Why don't we just let Sweden run the world? *light hearted*

[Soupforoneplease]

On nearly every topic there is a reference to 'the way enter Scandinavian country here do it is this, and it's brilliant!' So why don't we all just all agree to a central world government and let one of these brilliant countries run it and improve things everywhere.
I've been to Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Helsinki. Things generally are great there. Bit of alcoholism in Finland, but nothing too bad. Is it there size (relatively small population) that means they can govern so efficiently? Is it that the general population are more 'obedient' for lack of a better word? What is it?

@Juno231 but why wouldn't that work? I've tried to work it out for myself. So used to live in a terraced house and every house used to have a lawnmower to mow the tiny postage stamp of grass outside the house. I thought about organising a rota and us all sharing a lawn mower but as soon as I thought about organising all I could think of were the potential problems. But logically it made sense!

I think the Swedish feel high levels of social responsibility that you don't find elsewhere.

I say go for it. Fika, baskets and a love of blankets. But then as a sun dodging red head maybe I'm primed to welcome a return to Viking rule

I fully support the Swedish Covid strategy - it failed (simple explanation) because of a poorly equipped care system for the elderly (a process that's taken many years), and advice directed to the middle class office workers who could work from home with no proper thought given to the large group of people who don't live in big houses and whose job takes them out of the house every day on public transport.

Saga Norén is Swedish! :O the whole series is Swedish!

I moved from London to rural Sweden six years and would gnaw my right arm off to move back. Outside of the big cities Sweden is a forgotten and neglected series of dying villages.

Not long after I arrived, I described it as being like a former communist state, and other foreigners have said the same thing. Even my Swedish friend who lived in former communist state. There is a national pride and international image that is hugely important to the Swedes but it is far from an ideal.

But we’re not as mad as the Danes, nouveau rich as the Norwegians and depressed as the Finns

or 'holier than thou' as the Swedes .

But which ABBA song would be our new national anthem?

@Giantrooster

But we’re not as mad as the Danes, nouveau rich as the Norwegians and depressed as the Finns

or 'holier than thou' as the Swedes .

Boom! Found the Dane!

(hope I'm right)

Is there less of a rich-poor income disparity there? So there is less resentment and more faith in the government? I certainly get that impression from a Danish relative, but I don’t want to generalise for the whole of Scandinavia of course.

And yet people think that Scotland couldn’t survive as a small independent country..

@Catflapkitkat

I moved from London to rural Sweden six years and would gnaw my right arm off to move back. Outside of the big cities Sweden is a forgotten and neglected series of dying villages.

Not long after I arrived, I described it as being like a former communist state, and other foreigners have said the same thing. Even my Swedish friend who lived in former communist state. There is a national pride and international image that is hugely important to the Swedes but it is far from an ideal.

This must be absolutely horrible for you, I completely understand. I hope you get to live somewhere soon where you can be happy.

And universal basic income!

@AuntyFungal

But which ABBA song would be our new national anthem?

It could be Roxette. Crash! Boom! Bang!

The Final Countdown by Europe, seems appropriate (and it's sweedish) .

why don't we all just all agree to a central world government

Appalling idea (I know this was light hearted, but still gives me the shivers)

But the scandi-noir dramas are always really dark! Those ideas are pulled from somewhere.

And universal basic income

Another horrid and very bad idea. Are you OK OP?

@mustlovegin

And universal basic income

Another horrid and very bad idea. Are you OK OP?

What's bad about it? I'm on the fence about this one and could be convinced either way.

@Juno231

I know it's light hearted but it really wouldn't work just from a cultural point of view I think. They have some of the lowest levels of corruption, trust in their government, more of a community vibe (imagine having shared laundry rooms in the UK and one big boiler for a block of flats!) - if you just applied that blanket approach everywhere where people don't have the same beliefs I think the system would be super ripe for people taking advantage/the piss!

But I thought diversity is a strength?

Are the Scandi countries very inward looking? They don't seem to "participate" that much on the world stage. Can be a good thing (don't think they have rampaged around the world colonizing hapless peoples)

Or it can hint at a very provincial shuttered outlook and they can't really be "arsed" with others.

Also struggling to think of Big Ideas (culture or capitalist successes) from their bit of the world. Volvo, Nokia, Ikea. Celsius was a good one. Happy to be educated tho

@mustlovegin explain why it's a better idea compared to 'make people on benefits so broke and depressed that they resort to crime or drug and alcohol use' ?

@Giantrooster

The Final Countdown by Europe, seems appropriate (and it's sweedish) .

Genius

^^

From what I have read about the Scandinavian education system the trust thing seems to go both ways. The children are trusted to learn, the head trusts the teachers to teach and the heads are trusted to lead. There isn't the micromanaging, there's trust. I think you can see that in the covid strategy. People were told what to do and more or less did it without it having to be enforced in law and without all the nudge theory and manipulation we got here. Because when people feel manipulated that's when they start fighting against policy even if it's in their best interest.

You are all categorically wrong about Norwegian. It is Danish with a welsh accent

Why wouldnt various Scandanavian system work in the uk? Lack of trust in each other, lack of feeling about the common good, lack of longterm planning and cooperation, lack of IT systems that can keep track of people, and LACK OF STRONG TRADE UNIONS.

Not everything is so rosy. Denmarks MeToo movement came years after the worldwide one, there is a massive campaign to give womens professions (ie caring) more pay, the gap between rich and poor is increasing, 12 women a year die because of dv, there is very little help for dv victims although it is growing.

Not sure that people in the UK would be happy to pay the high rates of tax that they pay in Sweden.

And even if they were willing, I bet it wouldn't be used efficiently here.