Sweden's March Towards Capitalism: Economist Andreas Bergh on the "Capitalist Welfare State"

In The Capitalist Welfare State, Lund University economist Andreas Bergh explains how Sweden has managed to increase economic productivity despite its large public sector.

Bergh says that despite popular mythology, Sweden is not a socialist success story but instead owes its economic growth to the lowered tax rates and deregulation of the early 1990s, which allowed innovation and investment to flourish. Bergh also discusses how Sweden's national voucher program revitalized the country's educational system and warns that Americans who are hoping to emulate Swedish success by growing the public sector are learning the wrong lessons from Sweden.

Produced by Ted Balaker and Daniel B. Klein; filmed by Jonathan Liberman and Henrik Devell; edited by Zach Weissmueller; with special thanks to Niclas Berggren, Martin Borgs, Nils Karlson, and the Ratio Institute .

Approximately 10 minutes long.

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Category:

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• Andreas Bergh
• Sweden
• Socialist State
• Capitalist Welfare State
• Ratio Institute
• Ted Balaker
• Zach Weissmueller

[Rikshore]

@InCriticalReason errrr...that's what he is saying if you listen carefully. :)

[InCriticalReason]

In regards to the waiting times, have there ever been empirical evidence showing that waiting time have been more “socialist” countries are significantly longer than those in more “capitalist” countries. It seems to me that these are just prima facie assertions be made in regards to the waiting times without any empirical evidence being providing to back/prove the assertion.

[Spjungen]

@RaccooNooB No it wouldn't, it'd simply become CHEAPER, and better quality. I mean why does EVERYONE look at fucking healthcare? Why don't people worry about cellphones or labtops? Almost EVERYONE is on the internet or on their phone these days because that's how cheap they are! They've been MADE cheap AND good quality because there's competition!

But no, people are moralist idiots who think that we can't make healthcare a marketable good.

[rghanneken]

@AdamDLDixon Sweden now > Sweden before my birth. Am I the cause of Swedish progress? I would not say Swedes should dispense with a system that works to satisfy the demands of my ideology. I'm saying that which policies have been beneficial, and which detrimental, is a question for research, analysis, discussion, and reasonable disagreement. It cannot be settled by crude comparisons and post hoc arguments. (Also, you can't assume the SAP has always enacted democratic socialist policies.)

[AdamDLDixon]

@rghanneken Sweden now > Sweden before social democratic party. Would you want to risk it being one of the richest and nicest places to live, just for ideology?

[rghanneken]

@AdamDLDixon 4) Not all libertarians are anarchists. Most, including I suspect the producers of this video, advocate smaller government, but still think there should be some government. Such libertarians believe government has a place in society, but think that government as it exists today needs to be put in its place. Somalia is not, in any respect, what they are advocating.

[rghanneken]

@AdamDLDixon 1) Libertarian anarchists advocate not merely an absence of government, but institutional alternatives to government. To use Somalia as an example against libertarian anarchism, you need to show those alternatives have been tried and found wanting. You haven't. 2) Somalia is not exactly the same as Sweden except for a difference in "amount of government." 3) Research suggests Somalia has done better without government than with it; see bit [dot] ly / 1ErvUe and bit [dot] ly / 2GqptY

[AdamDLDixon]

@bigactionprod Oh, that libertarianism is not my libertarianism.

The No True Scotsman fallacy.

[bigactionprod]

@AdamDLDixon anarchy or a broken state isnt the same as libertarians.

[AdamDLDixon]

Sweden > Somalia

Your move 'libertarians'