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Sweden Democracy and Happiness |
Midsummer dancers at Skane in Southern Sweden.
(c) Peter Westrup
The northern European country of Sweden is named the 'most democratic' nation in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a project of the conservative Economist magazine.
"Sweden, a near-perfect democracy, comes top, followed by a bevy of similarly virtuous northern European countries," the EIU reports.
When 60 indicators were graded from 1 to 10, Sweden achieved a dazzling score of 9.88. The indicators were spread across five broad areas: electoral process, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.
"More surprising are the relatively modest scores for two traditional bastions of democracy-Britain (23) and the United States (18).
The organization looked at a wide range of democratic variables before dividing the 167 countries surveyed into four categories: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.
Sweden and the US are diametrically opposed on one important point, states Stefan Hedlund, Professor of Soviet and East European Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden. Where Swedes treasure equality, liberty is everything for Americans. To achieve equality, Swedes place a lot of money in the hands of the state.
Although Sweden has always been a solid market economy, Swedish prosperity has been spread among the population to a greater degree than in perhaps any other country. "From each according to ability, to each according to needs" - is the working doctrine of a nation in which all inhabitants would always be guaranteed basic economic security in all stages of life. The Swedes call their society 'the home of the people'.
Today while the country's economic security systems are financially burdened and are struggling with serious structural problems, the main features of the Swedish state, with its publicly guaranteed and publicly financed safety net for everyone in the country, remain intact.
Interestingly, surveys of individual happiness closely track the functioning of democracy, with Sweden ranking close to the highest in world surveys. Sweden also ranks first in Save the Children's, Mother's, and Women',s Index, indicating effective societal support for families, and gender equality.
"Sweden, a near-perfect democracy, comes top, followed by a bevy of similarly virtuous northern European countries," the EIU reports.
When 60 indicators were graded from 1 to 10, Sweden achieved a dazzling score of 9.88. The indicators were spread across five broad areas: electoral process, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.
"More surprising are the relatively modest scores for two traditional bastions of democracy-Britain (23) and the United States (18).
The organization looked at a wide range of democratic variables before dividing the 167 countries surveyed into four categories: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.
Sweden and the US are diametrically opposed on one important point, states Stefan Hedlund, Professor of Soviet and East European Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden. Where Swedes treasure equality, liberty is everything for Americans. To achieve equality, Swedes place a lot of money in the hands of the state.
Although Sweden has always been a solid market economy, Swedish prosperity has been spread among the population to a greater degree than in perhaps any other country. "From each according to ability, to each according to needs" - is the working doctrine of a nation in which all inhabitants would always be guaranteed basic economic security in all stages of life. The Swedes call their society 'the home of the people'.
Today while the country's economic security systems are financially burdened and are struggling with serious structural problems, the main features of the Swedish state, with its publicly guaranteed and publicly financed safety net for everyone in the country, remain intact.
Interestingly, surveys of individual happiness closely track the functioning of democracy, with Sweden ranking close to the highest in world surveys. Sweden also ranks first in Save the Children's, Mother's, and Women',s Index, indicating effective societal support for families, and gender equality.
