Swedish Model Architect Bo Lundgren Gives Obama Administration a Mixed Review

Benjy Sarlin has an informative interview with former Swedish minister Bo Lundgren, in which Lundgren offers some mixed feelings about the Obama administration’s approach. He thinks we shouldn’t be dismissing the Swedish model out of hand, but also doesn’t dismiss the logistical concerns that we might not be able to make it work. He also, albeit somewhat unrelatedly, does a nice job of explaining the difference between Nordic-style governance and socialism:

He added that foreign observers often confuse Sweden’s socialized income distribution and government services with its privatized business environment, leading to inaccurate claims that their government is fundamentally different than other free-market economies. One example of Sweden’s privatization chops: The government is refusing to bail out the famed car company Saab this week, as officials say they don’t think running an auto manufacturer is within the state’s job description.

“From the market liberal’s perspective, don’t be afraid of Sweden being a socialist example because in this respect we are not,” he said. “Governments shouldn’t interfere in business life other than to build the legal framework within which our businesses have to work. They should otherwise leave businesses alone and that’s what we mainly do.”

Barack Obama’s policy proposals would still leave the U.S. far short of what Sweden’s doing, but this is the direction in which his budget would move us, not to state control of the economy but to a regime of less income inequality and better public services. That’s good for most people, but bad for a wealthy and influential minority, hence the effort to scare people with the term “socialism,” meant to embark some kind of Stalinist central planning.

Also note that part of my plan for the New Year has been reform of headlines away from witty puns and toward more descriptive content. That’s good for readers scanning the blog, and good for aggregation and so forth. Unfortunately, it precluded the headline “Bo Knows Bank Nationalization.”