, in fact they said I didn’t sound like an American and always hoped I would move there..and then..there’s ABBA and Bjorn Borg ! Love it ❤️🇸🇪
I thought It was going to be more like an emotional story about how the richness is taken from a few to make social justice, but not at all, it's a video based on data, and leaving the judgement to the viewers.
My Mom is in Sweden. She lived in the USA, Had me. She was deported and I was stolen from her and dumped into "Fostercare". 20 years later, she has NO clue how I live in the USA. Rent was $700 when she lived here. Min wage was $5. ( 1995 ). That same apartment ( built in the 1960s and hasn't been updated ). It's now $2400 for that apartment. Min wage is now $8..... 8 fucking dollars and rent for a studio is $1200 minimum. College is a MUST for better income. But you have to go into $40-$50k min debt to get a degree. Yet most of the jobs here demand a degree, years of experience for entry level. But pay you less than $30k a year. So you need a degree in the USA to make less than the min wage in Sweden. No health, No time off. no sick days. I haven't taken off or been to a doctor since 2006.
Welcome to the iron Law of Wages. Not even Sweden can violate that law. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_wages Sweden citizens are subsidized by the sale of natural resources. So it is in Iceland and Norway as well. In the United States, Alaskans have a permanent dividend provided you had lived there at the time of the building of the oil pipeline to the north slope. All of these things are subsidized by natural resources. But there's a problem of the "Little Red Hen". Because Sweden is small and its population concentrated in just two or three cities of any consequence, sharing the wealth is possible, practical, and generally beneficial. But as more immigrants arrive, the supply of surplus is now divided among more recipients and necessarily must diminish for each citizen. Since that's not politically viable, what you do is recalibrate the value of a Kronur so that it does not seem to diminish, but what you can buy with a kronur is less. So it is with dollars as well. But the United States is large and diverse; there be a great many recipients that have had absolutely nothing to do with helping to extract and process natural resources. So this Little Red Hen has *millions* of people willing to eat the bread she has made. They aren't going to get much.
@@kimberlywiederhold627 As an American living in Sweden, specifically a Black American, I agree with Olav. Sweden is a great place if one has a family. Family leave, child care, day care and healthcare. I wish I had my children in Sweden. I had to leave my 6 week old baby to a babysitter in order to return to work. In Sweden, I would have had 1 to 1.5 years before returning to work. Here, people don't expect you to work more than 8 hours a day. In the US, I worked on average 12 hour days at one job just to hopefully prevent being laid off. Honestly, I didn't realize how I stressed out I was and how many layers of racism I was battling until I found myself living a normal life like everyone else in another country.
I lived in Sweden and love the country. I appreciate you sharing all the cool things Sweden offers to the world. My observation on your video is that he presents the facts and she comes across as attempting to sway the viewer that Sweden is better than the US. I got nothing against loving your country, but she’s coming across (to me) with the undertone of Sweden is better than the US. You have an opportunity to share just how awesome Sweden is so do that. I found that Swedes are modest and courteous, not snarky. I’m a proud American 🇺🇸 and love my country yet, I also love and admire many things about Sweden 🇸🇪
@@BarrySlisk wtf ahhahaha that has been disproved numerous times, you could even say is the other way around, males hare more likely to being on a traffic accident and to make bad financial decisions because they were emotion driven. You are confusing "drive" with expression.
@@BarrySlisk saying "Females are emotionally driven, not fact based, so....." just proves the statement is not true since your claim is not a fact and makes you sound resentful against women (emotional)
@@joaquin8637 "your claim is not a fact and makes you sound resentful against women (emotional)" My statement was devoid of emotion. If it sounded resentful that's just your interpretation.
Sweden isn't a socialist country, but it's a social democracy. It's still under a capitalist system. It would make more sense to compare the US to Cuba, since Cuba is actually a socialist country.
Thanks for another wonderful video! Actually, it has nothing to do with 'Socialism', it's 'Collectivism'. We contribute to society to the best of our ability. I'm Swedish and was in socialist/communist Poland in the 80s... that's not what we have in Sweden, I promise. There is +/- in everything, but everything everyone can have their most important needs met, generates growth accordingly. We have a lot to do in Sweden, but on the whole 90% works. Say Hi if you comes to Stockholm! Tack och leverera fler videos! 👍🏻
I very seldom, if ever leave a comment, but this time I’ll make an exception. This was an informative and personable video and it would be interesting to see you two hosting either a talkshow-like or newsroom-esque program. Anyway, great video.
Sweden technically isn't a Socialist nation because of two things: 1. The Government does not own the means of production. This is one of the defining characteristics of socialism. 2. The rich are not taxed heavier to provide to the poor. It is the exact opposite however. The lower incomes are taxed higher. I believe that number 2 is the disconnect for America "Experimenting" with the Swedish model. You will not get low income Americans to agree to higher taxes. They want to tax the rich to support the "safety net". If these politicians in the USA want to try the Swedish model, they need to be more honest with the American people and explain that they are going to raise their taxes to support the safety net. But just as you pointed out, the rich and poor gap in America is very wide and will most certainly only get wider if this were to happen.
Sweden is tiny. USA IS ENORMOUS and extremely diverse of class and status. Many many other differences exist as well. You can't possibly compare the two.
That's exactly right. The elephant in the room that everyone here ignores is the demographic differences. Sweden has only recently had substantial immigration of other races and cultures. The wonderful social system Sweden enjoys today was built on the foundation of Swedish society as it WAS decades ago. The demographic changes it has undergone recently will change Swedish politics and society drastically in the coming years. The reality is that these nice social welfare systems are only viable in nations with small, relatively homogeneous populations. Ethnic, cultural and religious diversity has a negative association with public altruism and social cohesion, the two elements which are the building blocks of these social welfare systems.
@@williamdraken6018 That idea feels like a brush off for a few reasons: In Europe there are much more populous countries than Sweden that are equally diverse to the USA, do many of the same things Sweden does, with good results (France and Spain come to mind). Also, I rarely (if ever) see that idea paired with what about being this size and this diverse SPECIFICALLY does to prevent "Scandinavian policy x" from working. So basically, that idea stops before explaining the why of it all (why too big, why too diverse, how do you know this). I'd really be interested to know some of your "whys." Said another way, it's just not an argument by itself. Another way to show that it's not an argument by itself is to try and answer these questions: 1) What is the largest size a country can be to have Policy X and how do you know this? 2) What is the most diverse a country can be to allow for Policy X and how do you know this? If you find yourself having a difficult time answering the last two it may be time to reevaluate the idea.
I recommend reshooting your misleading video. Your intro says you're going to present this GS and let people decide for themselves...seemingly like here's the unbiased facts you decide. And then you proceed to present clearly biased and one-sided statements. You should reshoot it and just be honest and say, "here's why we think Sweden is better. What do you think about that?"
I don't think that favoring a specific side when you start from a neutral perspective is bias. I don't think that an unbiased perspective of nazi germany, for example, would give many arguments in favor of nazi germany.
@@digaddog6099 "I don't think that an unbiased perspective of nazi germany, for example, would give many arguments in favor of nazi germany." Herr Schickelgruber was Time Magazine Man of the Year. Yes, you are mistaken, an unbiased approach simply adds up the factors maybe using an Excel spreadsheet and out pops the winner! How many people are benefited by how much over unit of time. Of course he did not STAY man of the year; but then, many small societies that start out socialist, and some large nations, collapse because pure socialism is unsustainable. So is pure capitalism although I think it can go farther before it collapses.
A few things they neglected in the video..... 1. Cars in the US vs Sweden A) In California wealth inequality is extreme due to years of left wing policies like rent control. The poverty line is $122,000 USD. This is because if you earn $80,000 you only have $57,492 after taxes... Cheap Rent is $3,500 or $42,000 per year. That leaves you $15,492 after rent. $150 for gas an electric (High due to left wing energy policies) $150 for Water *expensive in Cali due to bad policies and bad leadership who didn't store water that lead to a shortage* $66.66 for Garbage $100 for basic cable and internet (I pay $170) After all is said and done that's $9,343.92. That leaves you with $6,148.08 before paying for transportation. Car that's 400 a month = $4,800 Car Insurance that's $75 if you have an amazing history. $900 Leaves you with $448.08 for food for the entire year. Or $9.34 per week. This is without paying for a cell phone, Netflix, gym membership, etc... B. Sweden has a 150% vehicle tax. So a vehicle can often be $30,000 USD more than it would cost in America. So the people who have a vehicle are wealthy people so the poor people simply don't have cars... which is why you don't see poor/older vehicles. There's also a congestion tax 10, 15, 20 kron, the max is 60 kron per day. There's also a yearly tax for your vehicle. The 37% tax rate is only half of the story. There are also many "hidden taxes". So if you earn $37,000 you are taxed at 60%. Swedish people have a great work ethic, they earn 50% more when they move to America. This high tax rate is stifling their economy which is why in economics you have to consider both the seen and the unseen aka unrealized potential. In America a poor person can buy a car for $5,000 but they have a big flat screen tv, video games, eat out regularly, and a $900 smart phone. Americans consume 44% more than citizens of Denmark so I assume it's very similar to Sweden. Poor Americans are have larger homes than the middle class in Europe, the lifestyles are different. 2. Swedish Socialism In the 1970's Sweden implemented a good amount of actual Socialism. Once they did this they did not create Even One Net New job for 50 years! Up until the end of 2015 Denmark had a 180% vehicle tax. Now it's only 150%. They also have a 25% sales tax. Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan also have a very low GINI Coefficient.... Inequality is not a problem... poverty is. Right wing economics solves for poverty, left wing solves for inequality but creates poverty/stifles the economy. If you were Bill Gates neighbor earning $1 million per year. There would be EXTREME Inequality. But you wouldn't complain about it because you are also doing well. The problem to solve for is poverty, not inequality, embrace freedom. In freedom people will always be unequal. We all have different interest, time preferences, skills, talents, etc... If I have high intelligence and am willing to put myself through 11 years of studying to become a brain surgeon... I should be allowed to. The guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7/11 should also be allowed to do as much or as little as he wants. That's freedom, but don't expect me to support the man who chooses not to work while I bust my ass for 11 years.
I’m a high school economics teacher in one of the most impoverished areas in the United States and I was wondering if you had any educational resources to teach students about wealth inequality? Thank you! (My students are big Bernie supporters too)
People in the U.S. tend to bend the definition of socialism when it suits them. If you want to give people a taxpayer fund healthcare system, they will call that socialism and say how capitalism will be destroyed. But when you actually point them towards a real-life example of that said system, they'll argue that Sweden is not actually a socialist country. You can't have it both ways
Sweden is basically “cushy capitalism” a brilliant economic system in that they provide more social safety nets while encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.
This is a very interesting discussion, and most of what you are saying is true, but there are BIG difference in different parts of the US. There are such difference in the life on the East and West coast on one side, and the mid west on the other, and that is ON TOP of economic differences.
Thank you...I'm not the only one that sees this glaring difference. I'm shocked the video says nothing about how size and demography affect popular choices made by voters with regard to economic policy.
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Our latest video: Swedish Healthcare vs. American Healthcare th-cam.com/video/Ggf-DL_eZaA/w-d-xo.html
When are they going to abolish the royal family? Are they going to let them fleece the taxpayers forever? Sweden still needs socialism. The means of production should be the public commons and collectively owned.
Isn’t it easy to maintain what you have because of your strict immigration policy. You also don’t have the social, ethnicity diversity that the United States does correct? There’s just a lot of bigSweden and the United States we are much larger much more complex and much more diverse am I correct in saying that. Which makes it so hard to implement such a large social programs because so few people will be contributing to it.
@@kenhinds3278 you start by increasing the minimum wage. Then free 2 year college.
Seems that your american consumer mindset ( no citizen) is back , never thought that people in retail deserve to a week-end or at least a sunday with their family too.
@@kenhinds3278 The US also isn't a settler colony with the largest prison population in the world with a history of slavery and genocide that has more than 1,000 military bases around the world and several wars going on and is not a police state were the police can kill people on the street with impunity and since 9/11 a populace under constant surveillance and where any US citizen can be arrested and detained indefinitely without a trial and in which corporations can commit a host of financial and other crimes such as addict a large segment of a populace and not go to jail and where its presidents can get rich after leaving office if they aren't rich already and whose Senate is a millionaire's club and the speaker of the House is worth $100 mil and whose Congress is bought off. Hey, I say if you're gonna make excuses, don't bullshit around; go big.
I've never lived in Sweden, so I can't comment on their economic system, but their flag is a big plus.
You are going to enjoy Switzerland's flag
I live in sweden and I Come from sweden so SHUT UP
Thank you 😂
@@justshutit11 😂
@@neazenzen372 You're welcome 😁
Sweden is a free market capitalist economy. It is not Socialist.
Are you from Sweden?
This is a fact.
They are not socialist.
They are capitalist with social programs
@@12GAGE_tx I’m a Swede and can confirm. Our market is more free and competitive than the US. We just have higher taxes.
prodbysonder Sweden is better in many ways. I wish the U.S. would take some notes. I heard that Sweden is a social democracy more than a capitalist economy with free markets. Is there any truth to that or what is the common opinion of Swedish people?
@@12GAGE_tx Contrary to what many Americans and Swedes believe, Swedeb actually has a more free and competetive market than America. Less regulations and all that. Sweden also has more billionaries per capita which many don’t know. We do however have a higher income tax and higher VAT than the US, but then again we don’t have the inheritance tax like the US, so generational wealth is transfered at a higher rate here. The government does control the means of production here, our industries and properties are privately owned. Hope you got your answer.
Sweden isn’t socialist, they’ve said this multiple times.
Bernie Sanders likes to call it socialist country to misguide pathetic millennials !!
@illest33 But they’re not socialist. You can have socialist aspects, without being a socialist country. Aside from healthcare, everything else is very capitalist.
They do have strong strong socialist characteristics
Socialism in America mostly refers to welfare. Whereas socialism in Europe mostly refers to worker control of private production. In the context of America, then yes Sweden is a socialist country. It is the incorrect term to use, sure, however, Americans refer "socialism" to "welfare" and Sweden is a strong welfare state. It is confusing, but it is used correctly in the context in which it was given.
@@Name-jw4sj Just because Americans refer to it as socialism doesn’t mean it’s actual socialism. You can have socialist policies without being considered a socialist country. Like Sweden.
Sweden does the “American Dream” better than America.
😂😂😂😭😭
The same could be said about Finland. Just look up Luke Bland and he has a video on the American Dream being in Finland. Its interesting to watch!
Not really, America has more opportunities and then the system benefits the successful once you get there
@Jacrispy Volcano
If youre from Sweden can I ask you what the class sizes in Kindergarten to 12th grade were? How many ?
@Jacrispy Volcano my mother and I laughed so hard! Lol
Sweden is not socialist country, check the dictionary, its a heavy tax capitalist country that gives out many social benefits.
So it's capitalist and socialist, with the good parts being the capitalism of course.
Lol u was about to comment this. But u already did so thanks. ☺😜
The proper term is "social democracy". :)
Its Social Democratic
Sweden is social-capitalistic with a free-market economy. There's a clear difference from pure socialism. What it entails is basically that it is a capitalistic country with socialistic rules and regulations that both the government and businesses must adhere to for the benefit and security of its people. This involves a lot of things that would be too much to get into here, but the basic principle is strong rights for individual citizens along with extensive welfare and safety nets ensuring everyone can live a comfortable life no matter your situation.
Wait didn’t Sweden tell Bernie multiple times publicly to stop calling them socialists?? 😂 lol I know someone who lives there and they’ve told me they’re definitely capitalists.
but they have strong social programs we don't
Socialism and capitalism are NOT exclusive. The labels are a joke. It all depends on how the people are treated.
@@juniorreyes8316 that doesn't make them socialist though.
@@davidornelas3326 We want their social programs
Sweety, they are social-democrats. They belong to an European political family called socialist. So in Europe socialism or social democracy is the same. It has nothing to do with communism (it doesn't exist anymore) or USSR socialism (it doesn't exist either). If you have to call it, yes Europe could be defined as a capitalist society (but not the one from the industrial Revolution)
So, just a normal society where people try to take care of each other, where we know it is cheaper to have free education, health services and all the rest. That's why they are so entrepreneurs they have education and everything else....
Sweden doesn't have socialism. We have social democracy. Different thing my man.
they did point that out in the beginning. 1:39
@@DNA912 Yeah, to correct the false facts within their very own title: misleading and misinforming their own viewers and subscribers.
hjaldemort Well yes, but the whooe wellfare system is inspired by socialist/marxism ideals
Lenin was saying the same thing in the very beginning
@TH-camr Nope
Y’all mad they called it socialism in the title didn’t even watch the vid where they further explained it’s not really socialism
Then what's the point of labeling Sweden as socialist in the title?
@@axelmgs5928 how should I know dawg I’m not in their head
@@Therese.Adair. I think it maybe was a click bait strategy. But even in that case it's a mistake to do so. Anyone who knows Sweden is not socialist might think they don't know the topic they are talking even before starting watching the vid.
@@axelmgs5928 lol ok?
@tie oneon very incorrect but sure. Whatever you say.
Nothing wrong with stores being closed on Sundays. Here in the USA when I was a kid (1950s) most stores were closed on Sundays too!
We only just started opening most stores in England on Sundays maybe 10 years ago🤔most close early still is it like that in the USA?
i agree, 24/7 stores 365 days per year isn't nice for workers, everyone needs their own time. people buy from internet anyway.
Shitty arguement, because now aren't 1950s.
Well the population has grown since than... what about people who only have the weekend to run errands.. honestly I avoid the stores on weekends because I don’t like crowds.. but my point is clearly a lot of people choice sunday to shop
Spain is like that too with stores being closed on Sundays
50% of schools are private with school vouchers given to students, hhmmmm.......Seems like school choice to me!!
Wtf a school voucher. Honest question
@@danielakalamudo4360 The government right now pays money directly to schools for education. School vouchers send that money directly to parents to buy school supplies, etc. Kids can then go to any school they want to and can even go to private schools with the voucher money.
@@blakecarberry5032 oh wow , but who issues the vouchers and this is done in Sweden or US
@@danielakalamudo4360 It is sort of done in Sweden as explained in video. It is not done in the US at all.
I'm not entirely acquainted with the System, but I do like the Idea! And it does seem like school choice is a Worth a try!!! Here in LA, you see the incredible difference within the public system in different neighborhoods!! That could be the great equalizer!
Socialism, democratic socialism and social democracy are three different concepts that are often conflated. Some people use the word ''socialism'' to refer to communism, the economic model implemented in the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries from 1945 to 1990. Others use the same term to refer to democratic socialism. Social democracy was more left-wing and progressive from 1945 to 1990 than from 1990 to nowadays. After 1990, politicians who were members of European social democratic/democratic socialist parties started describing themselves as social democrats to emphasise the fact that they represented a modern version of social democracy/democratic socialism, which was more friendly towards the free markets than that implemented by European social democratic/democratic socialist parties from 1945 to 1990. After 1990, European social democrats accepted some elements of neoliberalism to a significant extent, despite the fact that the strong welfare state, an important aspect of social democracy, remained in place. Until 1990, social democratic/democratic socialist parties believed not only in the strong welfare state, but also in the strong role of the government in regulating the economy, as well as in promoting full employment, economic activity and prosperity. During that period, the economic policy of certain social democratic parties even included elements of central planning, but the economies those parties presided over were arguably still capitalist (that depends on how you define capitalism and socialism), as social democrats believed in the right of individuals to have their own property and never implemented full nationalisation. Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as many big businesses, were privately owned. However, most key industries and bussinesses were controlled by the State. That is one of the main differences between old-school and modern social democracy. The party that is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectrum in Sweden, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, was more left-wing before 1990 than after 1990. The same applies to all European social democratic parties, as I mentioned above. One could argue that, until 1990, the economic policy of these parties was democratic socialist and that, after 1990, that policy became social democratic. Someone else could argue that their economic policy was social democratic before 1990 and social liberal after 1990. That depends on the context in which certain words are used. In any case, I personally believe that the economic model of Sweden is much more fair than that of the United States.
Bernie Sanders: We need to be more like Sweden.
Everyone in the comments: Sweden is not socialist.
Every conservative: You want to make us like Venezuela 0_o
And Venezuela is not socialist either... its an authoritarian regime
Thats because the right wings in US use scare tactics against the people. I think there are two reasons. They benefit from it, and the second, that they are not that good at economics. They really dont understand. But yes. Sweden is a socialist country :)
@@allaboutmusicmovies9606 they have a free market in Sweden. Not a socialist country. He said that in the video. And anyone who knows economics knows socialism doesn’t work. Common sense.
@@t.j.5574 You think there cant be capitalism in a socialist country? Then you dont know much about socialism. And yes i live in a socialist country so I know it works very well, much better than a country with free capitalism.
I love your argument that its common sense when you dont even know what it is.
@@Buffett305 duh, socialism is authoritarian; it's the only way you can redistribute other people's money: by force.
And that's what Bernard Sanders want, not a Swedish model: th-cam.com/video/K2d3DMC6qyg/w-d-xo.html
As much as i hate to say it, "social democracy" will never work in the U.S for the simple reason that Americans are very individualistic, its part of their culture. They focus way to much on their own "American dream" and personal goals. In the other hand Sweden is considered to be a collective one, which they focus on the well being of others also very minimalistic. And please stop comparing a small country with only 10 million people to one with 330m. We all know that small nations are easier to micro manage.
@ diego serna Oh Thank You.
Exactly. And the last comment he made about an individual can live comfortably on unemployment--but shouldn't--is exactly why the Swedish model won't work here. Too many people would take advantage of the government largesse not caring that it would hurt everyone else in the long run.
We don't micro manage in Norway and Sweden. We manage by big workers and employer unions, and other organizations. The government just says "fix this, or we will have to make a law". They don't like being told, so they negotiate. That way our law has no minimum wage, it's not needed.
@Slender Man agree man, but being individualistic is not all bad, that part of american culture has drived them to become the most dynamic economy the world has ever seen, and the world surely benefits (leeches) from it.
The US already has individual states with their own possibility of reformation so it´s kind of inaccurate to say that you have to control 330 million.
I come from Israel, so naturally we adhere much more to the American way. To be frank, we all believe the Scandinavians have figured out how to run a country, the correct way. We see how throughout history they've built their own pigeon nest. On the other hand, I also believe their model can't work where people are diverse and hetrogenic who usually are competitive and hold contradictory beliefs (like the American society or the Israeli, for instance). Now with all the immigration waves coming into north Europe, unfortunately and most likely, their pigeon nest will be exploited by different types of groups with different types of backgrounds and mentality (AKA hawks), Thus the Scandinavian model will cease to be such a success (I hope not!!! but history tells otherwise...).
So to conclude -
YES to Scandinavian model in homgenic countries with strong moral levels and cooperative people.
YES to the American model in diverse societies where competitive people with different goals live.
Best comment. I think you hit the nail on the head.
DG
From a Swede, you have understood Swedish system better than most. Our system is built on the fact that most people contribute, if that falls, the system will lose. And immigration of a of uneducated people will be an issue.
D G I dont know about homogenic. 25 % of Swedes are from other countries. How many non israelies live in Israel?
You comment seems oblivious to the diversity of Sweden. More than 200 immigrant languages are spoken in Sweden. Sweden has a larger RELATIVE immigration than the U.S. (thus, per million). Already 5 years ago, there were about 400,000 speakers of Arabic in Sweden. Sweden's population was 9.7 million in 2015. Let's pick a SMALL group for a quick everyday example, for example Chinese: I see Chinese practically every day. Granted, I do live in the capital.
I honestly heard no positives for the US at all lmao
Sweden seems better, because it’s a extremely small homogeneous easily manageable society, while the US is a melting pot of diversity and people with different cultures, if you look at Swedish Americans they tend to out earn native Swedish and have a higher living standard.
@@DivinesLegacy I've heard this argument from Americans so many times, and you all never seem to explain exactly how it works. 'homogeneous' = dogwhistle for 'no lazy black folk who exploit the system' and all of the conservative stereotypes for other minority groups.
You're using the existence of economically disadvantaged groups (with little power) to excuse the fact that America doesn't decommodify basic necessities and curb economic inequality. It's a total non-argument.
The U.S. has the most guns per capita...
@@DivinesLegacy You just don’t like minorities, just say it. Your argument has been disapproved multiple times by multiple people, you’re using it simply to push your ethnocentric bullshit.
@@reubennb2859 well I never even remotely said anything about that, very bold of you to assume all that about me tho.
Socialism is when the means of production is controlled by the state. Thats definitivly not the case of sweden. The swedish economy is just as free, if not freer than the united states of americas economy. The thing that makes americans think sweden is socialist is our big tax funded welfare state. Welfare does not equal socialism
Depends on wat type of of socialism
@@justinbentley5880 no it doesnt. The most fundamental rule of socialism is to have a planned economy. If a country doesnt, then its not socialist. Sweden is not socialist in any way possible. Democratic socialism is also a misinterperated term. Sweden isnt a socialist country with a democracy. Its a free market country with a large welfare state
Not necessarily by the state. Just public ownership in general
@@MrReedling Market socialism exists bro...
@@filipperic5133 no, It is by the state. Karl marx stated early that the state was to be responsible for the public ownership, and every example we have seen of socialism has been when the state has been responsible for that.
Sweden is a mixed economy they’re not socialist 😂😂
mixed economy combines socialism and capitalism.
thats literally social democracy, tho.
There are no true socialist nations, even Venezuela and Peru are not 100% socialist.
Sweden is simply a capitalist nation with a welfare system that is significantly less financed than that of America. For example, America spends 250% more per person than Sweden on government-funded healthcare, 40% more per person on government-funded education.
Comparing the two is like comparing an apple with a galaxy. Most of Swedens tax income comes from fossil fuels and cars and has for 50 years. With a population of 10 million these industries alone contribute 70% of GDP per person.
This is not possible when you have 330 million people and a $22 trillion economy.
@@matthewmeyer347 Venezuela and Peru are not even socialist. Both are capitalist countriesz
@@itsgabrielok2 then why the fuck are they suffering
Hi, I live in Sweden. My wife got a surgery for brain tumour in 2011. She was picked up by a helicopter as we live on an island. The surgery lasted for more than 5 hours. The tumour was not bad, and she is still living a good life. The only invoice we got was for the helicopter ride, it was 250 kronor, that’s about 75 dollars in your currency.
incredible. thanks for sharing
Amazing! Now that is 99% flawless healthcare! Talk about caring g about human life!
So how much tax have you paid for that benefit
@@davidosterman5373 a Swede pays a lot of taxes 52%. If you earn more than let’s say $5k a month you pay a lot more.
@@davidosterman5373they pay quite a bit tax. Now I live in the United States and earn around $4,000/month. My health insurance is at $1,000/month with a $3,000 deductible! Thats about 25% of my pay! Now let's talk about the taxes I pay on top of that! How about the doctor bills we get for everything even with the.damn insurance! We have considered giving up our citizenship them come back here illegally so we.could get free health care because it's stupid high!
You need to watch John Stossel on this. He has the best breakdown. Sweden is NOT socialist.
Did you watch the part of the video where they both said AND implied that sweden is not socialist?
Sweden is mixed
..capitalist and socialist
I have to smile at all the uproar in these comments about socialism, as though it were a dangerous and poisonous concept, which is just what our propaganda wants us to believe.
@@larrysherk it's the S word....lol
'John Stossel' lmao
They're not Socialist, they're liberals who atucally care about human rights. Love, a Socialist
I wouldn't even call them liberals... swedish people are pretty conservative people.
Liberals care so much about human rights that they are using reverse racism against white people.
@@tcaldwell1782 “reverse racism” isn’t a real term. It would just be called racism. Also, racism is natural for all humans to feel. It’s not hatred, it’s understanding. Understanding that there are differences between peoples.
@@davidattalin7073 socially speaking that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Very free society when it comes to lgbtq stuff and not quite religious.
what worries me recently is class segregation becaming more visible in Sweden too
Chloevelyne
It is because we “import” a lot of poor and badly educated people via immigration. Of course that will increase the differences in wealth.
@@Erikslust damn I have wanted to move to Sweden for a long time...it's kind of my dream but this comment made me feel really selfish because I would honestly not benefit the country at all...in fact, I would drag it down in a way. Guess I just have to stay here but I will always love Sweden from afar
@@Erikslust Sure there is immigrants that are from the working class and farmers fleeing to Sweden because of war, as most Swedish people are working class and their education is not higher education. You have limited collage students that have lead to a higher demand of immigrant workers with higher education, they might need some years to learn the language and get a job. But it is well known that education is highest priority in immigrant families, Asians always strive to be medical doctors, middle easterners are more broads spectrum in the higher education fields and many are successful business owners, restaurang owners and hairdressers. For a long time a immigrant medical doctor would only get employed as a cleaner or in retail, and when more and more immigrants have been starting to get employed in their right field of work, you complain that their taking your jobs. Immigrants might come poor because they had everything they own, their homes and businesses destroyed in wars, actually the rich ones had better opportunities to flee from the war zone than the poor, so they need time to start over. However I am proud of Sweden's generosity, morals and compassion, they have saved so many desperate peoples lives and created a save place for children to escape wars and hunger because of wars. I don't think you have to do it, and you have the right to choose what is best for your country, because of course massimmigration that happens during wars are a burden on the welfare system. If you don't want that, look at what your government can do to stop the wars and the military and weapon industry that is fueling it. Invest in your police force and make it better and look at what reasons is causing the drug and theft crimes among youngsters, i can not tell you why, because the people from immigrant families that I know are all educated and are raised to respect laws, and not do drugs, alcohol or any violence. And poor people are still people worth saving and given a chance to do better, if Sweden is teaching us anything is that with the social programs we are taking care of the poor, sick and weak and giving them more chances to succeed, and even if they just become workers, we all need workers and many working fields are well paid thanks to unions. You should look at the tax cuts that have been made for big businesses and rich people the last decade leading to cuts in our social programs and the under funding of the police force. However I heard that the police force is going to improve, and I really want them to do a better job and be more strict with criminals.
Yeah I talked to a Swedish girl on the playstation 4 and she said exactly that and spoke of it like a great thing
@@ninahersson-daniels501 Haha
Yeah, except for the fact that Ikea moved from Sweden in the 70's to avoid taxes.
She addressed that actually. They had stagnation in the 70s and they made reforms
Sweden nearly died under socialism.
Becoming a free market aka capitalism with strong social programs
@@jasonfields2793 Yes and they don't like being called socialist either. The ex prime Minister even came out and said that they aren't. Lol!
@@jasonfields2793 "social programs" is another way of saying "socialism"
They married socialism and capitalism. Which is sensible.
@@Phoenix-Vaughn I think that was Denmarks previous pm
When talking about the cars, it is important to point out that nordic countries like Sweden and Norway have ridiculously high taxes when it comes to owning an automobile causing many poor people not being able to purchase cars. This is why cars in these countries are typically 'newer' because cars in general are seen as a luxury that is taxed. This video as a whole doesn't give a good representation of both economic systems and is clearly bias towards the sweedish system.
So this video *is* biased, or at the very least, ignorant.
There’s no poor people in Sweden lol.
People don’t need cars over there,
majority of people take the trams, trains or buses. It’s Good for their psychical health to move a bit, exercise and mental health.
In other words, infrastructure is beyond well developed.
@@allebuum That's a good point, varying factors can be responsible for people having less cars. Now I am assuming when you say no one is poor there, you are referring to the effective poverty rate being around 7% which is significantly lower than the US which is around 17%.
My position still stands that the reason the cars are nicer is due to government evolvement whether it's from high taxes (that still exist) or the states willingness to compete in industry.
Keep in mind I never said that Swedish system was bad, I just thought the video was biased towards it which gets in the way of an accurate analysis.
@@bashful514 I’m saying no one is poor there because I’m born and raised in Sweden lol.
And that’s coming from someone that grew up in a “rough” area, but our buildings in that “area”, along with the apartments, appliances, walls, floors, roads etc was in way better living standard and condition than most apartments and housing constructed buildings in the US.
Life was good for someone like even me.
@@allebuum Everybody is poor in Sweden. Only a few have wealth
"Social democracy is a government system that has similar values to socialism, but within a capitalist framework". I know its fucking hard to figure out for some of you, but the fact that the word "Social" is present does not make Sweden apply the Socialism economic philosophy.
I wouldn't even say that it has similar values to socialism I would say that it just focuses its fiscal budgeting around social matters.
It is still capitalism even if government provides the capital. Yes indeed, a nation can be simultaneously capitalistic AND socialist. What matters is who has the capital and who gets the profits.
I have been an advocate for social democracy since being stationed in Wiesbaden Germany. Even back in 2000, before the EU and still using marks instead of euros, the friends I made, who were germans, explained a little about the government for them and other countries (comparisons and similarities) spoke to a government working for the people instead of for whatever party they were in. I am saving this video for the next family get together. My family is Scandinavian and German so copious amounts of alcohol is a staple (if only they had the constitutions of our lineage lol) and this leads to debates. I should say this leads to verbal diarrhea with me adding fuel by proving them wrong. It's ok, I like the fact that they won't talk to me for a month or so after lmao
As a chronically ill person who can't work beacuse I'm to sick, I'm glad I live in Sweden and not in the USA.
I became chronically ill when I was 20 years old and I can say with total confidence that I would be dead if my husband did not take me in. I lost my job, I can't drive, I have no education at all (not even high school). The emotions I have toward America are indescribable. I would love to move to Sweden but I don't want to drag it down...I don't want to be this sick uneducated burden on such a vibrant country....but sadly without me providing another income, we will be paycheck to paycheck forever. Because I need healthcare. I feel doomed to be poor and sick and dumb forever.....the pain and suffering I have had to endure due to poverty and sickness is the reality for everyone I know. We work so much to barely get by just to get ill from how much we have to work just to get put out on the streets as soon as we get ill. I was set up to be dead in the streets just cause I couldn't afford to survive.
Yeah, well there are government programs for that in the USA also. It's pretty crappy so it is better to have private insurance.
@@brookecharland7063 I understand your pain, and I hope somehow things will get better. I know that there are Medicare and Medicaid programs. Do these programs not help you in any way? Or maybe Social Security?
I have heard that Sweden has told Drs and hospitals to send coronavirus patients home instead of keeping them in hospitals. They give them morphine which helps possibly kill them as opposed to treating them as they should be. Hope this isn't true but it comes straight from a dr. And they are told to mislead these patients. Please research for your own good. Best wishes
@@strawberrylemonade7225 Can I draw the simple conclusion that you are from the USA?
Damn retail workers getting decent pay. That's why I'd rather live in the US; so I can buy a cheap couch at 7am if I want.
I love this comment! Hilarious But it can be taken literally or sarcastic. 😂
I’ve always wondered what it’s like to live in a Scandinavian country. So many people here in the USA sarcastically say things like, “you go live in one of those socialist countries and see what it’s like … “
All I can say is it can’t be worse than American “democracy”. We have a horrible income gap, the highest amount of incarcerated people per capita, massive gun violence, the worst healthcare system and a bunch of religious zealots who want to incorporate religion into politics. Additionally, we are an incredibly divided country in our political and moral thinking (calling us the UNITED States of America is a joke). In closing, I fail to believe living in America is better than living in Sweden or its neighboring countries.
They also have had record suicide rates.
th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires
Sweden full embraced capitalism after monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s.
Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country.
Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich.
th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires
Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles.
It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism.
They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them.
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s.
Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country.
Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich.
th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires
Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles.
It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism.
They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them.
Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets.
Your argument regarding income gap is just stupid. The Mises Institute has debunked your argument regarding income inequality. The think tank noted that if Sweden became a state in the USA, it would be poorer than the poorest state (Missisipi).
The Swedish historian Johan Noberg noted that Sweden relies on the limited entrepreneurship that goes in the American healthcare industry. If that collapses, bye bye Swedish healthcare.
Gun violence occurs in the inner city state which is ran by democrats. I prefer unsate freedom than totalitarianism. Colion Noir has debunked your nonsense.
@@mathematicalgeek8657 Are you seriously saying there is no income gap in America? Yeah, there's no gap between the incomes of billionaires like Bezos and Musk and some person making minimum wage. Your comment about gun violence is total BS. Have all the mass shootings happened in inner cities? No. And, if things are so bad in Sweden, why have I read (in multiple articles) that people in Scandinavian countries are the happiest? Since when are those countries Totalitarian? Not surprised that you found a way to bring Democrats into the mix, and - of course - blame them for things.
The States will always be In my heart! But moving to Sweden will for ever be Nr#1 on best thing I ever done In my life! Holy moly, what a country! 🧡
can you explain why
how was it like moving there?
Norway is best. Real Mountains (tm) and fjords.
I found liberty in Iceland; on returning to the United States I was appalled and shocked at the boundaries and limitations of liberty; it really isn't the land of the free and home of the brave; not compared to iceland. But is still vastly superior on those important qualities to just about every other nation on Earth.
It must be great living in surroundings of common sense and caring.
Love the topic! I think what's really important to consider it the different political cultures: Sweden has a deep trust in their government to not be corrupt and a trust in fellow citizens to not take advantage of the system, whereas Americans have an inherent distrust in the efficacy of government and the corruptibility of politicians and much distrust and cynicism regarding fellow citizens' differing political beliefs. .
Alex Torchio exactly the same over here in Britain.
@@justinrumsby1017 That's exactly the way the elites in the US and Britain want to keep it. If you keep the peasants busy fighting amongst themselves and living in fear of government they will never organize to demand what they deserve.
Yes, and look where that trust in our government brought us swedes.. mass importation of violent people who couldn't read a childrens book in their own language. Multiculturalism is pure evil and will be the end of the western civilization of we don't stop it.
@@extremefails1938 hold you're horses! ;)
@Krawczon
If you continue to import cheap labor, you'll continue to devalue wages.
Sweden takes care of the social justice of its citizens, especially the healthcare, education, retirement and minimum wage. What more can people ask for, for a good living environment?
Sweden doesnt have a minimum wage at all.
But the people there don't enslave their fellow countrymen, unlike other developed countries. Swedish employers pay their employees reasonably so that the employees can live comfortably, unlike many employers in developed countries, who like to enslave workers and give little salary.
@@cwsb9397 Yeah it's not like you can just quit your job and work for a better company or anything. You are obligated to stay with that employer and never start a business.
Daniel Lassander We have a different system with the so called collective agreements, between the trade unions and the companies. They set the wages. That makes the minimum wage laws redundant. In practice, it means the lowest wage in Sweden is around $2275/month or $14.22 an hour. In the US it’s (the last time I checked) $7.25 an hour. So the lowest salaries in Sweden are about twice those in the US.
Hi, I live in Sweden. My wife got a surgery for brain tumour in 2011. She was picked up by a helicopter as we live on an island. The surgery lasted for more than 5 hours. The tumour was not bad, and she is still living a good life. The only invoice we got was for the helicopter ride, it was 250 kronor, that’s about 75 dollars in your currency.
*CORRECTION:* American Capitalism vs Swedish Social Democracy
There you go fellas, I fixed it :)
You're completely wrong guys Sweden is not socialist country!...Fortunately isn't a socialist country!
It's a social democracy.
Social democracy and socialism aren't the same thing
They address this in the video.
Interesting. It was good to see both of your perspectives when comparing the countries. I'm American, but I often wonder what this country would be like if we adopted some of the policies more common in Scandinavia.
Easy, Canada.
@@rhythmandacoustics lol. You're right.
@@rhythmandacoustics Canada is nothing like the US. Most Canadians live in a few metropolises(Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa) while the US is much more spread out.
@@TheCelticsAREboss lol you think there are no rural areas in Canada
@@rhythmandacoustics you're the one who thinks canada is exactly like sweden
Question for someone living in Sweden: At the end, he says that you could live comfortably on unemployment, but shouldn’t. Is there a cultural stigma against taking advantage of the system in Sweden? That’s a big fear in America-that there are too many people who would be happy to live off government benefits and not be socially pressured into being productive members of society.
there are already people who who would rather live in ghetto section 8 neighborhoods than get a job, it would be worse if the Swedish model was adopted
@@RobertoGonzalez-my8um Socialism has so many Stigma pushed onto it,
but 'Second Thought' cleaned up with the Myths and Stigma,
as well as makes many good Arguments for it,
despite not even going into what 'Some More News' pointed out:
A Pandemic is a Stress-Tester and the System was therefore
recently stress-tested. The Results show us Capitalism literally does not work at all.
I hope you look into both of them, starting with the videos 'Socliaism for Beginners'
and 'Capitalism vs Covid!'.
On American tv, there is always the domination of male sports' games on prime channels, and player and result reports are on the news right up there with really important news. Even though the majority of women and children are not interested in male competitions, the chauvinism never stops.
I am Swedish, 2nd gen American and I will stay here!!
Where?
Hopefully the U.S improves sufficiently and deal with the issues we been facing without getting into dumb political quagmire. We a lot of potential that’s being wasted right now.
@@gerardgmz there
I’m a Swedish 4th generation American and I’ll stay in the US. My great-grandparents crossed the world so I could have the freedom I have here.
Ahhh.. product of the american inner city education system... can you tell us where "here" is?
Very nice analysis using current statistical data. I live in Canada and there are many similarities between our two countries. We have a stable social democracy and a healthy social welfare system. Our tax rates are similar and like Sweden and other Nordic countries we have a social safety net to fall back on. Plus, we have the most beautiful scenery in the world.
"Healthy social welfare system" is quite the oxymoron.
Norway is the most beautiful country in my opinion and it’s right beside Sweden
Hi Guys
@@nosouponhead Doesn't sound as though you understand the concept.
Wrong sort of tax, though.
One thing I thought of is in the US with healthcare insurance, dentalcare and such you will pay more out of your sallary than Swedish taxes.
Dentalcare is not included in Swedish healthcare, unless you are a unregistered "refugee". Then it's $5 flat fee.
@Elias Håkansson what about college fees...$100000 degrees not uncommon. Try paying that off...
@@craigme2583 never seen one that expensive unless your going to harvard or another top tier college lol
Funny! Dentalcare is not free in Sweden, not even for those who it should be free for. Try again, mister.
@@craigme2583 that is a choice. You are not required to take out a $100,000 loan.
Comically, people from all over the globe flock to the US for education and medical.
Gas costs around $26 dollars a gallon in Sweden. I just recently met a couple from there who told us. They have to take crowded busses and trains on a regular basis. Maybe school and health care should be free, but we should NOT have to pay this much for a burger! A burger combo in CA costed $6 last week, and now it’s already 7?! Why are meat places suddenly being burnt down??? Look into it more, hard to believe it’s a coincidence with people in the government also telling milk places to throw out their milk??
Strong social programs for the working class is good for capitalism. Social democracy creates customers who create demand. Social democratic policies are the only thing can save capitalism from destroying itself.
Americans are like the Feringie on Star Trek. The poor like being poor , but hope to be rich, and blame themselves for not getting to be the rich.
That may be the stupidest comment I've seen. I DON'T enjoy being low income, and clearly, there is no hope of ever being rich. It doesn't matter how hard you work in America, or how much education you have. You're either lucky or you're not. Most, like me, are not.
Tycker ni är väldigt duktiga och pålästa (bra jobbat!!) i det ni presenterar men många gånger när ni i era videor refererar till statistik gör ni det väldigt snabbt och utan hänvisning till egentlig källa. Ett tips är att lägga källorna som länkar i beskrivningarna! ✨💪
Another big issue with the United States is that we're not taught personal finance in high school.
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s.
Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country.
Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich.
th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires
Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles.
It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism.
They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them.
Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets!
Swedish for sure.
"I have been living in Sweden for about 2 years and been enjoying it."
"And I lived in the US."
Yup, no joy in living in high social inequality.
Social inequality? What do you mean? Like income inequality or social injustice?
I love losing half of my salary so that some drunk can get his wounds stitched up after getting into a fight.
Elias Håkansson I don’t mind helping others in need, but it is in no way better for me to live in Sweden rather than the US.
@@GameLorePage the whole idea of the system in sweden is that it is not just for you. The selfish kind of thinking you brought here is better of in the U.S
bopp Be my guest and work for someone elses benefit your entire life. In fact I can have you come over and work for me. I will offer you all accomedations necessary to survive.
One of the things I constantly hear about free healthcare for all is that the quality of care can be very poor and wait times for specialist appointments and basic testing like routine bloodwork, CT scans, MRIs, etc. can be really long. I also hear that basic procedures like colonoscopies and endoscopes can include long wait times. This is why most people get private health insurance on the side so they have more access to better doctors/quicker procedures. What has been your experience with this?
Leftist media just tells you the positives of socialism. Everything is covered as "free".
I live in Canada, and that is the case here, but then this is also a capitalist country. So of course they're pinching the pennies on the free health care. In my experience, there is no "Left" in capitalism. There's the right, then there's the left leaning right. I can't speak for Sweden, as I have not lived there, but I'd imagine the health care there to be better than Canada, due to the heightened taxes. The entire financial system of our country is also on a perpetually downhill course with inflation. So I predict that we won't have free health care in Canada anymore within the next 30 years.
It'll start with corporations getting into health care, like the "Telus cares" initiative I've heard about, then more corporations will likely get into it, then the government subsidized health care will back out, as it's already largely started to do, post-Covid. And once the government is no longer a part of health care, that's when the corporations will begin by adding a fee of some-sort; which, much like our Netflix subscriptions, will continually see increases until it becomes something that, much like American health care, a large portion of the population can't afford. If it goes by that exact plan, that time may even come within 20 years.
You'd think that an insane number of people would protest such a thing, but the majority have been conditioned to believe that if a corporation owns it, then we have no rights. Just like free speech on the internet, RIP to that within the next 10-15 years.
@@sizlax "In my experience, there is no "Left" in capitalism" - that is how Neo-Liberalism emerged. That is right wing in privileged and social station, but left wing in pretention and box ticking, as long as it suits the economic goals. This also includes appeasement of the most vocal united minorities.
Sweden is actually not a "socialdemocracy" it's a constitutional parliamentary democatic Monachy , the political ideology is called Social liberal
The difference between Sweden and the United States is one has a divided that's purposely created and the other is focused on benefitting the whole country for the betterment of everyone in doing so it makes a better country for everyone.
Well, Sweden used to be focused on the betterment of everyone. Not so much anymore.
Ummm there's sooooo much red tape you have to snip through to get special care if you have a specific diagnosis. For example, my wife has polycystic ovarian condition and needs midformin for treatment. After the 10th Swedish doctor we saw only 1 new what that was. On the positive side, treatment was nearly paid for by taxes. Only medication was paid out of pocket which was close to nothing.
That's what some people in the states don't see... Yeah you can earn more faster, but just wait til you or your family has health problems.... They'll be worse after the financial hit then beforehand
The Swedish system is much better. And Americans needs to learn that Sweden is NOT socialist.
@John Harris sweden is not a member of nato and we pay for our own military.
Sweden is not a socialist country. It is very much a capitalist country with strong regulations and public access programs that ensure their their capitalist economy can survive.
I am a Canadian who has lived in the EU (Belgium and Spain) for over 20 yrs. I totally agree that the Swedish social democratic model is much better for the VAST majority than the US "f-you buddy; I'm alright jack" model. Canada has had what USA calls 'socialized medicine' (ie public health insurance) since the 1960s and it's one of the MOST highly supported govt programs in Canada. No politician in Canada who wants to get or stay elected would propose a US health health insurance system - that would be political suicide. One thing Sweden and many EU counties have that Canada does not is free (or nearly free) college and university tuition. This is becoming more of a barrier to low income Canadians.
Wealthy Canadian’s cross the border when they need medical care unavailable or waitlisted at home.
Apple and Oranges...The US has massive diversity each state is like its own country. Sweden has only a slightly larger population than New York City and the state of California has a larger population than Canada. Bringing socialized education and medicine to the US would be a VERY significant undertaking.
@@CallSignWhiplash very few do that because its not necessary most of the time and quality of care in canada is as good or better than the usa
@@mboiko totally bogus argument. Almost ALL of the EU member states have what USA calls socialized medicine programs. That's >400 million people.
Larry Bxl I have family that lives in Montreal but nice try....
Sweden is the obvious answer. As an young American who worked his way through college (when you could in the 80s) I was so impressed by Sweden and Swedes - I worked there and lived there in 1987-88. People seemed so happy go lucky. Sweden to me is elegance mixed with nature with a touch of intelligence and a breath of fresh cold air.
Good for you. I'll stick with America though.
@@ebilui7463 So basically you're saying that I'm more competent than the average person. Thank you.
I'm a South African lucky enough to get out of my country and live in the UK but after watching a few of your videos I want to move my family to Sweden. Thanks for your wonderful videos.
Sweden is also largely a mono-culture. That makes the job of "equalizing" much easier. All of the countries that can claim similar "success" as Sweden is that they are mono-cultures too. it is much more difficult for countries that are very culturally-diverse (like the US) to get these results.
By taxing income so highly, you drive people to the options that let them pay less taxes - owning their own business.
I think its not fair to compare a huge country with 300+ million people with tiny country with limited population!
Why not?
When people talk about taxes I always think "Which taxes are we referring to, exactly?" and "What is the money going to?"
I'm okay with paying taxes in Sweden because I get a lot for it and society benefits as a whole. If I lived in the US, I would be very pissed off at how my money goes to illegal wars rather than health care and education.
We need to remember that the point of democratic governments is supposed to be that they work for us, not corporate interests or anything else. Taxes should make life better for the general public.
When I see how US politics works it makes me think that most voters are in a abusive relationship with their elected officials and they don't know that deserve better.
Progressives like Bernie aren't radicals. They are just in favor of dignity - being paid for the work you do, not being poisoned by your water, not having to pee in bottles because you don't have enough time to do your job. Pretty basic stuff. It's not so much about ideology and more about which politician actually gives a shit about you and who doesn't.
Illegal wars? Dude I get that some of our wars are controversial yet if China or Russia goes off invading countries, what is Sweden going to do about it? Last time I checked it was a majority of American funding and troops that defended South Korea from a North Korean invasion and that is the reason why 50 million Koreans don’t live under the horrible dictatorship of the north and now the South Korean economy is 80 times larger than the north
I don’t see Sweden or any Nordic countries going and defending Taiwan 🇹🇼. The country that is one of the only in Asia to grant full LGBTQ rights and become one of the most advanced nations on the planet. We constantly sell them weapons, and helped them fight off multiple Chinese invasions attempts. Most Ukrainian aid is coming from the USA, most of their weapons, medical aid, food donations, and others are all American. I get that Vietnam and many middle eastern wars were unnecessary. But this is the reason why Taiwan, South Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, and many others are still alive
I've always ask, "but what do I get for those higher taxes?" Nobody has feet answered me. Thank you, this made alot of since. Socialism is feared like a plague in the USA.
Yes, we fear it because if you look at history, socialist countries have always brought its people to ruins. Sweden is clearly a capitalist nation, only they have welfare programs. From this video I actually realized they are more of capitalists than we are here in the US, and that's sad because the US is supposed to be based on capitalism.
@@avapilsen One of the main reason socialism did not work in communist countries is because it was introduced in poor and broken countries at the beginning of the last century, while capitalist countries, at the same time, were already advanced. Communism did not stand a chance unless they were willing to accept some form or level of capitalism as China did. We can't know much if we keep looking at the history from one-sided view. Sweden is well developed because IS capitalist country but it is also a socialist country. High taxes, welfare programs, state-sponsored education etc- that's all socialism, but strong economy based on competition of individual companies are capitalism. So, as you can see, they don't have a problem with capitalism vs socialism. They employ ideas which work well, without prejudice, and that's all.
@@almiratlic8323 its basically crowd funding all their monthly bills 😂. ... seriously
@@almiratlic8323 China is fully capitalist and does not even follow 1% of communism.
@@avapilsen More capitalist?? idk if universal healthcare and free tution universities are capitalist, depennds where. I guess on lack of minimum wage and regulations is what u mean
Long term capital gain tax rate is 15% in the US, not 30%
Lotsofcommenton this below but I'll re-iterate: Sweden is a capitalist country, not a socialist country
Sweden Is social democracy, right? But social democracy Is a system within socialism. Sadly, most ppl ar confused And dunno what socialism And capitalism mean. Even US has welfare. Does that mean they ar not capitalist? No? Then why should be Sweden, just cuz it has some capitalist policies, considered capitalism? Here Is a definition of social democracy : "Social democracy is a political, social and economic philosophy within socialism[1] that supports political and economic democracy.[2] As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal-democratic polity and a capitalist-oriented mixed economy. The protocols and norms used to accomplish this involve a commitment to representative and participatory democracy, measures for income redistribution, regulation of the economy in the general interest and social-welfare provisions.[3] Due to longstanding governance by social-democratic parties during the post-war consensus and their influence on socioeconomic policy in Northern and Western Europe, social democracy became associated with Keynesianism, the Nordic model, the social-liberal paradigm and welfare states within political circles in the late 20th century."
@White Ness What race??
@White Ness Oh, wtf, of course I can. The socio-economic, race, gender and I dunno what other issues is contained in the word "social justice". There is no need to mention quality of genders or races explicitelly. And Sweeden didn´t ever have a race issue, they didn´t even have more then one race when the social democracy got into power. Still, most social democracy countries ar quite homogenous or they don´t have systematic racism, so I really dunno why is it the race that moves u so much... I understand that this is an issue in the US or Americas in general, but that doesn´t mean it is a big topic everywhere. Somewhere, "social justice" is more connected to tribal discrimination, ethnic discrimination or religious discrimination, while race is irrelevant. So it would be very ignorant to put one issue over another and make it a wordwide definition. Soviet Union had no issue with race for exemple (it wasn´t "social democracy", but it was socialism).
@White Ness U really believe the only way to get rich is throuth systematic racism?
This is extremelly weird thinking. I think u have a very though life with this kind of mentality and very low trust in people.
By WORK, smartness and responsibily. Scandinavien ppl in general have very strong sense of responsibility and freedom (wich is connected). I am not an exert on Scandinavia, but I think they have very low corruption and strong political activism. Of course, not all socialist countries ar exectlly "rich". Systematic racism is NOT a word issue. I said it clearly in my previous answer. U just need to know way more about the world. Way, way more.
Relax man, be happy. Call it what you want. It won't change what it is because of you.
Love this content!! Recently I’ve caught interest in these types of topics so this video really had my attention all the way through. Also, we need to see more of these videos on here!! 👏🏼😍
Swedish model can't work in the U.S. because of the American history, diversity, and size.
northern europe has millions of people. so the size is not the issue, its scalable solution. you can use it one city at a time.
Really because of Military and Gov't size/costs
America is not culturally homogeneous enough for socialism. Sweden is presently, but not in the long run.
@@aachen800 what does cultural homogeneity have to do with wanting the average person to have high quality of life? Canada is doing much better than the US and very diverse.
@@jacobthomsen402 @jct When all of the members in a system share common goals and beliefs, they feel a brotherhood, and are more likely to care for each other. When the goals and beliefs of people in a system are different, and opposing, a highly centralized government doesn't work as well.
Can not make much sense about the comment regarding the cars in the US. One of the differences I noted whenever coming back from a trip overseas is how much betters the vehicles in the US are, a vehicle that someone who works in a restaurant drives often is a SUV with an auto-transmission that only a relatively wealth person could afford overseas. Smaller, cheaper, low quality cars - like FIATs - do not even exist over here.
It seems like in the US,car is basicaly your main and almost only option to get anywhere. Many European countries have quite decent public transport,so we don´t need to use car too often nor we need good car to travel for hours,when most of the time we use car to get to the shop. For using car 2 times a week and to get from one part of the town to other we don´t need good car for a lot of money.
@@tefky7964 I truly envy the high speed rail in Europe. Relatively short flights are not cost effective, and driving for a few hours is too much of a pain; and that where high speed rail would fits in.
Regarding the statement in the video that there are many beaten up cars in the US, it is really a non-sense. It is extremely difficult to see even a relatively old car, and it is close to impossible to catch sight of a clunker. It simply does not make economic sense to have a relatively old vehicle due to the expenses of maintenance and repairs (it can easily cost thousands of dollars to fix a vehicle with many problems). Most people would simply junk a car after a few years. It is simply much cheaper and less problematic to buy a newer one.
@@waldtk3000 Well,I did never use the high speed rail in Europe,I use just normal public transport.
I guess that this might be just truth about post-socialist European countries,but even today,many people Europe older cars,because they are extremely cheap,there is really many new parts for them,so they are cheap too and they were designed so people could repair them almost everywhere. Ofcourse the technology advanced,so these cars are technologicaly really inferior,but in many of them,we still find specific parts,which were just designed extremely cleverly to make up for the lack of technological options. Modern cars are pretty much designed to be completely unrepairable even in service and they are expected to be consumer goods,changed every few years. Old cars were the opposite.
@@tefky7964 In my case, I could never envision myself using public transport within the perimeter of a city; cars are just way more convenient. Besides, cities in the US tend to be more spread out.
I used to work on cars and motorcycles/scooters, so I am aware of the challenges of working on modern cars. It is a curse and a blessing at the same time, but more of a curse. All the sensors and computers built in modern car makes it much easier to diagnose problems most of the time. At the same time, cars got more complex and have far more parts and components; and everything is so crammed together in a tight space (barely any real state to fit a human hand).
@@waldtk3000 Public transport is usable even when the city is more spead out. It might be just that I never found that ,,love for cars",but atleast in my case,public transport is +/- fast as car,yet in a train I can do other things. When I am 40 minutes from school, I feel like 40 minutes of sleep in a train are more pleasant than 40 minutes of driving car right after I jump out of the bed.
It is not just about sensors,I think that more irritating are the facts that manufacturers of cars (and just everything else) use components fall apart after specific time and that many parts are not created from many smaller parts like older cars,they are truly just one big part. In other cars,there was for example a tube connecting two important parts,so if the tube was broken,well,you take out two screws,take out the tube,buy some random one,which you find at home and it work again. In many modern cars,there aren´t two big parts are not connected by a tube,they are all one,big cast,which you just can´t repair,buying new one cost a lot of money and it is cheaper to buy a new one.
Another thing,which has been totaly angering everyone around me who works with cars- you just can´t repair them without service. They are designed in a way,that even if you want to change even the smallest,the least important part,you just have to basicaly disassemble most of the car,which takes a lot of time and hard,so people don´t have any other option than use a car service.
As an American who knows Sweden from coast to coast, I tell you, all:
The biggest mistake you can make is to move to Sweden (permanently) - if you - dont -- want to speak the language.
English is for tourists.
Learn Swedish, Learn Swedish. It is a beautiful language.
You can even understand Danish afterwards! (Ok , sorry about the joke )
Jag älsker Sverige,
Heja Sverige, Allihopa !!
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s.
Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country.
Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich.
th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires
Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles.
It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism.
They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them.
Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets!
Ah, finally a comparison video that actually gets basic facts right and uses this format to explain things in a low key way without dumbing it down. Great work, really enjoyed it.
A few things they neglected in the video.....
1. Cars in the US vs Sweden
A) In California wealth inequality is extreme due to years of left wing policies like rent control. The poverty line is $122,000 USD.
This is because if you earn $80,000 you only have $57,492 after taxes...
Cheap Rent is $3,500 or $42,000 per year.
That leaves you $15,492 after rent.
$150 for gas an electric (High due to left wing energy policies)
$150 for Water *expensive in Cali due to bad policies and bad leadership who didn't store water that lead to a shortage*
$66.66 for Garbage
$100 for basic cable and internet (I pay $170)
After all is said and done that's $9,343.92.
That leaves you with $6,148.08 before paying for transportation.
Car that's 400 a month = $4,800
Car Insurance that's $75 if you have an amazing history. $900
Leaves you with $448.08 for food for the entire year.
Or $9.34 per week.
This is without paying for a cell phone, Netflix, gym membership, etc...
B. Sweden has a 150% vehicle tax.
So a vehicle can often be $30,000 USD more than it would cost in America.
So the people who have a vehicle are wealthy people so the poor people simply don't have cars... which is why you don't see poor/older vehicles.
There's also a congestion tax 10, 15, 20 kron, the max is 60 kron per day.
There's also a yearly tax for your vehicle.
The 37% tax rate is only half of the story. There are also many "hidden taxes". So if you earn $37,000 you are taxed at 60%.
Swedish people have a great work ethic, they earn 50% more when they move to America. This high tax rate is stifling their economy which is why in economics you have to consider both the seen and the unseen aka unrealized potential.
In America a poor person can buy a car for $5,000 but they have a big flat screen tv, video games, eat out regularly, and a $900 smart phone.
Americans consume 44% more than citizens of Denmark so I assume it's very similar to Sweden.
Poor Americans are have larger homes than the middle class in Europe, the lifestyles are different.
2. Swedish Socialism
In the 1970's Sweden implemented a good amount of actual Socialism.
Once they did this they did not create Even One Net New job for 50 years!
Up until the end of 2015 Denmark had a 180% vehicle tax. Now it's only 150%. They also have a 25% sales tax.
Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan also have a very low GINI Coefficient....
Inequality is not a problem... poverty is.
Right wing economics solves for poverty, left wing solves for inequality but creates poverty/stifles the economy.
If you were Bill Gates neighbor earning $1 million per year. There would be EXTREME Inequality. But you wouldn't complain about it because you are also doing well.
The problem to solve for is poverty, not inequality, embrace freedom.
In freedom people will always be unequal. We all have different interest, time preferences, skills, talents, etc...
If I have high intelligence and am willing to put myself through 11 years of studying to become a brain surgeon... I should be allowed to.
The guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7/11 should also be allowed to do as much or as little as he wants. That's freedom, but don't expect me to support the man who chooses not to work while I bust my ass for 11 years.
@@marcusdavenport9847 that’s super detailed and true. agree 100%
It is a propaganda. What about corporate diversity in Sweden?
@@marcusdavenport9847 Mostly right on the first point, cept blaming all of that on "left wing policies, like rent control". If all below that in point "A)" is true, and rent control didn't exist, then you'd have all the same problems without rent control, but with a higher homeless population, since only the higher income people would be able to afford rent there. Hell, at 3500 a month for rent, I'd be curious to know who works at the McDonald's out there, since they'd likely all be homeless, or working a second job at Carl's Jr. so they could get in their 160ish hrs a week to afford basic living.
One of the biggest things that American capitalism ignores when it comes to "Freedom", is equal opportunity. While it's true that everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome in their lives, comparing the "problems" of the wealthy elite, to that of the proverbial "guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7-11", is more often than not, comparable to that recent meme, "First world problems". As in, it's a world of difference, and suffering does not have a cap, the "cap" is, dead. Until that point, the more financial, and psychological trauma one deals with in their lifetime, the more difficult it becomes to do anything about it. As eventually it gets to a point that the person doesn't wish to live at all, and just the fact that they haven't ended themselves, should be seen as a success.
It's not even as bad here in Canada as it is there in America. I honestly don't know how anyone in their right mind can defend American Capitalism. I mean, it literally murders children on a daily basis by putting required medications, and medical care behind a pay wall.. Helpless children that are citizens of your country. American capitalism puts the priority for financial gain, ahead of human life. Even here in Canada, children are affected; not by the medical system, but by the suffering endured by their parents. And the children have no choice in it, but it will affect them during their core developing years, and to some extent, through the rest of their lives.
The base fact remains, that positivity begets positivity, and the same in reverse is true for negativity. So when you treat the lowest portion of your population like they deserve to live, and to have a warm place to do that, and food, as well as to have options and opportunities in life; then you will have a more happy, and fruitful society. But if you treat the lowest part like literal garbage, then blame them for all the problems in your society. You end up with a angry, vindictive, substance abusing element in your society, which will only taint the rest of it, and continue to raise abused children that will carry on that torch of suffering; as well as going to school, and bullying other kids, to even further spread all the suffering and self-hate in our society.
Why do you think on the world happiness index, the US is so much further down the list than Sweden? It's also because the more well to do people in society aren't having their days ruined by pissy service workers that struggle from day to day just to attain basic survival rights. Anger, hatred, and greed, are things that spread like a cancer. Can you really argue against the logic of a happier society; after all, isn't that the true measure of success in leadership? It's not like they're brainwashing their citizens through a constant flow of propaganda, that tells their citizens that they should be happy with what they have, even if they have nothing at all (Like some other countries..), in order to push themselves higher on that list than they should be.
And with people on the lower end of society making so much more than American minimum wage, there's less reason to skip out, and slug around on welfare. I mean, what do you expect people to do when you pay them a miserable low, barely living wage, then introduce a welfare/disability system. Of course they're gonna take the latter options, over being treated like garbage for the over-hyped privilege of boasting that they have a job to work.
Thank you for providing these insights and factual comparisons.
One challenge is applying these economic and social programs that can work in a smaller, more homogeneous culture in Sweden, to a much larger and more geoculturally diverse US.
Except it isn't factual. Sweden is a social democracy under a capitalistic system...
Did anyone here even watch the video? Or just instantly look at the title and comment "Sweden isnt socialist"...because not even 2 minutes into the video they explicitly say that Sweden isn't socialist.
I suppose you can say it's a title "clickbaity" per se, but I'm not sure this video is aimed towards people like us who know that there's a such thing as "social democracy". I think its geared towards educating very ignorant americans who litterally think that anything that isnt capitalism is "communism/facism"
Definitely Sweden. That’s one Country I would like to live in a part from the gloomy winters. America for me is only good to visit but not live there.
imo winter is only gloomy without the snow ✌🏼 would love to see the white sparkly landscape than dead grass and trees
I agree with the person above ^ . I now live in the south of Sweden where we rarely have snow and winter is in general mild here. I don't like it at all! Winter should be snowy. There's nothing better than taking a nice walk in snow, or see the landsapes and trees full of snow while the sun shines on it and everything just glitters. Or to take a walk to the forest and have a winter picnic with hot cocoa. :) I really miss living more north. And also, if you don't have winter season, you will never experience euphoria when spring and summer arrives. Swedes get reborn during summer and everyone is outside and full of life.
🇧🇻 We nordic countries are great i think.
A few things they neglected in the video.....
1. Cars in the US vs Sweden
A) In California wealth inequality is extreme due to years of left wing policies like rent control. The poverty line is $122,000 USD.
This is because if you earn $80,000 you only have $57,492 after taxes...
Cheap Rent is $3,500 or $42,000 per year.
That leaves you $15,492 after rent.
$150 for gas an electric (High due to left wing energy policies)
$150 for Water *expensive in Cali due to bad policies and bad leadership who didn't store water that lead to a shortage*
$66.66 for Garbage
$100 for basic cable and internet (I pay $170)
After all is said and done that's $9,343.92.
That leaves you with $6,148.08 before paying for transportation.
Car that's 400 a month = $4,800
Car Insurance that's $75 if you have an amazing history. $900
Leaves you with $448.08 for food for the entire year.
Or $9.34 per week.
This is without paying for a cell phone, Netflix, gym membership, etc...
B. Sweden has a 150% vehicle tax.
So a vehicle can often be $30,000 USD more than it would cost in America.
So the people who have a vehicle are wealthy people so the poor people simply don't have cars... which is why you don't see poor/older vehicles.
There's also a congestion tax 10, 15, 20 kron, the max is 60 kron per day.
There's also a yearly tax for your vehicle.
The 37% tax rate is only half of the story. There are also many "hidden taxes". So if you earn $37,000 you are taxed at 60%.
Swedish people have a great work ethic, they earn 50% more when they move to America. This high tax rate is stifling their economy which is why in economics you have to consider both the seen and the unseen aka unrealized potential.
In America a poor person can buy a car for $5,000 but they have a big flat screen tv, video games, eat out regularly, and a $900 smart phone.
Americans consume 44% more than citizens of Denmark so I assume it's very similar to Sweden.
Poor Americans are have larger homes than the middle class in Europe, the lifestyles are different.
2. Swedish Socialism
In the 1970's Sweden implemented a good amount of actual Socialism.
Once they did this they did not create Even One Net New job for 50 years!
Up until the end of 2015 Denmark had a 180% vehicle tax. Now it's only 150%. They also have a 25% sales tax.
Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan also have a very low GINI Coefficient....
Inequality is not a problem... poverty is.
Right wing economics solves for poverty, left wing solves for inequality but creates poverty/stifles the economy.
If you were Bill Gates neighbor earning $1 million per year. There would be EXTREME Inequality. But you wouldn't complain about it because you are also doing well.
The problem to solve for is poverty, not inequality, embrace freedom.
In freedom people will always be unequal. We all have different interest, time preferences, skills, talents, etc...
If I have high intelligence and am willing to put myself through 11 years of studying to become a brain surgeon... I should be allowed to.
The guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7/11 should also be allowed to do as much or as little as he wants. That's freedom, but don't expect me to support the man who chooses not to work while I bust my ass for 11 years.
@@marcusdavenport9847 wow that was a lot. But I agree with your last statement. It sounds cool, but when you get down to the nitty gritty taxes aren’t fun.
Impressive. Nice work Julia and Evan.
thank you Staffan!
What about medical plans?
How much does it cost?
Wait times?
Is there a wait lists?
Who decides if you can get treatment for cancer and such.
The priority of which you get it?
Different types of Hospitals?
How are you treated at the hospitals?
Do they rush you out?
After care?
Fully covered meals, amenities?
Is it different in other Nordic countries?
When doing the gini index, you can have equal wealth in countries in Africa too. Not because everyone is rich but because no one has money and everyone is poor.
That's why it's used as equality index, not as wealth index. For real...
Every time i hear the words "Sweden" and socialism together I feel like I'm gonna throw up. There is no socialism here and there has never been. Socialism means workers control production and we have nothing of that here. Sweden use to have a relatively strong welfare state, especially before the 1980. But all industrialized countries have welfare systems and they all have capitalism too. It's onely a matter of scale. Sweden use to be number one in equality in the OECD. That was like 30 years ago. Were not even top ten anymore. Sweden has since the 1990s fallen in love with tax cuts for the capitalist class who pays less than low income workers in tax, and new public management, having the state spreading money over private companies like no where else. That's why we're falling in the OECD equality index faster than any other county. So please, americans, stop believing in nonesense about Sweden being some socialist utopia or nightmare for that matter. We're simply not socialist. End of story.
True enough. But "socialist Sweden" is just the setup to change to a strawman Venezuela. In other words, when people in the US say we should have stronger social safety nets/be more like Sweden, the conservatives say socialism sucks.. just look at Venezuela! (which the US also *made* suck to some degree). So yeah, I think many of those conservatives know Sweden isn't socialist, but they don't want to have that real discussion so they skip a few turns on the roundabout to go to someplace else.
I think the best strategy for the left, at this point, is to go back to saying "social safety nets" instead of "democratic socialism". After all, the *only* industry that's being considered for nationalization is health insurance, and that's just because it's been in a death spiral for what, 60 years? With people dying, suffering, or going bankrupt, that industry is going to end as we know it anyway. Nationalization of that could still be a single-payer/public managed system like Germany, or similar to the public/private school system discussed in the video. Obviously there are problems there too but, better than what we have! :D
Obviously Sweden is not Socialist, but compared to USA small state in terms of public services That would be "socialist".
They said this in the video. They said that the US only presents sweden as being socialist, so a lot of americans think it is. They literally said that it's more a social democracy with a free market system
People forget communism.
Social democracy and socialism is the same in Europe. Even for Swedens that don't throw up. They all belong to the European socialist family. It's a name.
The lefts idea of socialism: we hate white people, we hate religious people, we hate capitalism, we hate immigration policies, we hate hate entrepreneurship, we hate freedom of the press and freedom of speech if it opposes our views, we hate anyone who questions our ideas, we hate those that have more than us, we want equality even if that means having to kill millions of people who are opposed to our form of equality. Lol
This video is misleading. Click bait. Sweden is far from being a socialist country. Read up a bit more before putting this out please.
@ '' Learn the differences between American Capitalism and Swedish Socialism. Sweden's economic and political model is often misunderstood, especially by Americans not familiar with social democracy. In this video, we present an unbiased comparison between American's economic model and Sweden's economic model, and let you decide for yourself which system you think is superior.'' _Evan Thomas ..... What was the title of this post again????? just Curious.
@ I have had no less than 100 debates with people who referenced a Scandinavian country and or Switzerland as a socialist country or even less factually correct as a social democracy. It's a capitalist free market which relies entirely on fossil fuel and car corporations for its tax income, it spends 250% less per person than Ameican on government-funded healthcare and 40% less per person on government-funded education.
Socialism in America mostly refers to welfare. Whereas socialism in Europe mostly refers to worker control of private production. In the context of America, then yes Sweden is a socialist country. It is confusing, but it is used correctly in the context in which it was given.
to those making comments but did not pay attention to the video, THEY NEVER said SWEDEN was SOCIALIST, they said SOCIAL DEMOCRACY.
2:24 That’s not really what I imagine when I think of a socialist country. Socialism doesn’t just mean strong labor unions, it means workplace democracy from the ground up.
Anyone that think Sweden is "socialist" is ignorant and have no idea what they're talking about!
Sweden full embraced capitalism after the monster failures of socialism in the 1970’s.
Sweden realized they could pay for all the socialist’s programs with a super capitalist country.
Sweden also taxes the poor and not the rich.
th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires
Sweden is a mostly frozen country with a population less than Los Angeles.
It is doing not the means of production which is the definition of socialism.
They have a tiny military, so they rely on the $$$$ from U.S.A to protect them.
Funny they look to socialist Los Angles as the example of free markets.
Började detta året läsa till sjuksköterska och man är ju evigt tacksam att skolan är gratis och att man dessutom får ett studiebidrag på 3200kr varje månad. Heja Sverige!!!
"Started studying to be a nurse this year and you are eternally grateful that the school is free and that you also receive a study grant of SEK 3,200 every month. Go Sweden!!!"
And you'll be paying back for the rest of your life. In the United States, you will pay for your education BUT for the rest of your life pay only half in taxes what you are going to be paying. Still, I can see why government will subsidize USEFUL education. In the United States you can pay for totally useless college education BUT you chose to do so. Does Sweden pay all that for "gender studies"? Maybe so, but what is the employment for gender studies graduates?
The difference between countries just like comparing the U.S. to Japan, is the people themselves. They have a different culture. It is not an equal comparison.
Agreed the one thing that most people don't take into account is that Sweden doesn't have anywhere near the cultural diversity that the United States has.
Sweden is a social-democracy. It has strong welfare with very high taxes and less regulated free market
Democracy has nothing to do with the economy.
@@lindafoxx1659 lol
Have relatives in Sverige and have visited many times, my impressions and discussions were always good, in fact they said I didn’t sound like an American and always hoped I would move there..and then..there’s ABBA and Bjorn Borg ! Love it ❤️🇸🇪
I thought It was going to be more like an emotional story about how the richness is taken from a few to make social justice, but not at all, it's a video based on data, and leaving the judgement to the viewers.
My Mom is in Sweden. She lived in the USA, Had me. She was deported and I was stolen from her and dumped into "Fostercare".
20 years later, she has NO clue how I live in the USA. Rent was $700 when she lived here. Min wage was $5. ( 1995 ). That same apartment
( built in the 1960s and hasn't been updated ). It's now $2400 for that apartment. Min wage is now $8..... 8 fucking dollars and rent for a studio is $1200 minimum.
College is a MUST for better income. But you have to go into $40-$50k min debt to get a degree. Yet most of the jobs here demand a degree, years of experience for entry level.
But pay you less than $30k a year. So you need a degree in the USA to make less than the min wage in Sweden.
No health, No time off. no sick days. I haven't taken off or been to a doctor since 2006.
Welcome to the iron Law of Wages. Not even Sweden can violate that law. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_wages
Sweden citizens are subsidized by the sale of natural resources. So it is in Iceland and Norway as well. In the United States, Alaskans have a permanent dividend provided you had lived there at the time of the building of the oil pipeline to the north slope. All of these things are subsidized by natural resources.
But there's a problem of the "Little Red Hen". Because Sweden is small and its population concentrated in just two or three cities of any consequence, sharing the wealth is possible, practical, and generally beneficial. But as more immigrants arrive, the supply of surplus is now divided among more recipients and necessarily must diminish for each citizen. Since that's not politically viable, what you do is recalibrate the value of a Kronur so that it does not seem to diminish, but what you can buy with a kronur is less. So it is with dollars as well.
But the United States is large and diverse; there be a great many recipients that have had absolutely nothing to do with helping to extract and process natural resources. So this Little Red Hen has *millions* of people willing to eat the bread she has made. They aren't going to get much.
I could not live in the US. The injustice and unequality in every way is so evident to me, that I do not want my children to grow up there.
Don't know if you've been here but where do you get your information? We have more trouble getting people to work.
@@kimberlywiederhold627 As an American living in Sweden, specifically a Black American, I agree with Olav.
Sweden is a great place if one has a family. Family leave, child care, day care and healthcare. I wish I had my children in Sweden. I had to leave my 6 week old baby to a babysitter in order to return to work. In Sweden, I would have had 1 to 1.5 years before returning to work.
Here, people don't expect you to work more than 8 hours a day. In the US, I worked on average 12 hour days at one job just to hopefully prevent being laid off.
Honestly, I didn't realize how I stressed out I was and how many layers of racism I was battling until I found myself living a normal life like everyone else in another country.
I lived in Sweden and love the country. I appreciate you sharing all the cool things Sweden offers to the world. My observation on your video is that he presents the facts and she comes across as attempting to sway the viewer that Sweden is better than the US. I got nothing against loving your country, but she’s coming across (to me) with the undertone of Sweden is better than the US. You have an opportunity to share just how awesome Sweden is so do that. I found that Swedes are modest and courteous, not snarky. I’m a proud American 🇺🇸 and love my country yet, I also love and admire many things about Sweden 🇸🇪
In my observations Swedes are naturally very vain. They just don't flaunt it directly, their conceitedness is subtle.
Females are emotionally driven, not fact based, so......
@@BarrySlisk wtf ahhahaha that has been disproved numerous times, you could even say is the other way around, males hare more likely to being on a traffic accident and to make bad financial decisions because they were emotion driven. You are confusing "drive" with expression.
@@BarrySlisk saying "Females are emotionally driven, not fact based, so....." just proves the statement is not true since your claim is not a fact and makes you sound resentful against women (emotional)
@@joaquin8637
"your claim is not a fact and makes you sound resentful against women (emotional)"
My statement was devoid of emotion. If it sounded resentful that's just your interpretation.
They make this video, but don’t even know what socialism is.
Sweden isn't a socialist country, but it's a social democracy. It's still under a capitalist system.
It would make more sense to compare the US to Cuba, since Cuba is actually a socialist country.
Thanks for another wonderful video!
Actually, it has nothing to do with 'Socialism', it's 'Collectivism'. We contribute to society to the best of our ability.
I'm Swedish and was in socialist/communist Poland in the 80s... that's not what we have in Sweden, I promise. There is +/- in everything, but everything everyone can have their most important needs met, generates growth accordingly.
We have a lot to do in Sweden, but on the whole 90% works.
Say Hi if you comes to Stockholm!
Tack och leverera fler videos! 👍🏻
Y’all got me wanting to move to sweden
I very seldom, if ever leave a comment, but this time I’ll make an exception. This was an informative and personable video and it would be interesting to see you two hosting either a talkshow-like or newsroom-esque program. Anyway, great video.
Sweden technically isn't a Socialist nation because of two things:
1. The Government does not own the means of production. This is one of the defining characteristics of socialism.
2. The rich are not taxed heavier to provide to the poor. It is the exact opposite however. The lower incomes are taxed higher.
I believe that number 2 is the disconnect for America "Experimenting" with the Swedish model. You will not get low income Americans to agree to higher taxes. They want to tax the rich to support the "safety net". If these politicians in the USA want to try the Swedish model, they need to be more honest with the American people and explain that they are going to raise their taxes to support the safety net. But just as you pointed out, the rich and poor gap in America is very wide and will most certainly only get wider if this were to happen.
Sweden is tiny. USA IS ENORMOUS and extremely diverse of class and status. Many many other differences exist as well. You can't possibly compare the two.
That's exactly right. The elephant in the room that everyone here ignores is the demographic differences. Sweden has only recently had substantial immigration of other races and cultures. The wonderful social system Sweden enjoys today was built on the foundation of Swedish society as it WAS decades ago. The demographic changes it has undergone recently will change Swedish politics and society drastically in the coming years. The reality is that these nice social welfare systems are only viable in nations with small, relatively homogeneous populations. Ethnic, cultural and religious diversity has a negative association with public altruism and social cohesion, the two elements which are the building blocks of these social welfare systems.
@@williamdraken6018 That idea feels like a brush off for a few reasons: In Europe there are much more populous countries than Sweden that are equally diverse to the USA, do many of the same things Sweden does, with good results (France and Spain come to mind). Also, I rarely (if ever) see that idea paired with what about being this size and this diverse SPECIFICALLY does to prevent "Scandinavian policy x" from working. So basically, that idea stops before explaining the why of it all (why too big, why too diverse, how do you know this). I'd really be interested to know some of your "whys." Said another way, it's just not an argument by itself. Another way to show that it's not an argument by itself is to try and answer these questions: 1) What is the largest size a country can be to have Policy X and how do you know this? 2) What is the most diverse a country can be to allow for Policy X and how do you know this? If you find yourself having a difficult time answering the last two it may be time to reevaluate the idea.
I recommend reshooting your misleading video. Your intro says you're going to present this GS and let people decide for themselves...seemingly like here's the unbiased facts you decide. And then you proceed to present clearly biased and one-sided statements.
You should reshoot it and just be honest and say, "here's why we think Sweden is better. What do you think about that?"
I don't think that favoring a specific side when you start from a neutral perspective is bias. I don't think that an unbiased perspective of nazi germany, for example, would give many arguments in favor of nazi germany.
@@digaddog6099 "I don't think that an unbiased perspective of nazi germany, for example, would give many arguments in favor of nazi germany." Herr Schickelgruber was Time Magazine Man of the Year. Yes, you are mistaken, an unbiased approach simply adds up the factors maybe using an Excel spreadsheet and out pops the winner! How many people are benefited by how much over unit of time.
Of course he did not STAY man of the year; but then, many small societies that start out socialist, and some large nations, collapse because pure socialism is unsustainable. So is pure capitalism although I think it can go farther before it collapses.
A few things they neglected in the video.....
1. Cars in the US vs Sweden
A) In California wealth inequality is extreme due to years of left wing policies like rent control. The poverty line is $122,000 USD.
This is because if you earn $80,000 you only have $57,492 after taxes...
Cheap Rent is $3,500 or $42,000 per year.
That leaves you $15,492 after rent.
$150 for gas an electric (High due to left wing energy policies)
$150 for Water *expensive in Cali due to bad policies and bad leadership who didn't store water that lead to a shortage*
$66.66 for Garbage
$100 for basic cable and internet (I pay $170)
After all is said and done that's $9,343.92.
That leaves you with $6,148.08 before paying for transportation.
Car that's 400 a month = $4,800
Car Insurance that's $75 if you have an amazing history. $900
Leaves you with $448.08 for food for the entire year.
Or $9.34 per week.
This is without paying for a cell phone, Netflix, gym membership, etc...
B. Sweden has a 150% vehicle tax.
So a vehicle can often be $30,000 USD more than it would cost in America.
So the people who have a vehicle are wealthy people so the poor people simply don't have cars... which is why you don't see poor/older vehicles.
There's also a congestion tax 10, 15, 20 kron, the max is 60 kron per day.
There's also a yearly tax for your vehicle.
The 37% tax rate is only half of the story. There are also many "hidden taxes". So if you earn $37,000 you are taxed at 60%.
Swedish people have a great work ethic, they earn 50% more when they move to America. This high tax rate is stifling their economy which is why in economics you have to consider both the seen and the unseen aka unrealized potential.
In America a poor person can buy a car for $5,000 but they have a big flat screen tv, video games, eat out regularly, and a $900 smart phone.
Americans consume 44% more than citizens of Denmark so I assume it's very similar to Sweden.
Poor Americans are have larger homes than the middle class in Europe, the lifestyles are different.
2. Swedish Socialism
In the 1970's Sweden implemented a good amount of actual Socialism.
Once they did this they did not create Even One Net New job for 50 years!
Up until the end of 2015 Denmark had a 180% vehicle tax. Now it's only 150%. They also have a 25% sales tax.
Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan also have a very low GINI Coefficient....
Inequality is not a problem... poverty is.
Right wing economics solves for poverty, left wing solves for inequality but creates poverty/stifles the economy.
If you were Bill Gates neighbor earning $1 million per year. There would be EXTREME Inequality. But you wouldn't complain about it because you are also doing well.
The problem to solve for is poverty, not inequality, embrace freedom.
In freedom people will always be unequal. We all have different interest, time preferences, skills, talents, etc...
If I have high intelligence and am willing to put myself through 11 years of studying to become a brain surgeon... I should be allowed to.
The guy who wants to smoke weed behind the 7/11 should also be allowed to do as much or as little as he wants. That's freedom, but don't expect me to support the man who chooses not to work while I bust my ass for 11 years.
I’m a high school economics teacher in one of the most impoverished areas in the United States and I was wondering if you had any educational resources to teach students about wealth inequality?
Thank you! (My students are big Bernie supporters too)
People in the U.S. tend to bend the definition of socialism when it suits them. If you want to give people a taxpayer fund healthcare system, they will call that socialism and say how capitalism will be destroyed. But when you actually point them towards a real-life example of that said system, they'll argue that Sweden is not actually a socialist country.
You can't have it both ways
They also have had record suicide rates.
th-cam.com/video/V6v0P-JUS3g/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=CaliforniaWildfires
You guys did a great job presenting this topic! Good job!
agree, except that in their comparison they forgot to mention people pay state tax in US
Sweden is basically “cushy capitalism” a brilliant economic system in that they provide more social safety nets while encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.
This is a very interesting discussion, and most of what you are saying is true, but there are BIG difference in different parts of the US. There are such difference in the life on the East and West coast on one side, and the mid west on the other, and that is ON TOP of economic differences.
Thank you...I'm not the only one that sees this glaring difference. I'm shocked the video says nothing about how size and demography affect popular choices made by voters with regard to economic policy.