“To Swedes, however, socialism refers to caring for society as a whole and extending social welfare to all. Compared with the United States, where the individual’s rights tend to come first, Sweden places more emphasis on the benefit to the… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“Some 50 percent of Swedes retreat to summer homes, rented or owned, in the country each year.” — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“In Sweden, everyone is assumed to have similar resources, so it seems inappropriate to pay for someone else.” — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“Socialism is not the same as social democracy, the political system that created Sweden’s welfare state.” — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“Unlike the American Stars and Stripes or the British Union Jack, it has no particularly exciting or symbolic history.” — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“It is not shocking to see an ad or photograph of a nude man or woman in the daily or weekly press. To most… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“A 1970 report found that problems on the job and in one’s finances entered into the picture in at least one-half of the Swedish… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“Duktig is a word that carries strong emotional overtones: children who behave well are duktig; adults who are talented and independent are duktig. Someone… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“As in other cultures, alcohol acts as a social lubricant for Swedes. One of the social and psychological functions of drinking in Swedish culture, writes ethnologist Åke Daun, is “to lessen the individual’s fear of making a fool of him- or herself—for example, the anxiety people feel about saying the wrong thing” (1996, 51). Alcohol helps some Swedes relax, assume… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share
“At 1.5 children per Swedish female (The Swedish Institute 1997), the rate is so low that deaths in Sweden outpaced births in 1997; immigration,… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“Sweden’s position of neutrality during World War II put the country in the position of not defending its neighbors against German invasion. This was… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“Slavery was abolished in 1355 because of church teachings stating that all men are equal in the eyes of God.§” — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
“As Americans maintain their privacy by protecting their space (e.g., big cars, privacy fences, gated communities), Swedes maintain their privacy by remaining quiet. Swedes… — Christina Johansson Robinowitz Copy Share Image
