Sweden's reputation for openness and tolerance is changing as the government adopts an increasingly hostile and restrictive stance on immigration.

KEY POINTS

  • Sweden is often viewed as a liberal utopia in Europe, known for its stable economy, high quality of life, and open and progressive society.
  • But its center-right coalition government — which is propped up by the nationalist and right-wing Sweden Democrats party — has adopted an increasingly restrictive stance on immigration.
  • The country is trumpeting its lower numbers of immigrants, but economists say the economic benefits are debatable, with growth and productivity among the factors to consider.
  • Flying SquidMEnglish
    24•2 months ago

    I know very little about actual Swedish culture, but I do love the Law of Jante in neighboring Denmark and Norway.

    It can be summed up as: “You are not to think you’re anyone special, or that you’re better than us.”

    Americans could use a little Law of Jante.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante

    • @InverseParallaxEnglish
      14•2 months ago

      Agreed, and there’s a lot of that.

      It does go a bit far and cause tall-poppy syndrome.

      But it’s not too bad, and America has something similar, personally I love my daughter being brought up here because you see young girls walking around almost alone, and they’re not afraid, you don’t see that in America because obviously they’d be terrified of being attacked. Here the fear is just gone, they feel safe to be independent.

    • @[email protected]English
      5•2 months ago

      Having lived and worked in several countries, I think the concept of Jantelagen is rooted in the Protestant Reformation more than it being a specifically Nordic thing. Not only does it fit well with the general premise of the Protestant worldview, all countries that were early converts seem to have ingrained that particular perspective (under various names) in their collective cultures.