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Fjordman: The Dark Side Of Paradise…….

Actually the title should read, “The Dark Side Of A ‘Pair Of Dice’ “, as Sweden gambles with its future as a democratic state. While I am not so sure about Fjordman’s claim that: “Sweden is one of the leading countries in this process, quite possibly the worst of them all”, considering what has been going on in France, Britain and the Netherlands…

However, it may be more true in Sweden than in the other countries mentioned that “freedom of speech in debating these topics in public has become de facto so curtailed that one could question whether Sweden in 2006 is still a functioning democracy.”


THIS is a typical feature of Sweden (but even more so of Finland!): that in the name of the strong norms of egalitarianism, it is absolutely forbidden to speak ill of representatives of minorities. It also explains the wide consensus enjoyed across the political spectrum, that the depiction of Mohamed in a series of cartoons was wrong. Central Party leader and PM, Matti Vanhanen publically apologized over the publication of the cartoons, by a miniscule Finnish nationalist website. Read Fjordman’s article here. KGS

For scientific proof of the strong egalitarian norms in Scandiavia, see, for example the following links.

Hat tip: GF

Hofstede, G. H. (2001). Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks (Calif.): Sage Publications.

Smith, P. B., Bond, M. H., (2006). Understanding social psychology across cultures: living and working in a changing world. London : SAGE Publications. and here.

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