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Did you notice any difference in their political wings? For instance, in the U.S., the Republicans claim to want less government spending, but promote more military spending, and the Democrats claim to want more personal liberty but are going to force the young to participate in socialized health care. Are similar contradictions the norm, isolated, or non-existent there?
In denmark at least...which I assume is fairly comparable to Sweden...the political division is definitely less toxic. Like...I'm personally a republican so the personal tax rates to me were a tad high to me but the liberals (in Europe that basically translates to lasses faire, not liberal like we know it) didn't dispute it much. They view the role of government differently than we do...at least those of us on the political right. Most swedes and Danes are very proud of their social welfare system and neither the labour or center right parties want to diminish it. The discourse is definitely definitely different though. Neither political wing promotes large military expenditure and both wings are on board with their healthcare system. The key differences I noticed are labor union disputes and business regulation. But the regulation is different...it isn't quite as broad as ours so IMO it doesn't constrict business quite as much. Like I mentioned in my previous post the heritage foundation says that the Scandinavian countries indices of economic freedoms are much higher than ours...which basically translates to ease of credit and business resource access.
To be honest it is hard to draw direct parallels between our parties and theirs and their issues as a whole. Their labour parties are very left of center compared to ours and their "republicans" are what I personally would consider center left. To be completely honest...Bill Clinton would fit in with European center right members and someone like Romney would probably considered far right whereas he is by most stretches a moderate republican (IMO).
And I'm not meaning this to be negative or to sound like an attack but I know that the family I lived with in Denmark and a lot of their friends had a quarrel with immigration (mainly from northern Africa). Because of the lack of racial diversity a lot of Danes are suspicious of Africans or middle eastern people. Partly because of cultural differences but also partly because of they view them as exploiting the social welfare system. The husband of the family I lived with always said that they come here (Denmark) with asylum grants, refuse to work, commit crimes, and siphon money from their social welfare system. Now...I was only there 6 months so I can't say whether this is true or not but that sentiment seems to follow the usual sentiment from the right wing here in the states. Another thing he would say is that it isn't fair for us (Danes) to pay half of their annual incomes to keep this very well funded system afloat while those who haven't contributed utilize it heavily....now I tend to agree as a republican but I can see where this would be an issue that could mirror the US political dialogue a bit.
In denmark at least...which I assume is fairly comparable to Sweden...the political division is definitely less toxic.
I'd like to ask you a million questions about them, but I don't want to be rude, so I'll stick to these: are they happier than us? And, would you say that they're a more honest people than us?
Also the idea of allowing immigrants in to toll away at slave labor is highly ludicrous. Many countries implement integration programs to assist immigrants to adjust to the different lifestyles and contribute to the economy. There are always problems but this little fantasy that you make out other countries to be isn't true and you seem to have a lot of underlying issues with "race."
I have no issue with race but that sort of card is always played, so good flip. I also don't wear sugar-coated clothes and keep visors off my eyes so I can see that yet another government-funded set of programs is invoked, there just to fund some social-minded benefit that has little relevance other than to make seemly make-work & propagate feel-good sentiment. Priveledged "white" folks always need to justify racism by calling out others as racist when the obvious is pointed out in their practiced socio-economic policies, policies that would be carried out elsewhere under different auspices by & upon people of different colors but strenuously decried then as cruel or self-serving as it isn't done 'properly', as in Europe or in a lesser degree NA.
I am white, btw & have no time for pondering what may be disliked about people due to ethnicity or skin-color. If I do, I will certainly point to the obvious, particularly concerning the developed-world & their unique problems managing their place in the world and how they go about 'developing' others who don't care for their cultural imperialism. That's not racist; that's identifying hypocrisy that is nastier for the gloss that is used to justify it.
Last edited by TheEternalSanctuaryMan; 10-14-2012 at 03:55 PM..
Reason: grammar
I'd like to ask you a million questions about them, but I don't want to be rude, so I'll stick to these: are they happier than us? And, would you say that they're a more honest people than us?
Ask anything.
I think they probably are happier than us..at least in terms of satisfaction with their political system. I feel like they are very political though (at least my host family). The difference in dialogue was that the objectives were different. As I mentioned before, I'm a republican...so the political discourse from the GOP is beating Obama and how terrible the economy is...Liberals talk about blaming Bush for where we are and so on. The theme from both the republicans and the democrats in America is VERY, VERY NEGATIVE. My host family spoke about what was better for Denmark and better for Denmarks people. The dialogue wasn't negative...it focused on what uplifted Denmark in opposition to tearing down their opponents which is refreshing to see. The media also felt much more objective. In the states, the news organs are all biased and we all know what they are. They are negative too...it is depressing to watch the news these days but it wasn't bad over there, IMO.
As far as honesty goes, I'm not sure. I imagine they have all sorts when it comes to honesty..it wasn't something I ever noticed. But I can tell you one thing......they are punctual. This was the first thing my host family told me when I was getting ready for the first day of my internship...always always be on time, lol.
Liberals always talk about how great Sweden is, and how America should be more like Sweden. Do you believe Sweden is the greatest nation on earth?
There is nothing "great" about it except in areas of minimal importance. For example, does it influence world events to any degree, or is it even capable of such endeavor?
Does it produce an inordinate number of inventions?
No, Sweden isn't great. It is nice, but irrelevant.
One thing I will give them for their advantage is simply the populace is more or less on the same page historically. The social democrats are heavily popular and hence their isn't much separation in parliament. So in turn the legislation process is a lot smoother than here and more stuff can get done more efficiently without much government waste.
In fact Sweden, and the rest of the nordic, spend a lot on social welfare but have some of the lowest debt in the western world.
This is impossible in America right now. Our population is too diverse, not in color of skin but in worldview.
How do you propose to force all Americans to accept a liberal worldview? That's the only way this country is going to ever match the greatness of Sweden.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin Rossi
There is nothing "great" about it except in areas of minimal importance. For example, does it influence world events to any degree, or is it even capable of such endeavor?
Does it produce an inordinate number of inventions?
No, Sweden isn't great. It is nice, but irrelevant.
The far left would disagree because they consider Sweden a model country for the future of America.
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Is Sweden the greatest country on Earth?
