Hello folks!

[tux]

Hi,

I am a young man in my early 20's living in Sweden, the nation of IKEA and progressive dreams. I discovered libertarianism about five years ago and still find it appealing. Going through various videos and discussions on boards, I saw Stefan's name mentioned once in a while and decided to check it out. Since then, I have listened to his podcasts occasionally until a little more than a year ago when I started to give the call-in shows a chance. They lead me to the path of self knowledge and once introduced, I could not let go of these ideas. They were are contributing factor to my ending my relationship with a family member, which I don't regret to this day. The last year has been turbulent but emotionally rewarding as I am slowly discovering who I am and the life I would like to live.

 

I created an account here to engage in conversation with people who also pursue self knowledge and deep relationships, both young and old.

[Mister Mister]

hi Tux.  Apart from appealing, do you also find libertarianism, right, valid, just, useful and practical?  Welcome to the boards.  Tell us about living in Sweden please.  Also what are your thoughts on the refugee situation in Europe.

[tux]

do you also find libertarianism, right, valid

I am still skeptical to whether one can derive an ought from an is and make objective statements on how the world ought to behave. I plan on studying more philosophy in the future to form an opinion on this with works by Hume, Nietzsche and many others. Right now my focus is more directed towards self knowledge and relationships though.

 

useful and practical?

Sure. It has better feedback mechanisms than a democratic state. It offers more options on radically different lifestyles. More wealth is created. I would benefit much more economically from having an education, thus having more money/resources to spend on myself and the people I care about. Without the state subsidizing destructive behavior, I believe we would see healthier families and communities.

 

Tell us about living in Sweden please.  Also what are your thoughts on the refugee situation in Europe.

The standard response among many libertarians in Scandinavia is that they live in a socialist hellhole. This is however a common response from libertarians everywhere, including the UK and even the US and Switzerland. I have a relative who grew up in a European communist state, which has given me some perspective. Sweden has a history of being one of the most economically free nations in the world, from the 1870's to around the 1970's. When our social democratic movement started and grew, the government was still fairly small and made wealth accumulation and a high economic growth possible. Today, Sweden is a mixed economy and we are still able to enjoy the prosperity made possible by our past. Government spending is high, but there are also some comparative advantages, such as well functioning institutions and low corruption. Stef did an interview with Johan Norberg that was very good, but unfortunately, the podcast appears to have been deleted: https://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/22842-interview-with-johan-norberg/

 

As for the current refugee situation, it is definitively interesting to see shat is going on in Sweden right now. It is the main topic in the media. Many people have been led to believe that the high immigration numbers are due to the Syrian war only, but I think that only about a third of the people arriving are actually from there - according to their own papers. Other common nations are Eritrea, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, just to mention a few.

 

Between 2006 and 2014, our left wing government was replaced by the right opposition. They opened the borders more, but did not reform the labor markets or the welfare system. Our then prime minister even told us to "Open up our hearts", by which he meant our wallets. Some people claim that this was all part of the plan to destroy the welfare state.    As the left took over again a year ago, things have not gotten any better. As economic reality catches up, I think our government will eventually ease up the labor laws, but probably not lower the taxes... The refugee crisis has not affected my life yet, but it likely will.

 

My future plan is to go back to university in about 1.5 half years and get a bachelor or master degree in computer science. The education is almost completely subsidized so the incentives are there. Then I will probably leave Sweden for the following reasons:

• Education doesn't pay off as well as it could in other nations. Sweden ranks the worst among the OECD countries in this regard.
• A large part of my wages goes to financing pensions for the older generations, with a promise from the government to pay me a pension one day. I don't expect the state to keep this deal. Sure, the US social security system is unsustainable, but at least I would have more private savings there.
• Government really enjoy controlling the education of children. Alternative schooling is strictly forbidden unless your kid has very special needs.
• I think modern feminism here is a bit worse than in the rest of Western society. Mothers are encouraged to leave their very young children at daycare despite their instincts, and being a stay home mother is considered slavery. I want to accumulate lots of human capital to be a good provider for my future family, and Sweden might not be the best place to find a partner for that or live such a life.