ref: c29a925bfb02812fe05f7661026ce0326b04ccb9
dir: /tpl/society/sweden.md/
The Swedish dream ================= Sweden is probably (together with Japan) the most undemocratic developed country in the world. For all practical purposes Sweden has been a single party system for the last 60 years, the single party system is so strong, that the few very short times other parties have been in power their policies even more socialist and it never was long before the real Socialists were back in power. Cronyism and corruption are rampant, except that they have become so institutionalized that they are accepted as normal. In the Socialist government power has passed from generation to generation, they are so imbredded that the Prime Minister was married with the CEO of the national liquor monopoly (which is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, company in the country and which provides huge amounts of income to the government). Politicians abused the rent control system so they can pay almost nothing for huge apartments in the center of town while everyone else has to pay exorbitant prices for a pathetic sociality flat so far from everything that it takes you two hours to get to work. There are less than five construction companies that control all the housing in the whole country thanks to exclusive contracts from the government. The list goes on and on, Sweden society is a lie, don't believe it. Neutrality and pacifism ----------------------- Sweden likes to boast of being a neutral and peace loving nation that doesn't even want to join NATO, while at the same time the Swedish military industry is one of the main exporters, and sells to all kinds of corrupt and despotic governments all over the world, specially the USA(note that USA-bashing is the Swedish national sport). But you will never see any Swedish person mention or admit this, nobody talks about it, it is like there is a social agreement to never bring this up, just like the cooperation with the Nazis during WWII. See also -------- * [Who pays for Sweden's free lunch?](http://www.thelocal.se/7305/) * [Mob rule in Sweden](http://www.thelocal.se/6311/20070205/) * [Should the United States Be More Like Scandinavia?](http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=3688)