With the presidential race heating up, one of the fieriest candidates is Bernie Sanders. With bold promises of free education and healthcare, Sanders appeals to many people tired of being left behind. One of Sanders’ main points is that the US is “behind” other developed nations. His model that he likes to bring up are the Scandinavian nations such as Sweden. According to him, these nations are perfect examples of “democratic socialism.” These nations have spoken out a few times about their distaste for the socialist label, but Bernie persists. We the Internet decided to go to Sweden and figure it out for themselves; so, is Sweden really socialist?
Background
We the Internet is a libertarian-leaning comedy group on You Tube that specialize in humorous political content. Though they are very funny, they also make some great, educated points on the issues of the day. WTI are very open about their political affiliation, as it is the subject of most of their videos. They travel around the country and speak at political events, so they don’t hide their libertarian bias. Keeping that in mind, let’s dive in:
Analysis
Let’s start this off with another bias check: Yes, the people interviewed were primarily from more conservative entities. That being said, they would know better than any of us how Sweden works. Without spoiling the video (and thereby violating fair use guidelines) I would like to point out the misconception that they expose here. Yes, Sweden embraced a large regulatory government, and they also have become a very prosperous nation; the issue lies in the timing. Bernie seems to suggest that these two factors line up in a causal manner, which is countered by the experts in this video. It would seem that the more socialist policies may have unraveled the Swedish economy more than they helped it, and rolling those back has been the key to their success.
Please let me know what you think in the comments, and what you agree or disagree with! Though it is a funny and informative video, there is always room for discourse about these things. Thank you for reading, and let me know if you like this format!
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