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Running head: CULTURE ESSAY
Culture Essay
Nicholas Bigilin
CIS 110 Sec 004
University of Kentucky
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Running head: CULTURE ESSAY
Ikea, Meatballs, and incredibly tall people with blonde hair: a store, a food and a
stereotype are most likely the first three things that come to mind when a person hears,
Sweden. Sweden is a European country located in Scandinavia, in between Norway and
Finland. With its rich Nordic History and its extremely modern socioeconomic stance,
Sweden has become a model to many of the currently struggling European Countries.
Sweden has not been involved in a conflict in nearly two decades and this long period of
peace has allowed the country to create a thriving economy and an incredibly high quality
of life. Sweden has one of the most liberal governments and populations in the world. It’s
liberal views carry into every aspect of society such as religion, economics, and
healthcare, and family life.
Sweden’s History
Throughout the history of Sweden, the country has been perceived by other
European nations as place of darkness associated with strange languages, distance, alien
cultural behavior, and just plain bad weather (Sweden Historiography 2014). It was a
country that is many respects was not taken seriously. Known for it’s fog and perceived
secretiveness, Sweden for most of its history was fighting an up hill battle trying to have
its ideas and policies seen as legitimate. It is important to understand a nations history
before exploring the current state of the country. Sweden has been shaped by its past in
many ways, the largest of which is that because for centuries it has not been taken
seriously by the southern European countries. This lack of regard by their southern
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neighbors has forced the Swedes to push themselves to do better and create a model
nation in political structure, technology, and overall quality of life.
The Nobel Prize
There is no better example to show Sweden’s transformation from a country that
European nations disregarded to a nation of great respect on a global scale, than the
Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize is considered by many to be considered the world’s most
prestigious academic award. It has been given to people and organizations every year
since 1901 for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and peace. It
was also given for economics in the year 1968 (Sweden 2014). The prize is given in
honor of Alfred Nobel. Nobel was a Swedish chemist, physicist and entrepreneur. He is
accredited with discovering dynamite. The discovery of dynamite was by far his largest
accomplishment but he also had three hundred and thirty five other patents in twenty
different countries (Nobel Prize).
The recipient of the Nobel Prize is awarded 1.1 million USD. When Nobel signed
his final will in 1895 he had no children, so he left a large bulk of his estate, 31 million
USD to be exact, to four Swedish institutions. These institutions came together and
formed the Nobel foundation. The foundation currently pays the 1.1 million USD prize
from its return on investments. The Nobel foundation is currently worth around 474
million USD. For a country that was for so long shown no respect and seen as a land
stuck in the stone age it is incredibly ironic that Sweden is now responsible for issuing
the most prestigious academic award in the world.
Religion
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Religion plays an immense role in most countries throughout the world. It does
not matter whether the country is secular or religion dominates the government, it is
always present. Sweden is a rare nation in which this is not the case. Only twenty nine
percent of Swedes claim to be religious where internationally that number is fifty nine
percent (Sweden 2014). Sixty Six percent of Swedes are members of the Church of
Sweden, but only eight percent of this group attends religious ceremonies with fluidity
(Sweden 2014). The Swedish national website says that the nation is made up of a
majority of Atheists, and that nationally they do not see a correlation between religion
and happiness. When interviewing Hampus Agerstrom a native of Helsinborg Sweden I
asked his if he was religious, and his reply was emphatic “No way bro” (Hampus
Agerstrom, personal communication, September 26, 2014). Hampus also went on to tell
me that he does believe in God but he does not practice any faith (Hampus Agerstrom,
personal communication, September 26, 2014). He also explained to me how it is not a
personal choice to not practice religion but more of a family circumstance in that his
family never did so he doesn’t, and when I asked him why his reply was vague “My dad
is kind of an atheist” (Hampus Agerstrom, personal communication, September 26,
2014).
The Church of Sweden itself would technically fall under the Christian
denomination because of its belief in Jesus, but this is one of the few similarities it shares
with other Christian Churches. The Church of Sweden has taken on a very Liberal view
with its beliefs and practices. The Church supports abortion, sex out of wedlock, and
same sex marriage, all of which are generally not supported by other religious faiths.
Another major difference between the Church of Sweden and other Christian Churches is
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that women can be part of the Clergy. In 1945 the first woman was made a priest in the
Church of Sweden, and forty five percent of the young people currently studying to be
priests in Sweden are women. Also, a woman currently holds the most prestigious
position in the church, her name is Antje Jackelén and she is the Archbishop of Uppsala
(Sweden 2014). Religion plays a very minor role in Swedish society and the Church of
Sweden has a much different belief system than all other Christian denominations.
Economy and Healthcare
Two centuries of complete peace has allowed Sweden to form an incredibly stable
and thriving economy. Sweden has achieved a high standard of living by living under a
split system of loosely interpreted capitalism and extensive welfare benefits (CIA 2014).
The CIA’s report on Sweden’s economics states that “ It has a modern distribution
system, excellent internal and external communication and a highly skilled labor force”
(CIA 2014). The Swedish economy is heavily rooted in foreign trade, and the raw
materials that make up many of there exports are timber and iron ore. Prior to the Stock
Market Crash in 2008, which effected economies internationally, Sweden was on an
economic upswing that was boosted by a return to the purchase of domestic products and
a large amount of exporting. The crash in 2008 halted the economic prosperity but has
not hurt Sweden as it did the United States and other Western Nations. Sweden’s national
website states “Sweden’s present economic and social status was built on the lessons
learned from the financial crisis in the early 1990s. Governments pursued reforms and
fiscal sustainability became institutionalized. Stable economic policies combine with
competitiveness, innovation and an open approach to trade to make Sweden a model for
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economic success” (Sweden 2014).
Healthcare in Sweden greatly differs from healthcare in the United States. The
responsibility for healthcare in Sweden is shared between three different governing
bodies, the central government, county councils and local municipalities. The only role of
the central government is to set up guidelines. The majority of healthcare is handled on a
local level (Sweden 2014). Healthcare in Sweden is almost completely free, so county
councils are responsible to provide quality healthcare for all of its residents and they are
also responsible for the dental care of all inhabitants that are under the age of 20 (Sweden
2014). People in Sweden have been living increasingly longer and the countries life
expectancy is now at 83 years old. Sweden’s healthcare system seems to be working
splendidly but in talking with two native Swedes the system has many drawbacks.
When interviewing Stefan Stojkovic, a native of Halmstad Sweden I found that he
had some positive remarks but also found many faults in Sweden’s system. He spoke of
how it is a great system because “No matter what family’s income is they get medicine”,
but this is one of the only positive things taken from the healthcare question (Stefan
Stojkovic, Personal Communication, September 25, 2014). One of the major negative
things he spoke of was how in Sweden they don’t have as many healthcare facilities as
the United States. He was extremely shocked when he came to Lexington that we have
three Hospitals within a five-block radius. He said to me “In Sweden bro we have one
hospital in major city, and Lexington is small bro” (Stefan Stojkovic, Personal
Communication, September 25, 2014). In further research He told me a personal
anecdote that perfectly sums up all of the problems in Swedish healthcare. He was
playing a soccer game in Central Sweden nowhere near a major city. During the game he
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tore his ACL, and needed to be taken to a hospital extremely quickly. The closest hospital
to him was two hours away (Stefan Stojkovic, Personal Communication, September 25,
2014). It is understandable that this problem may occur in America as well especially in
the more open states of the Mid-West but it is hard to believe that a person would have to
travel two hours to get to the nearest hospital. His story continued and raised another
major issue with Swedish healthcare and that issue is the lack of availability of medical
technology and specialists. In the United States every hospital has an MRI machine, and
CAT scan machine, an X-Ray machine, etc. but in Sweden many hospitals do not
according to Stojkovic (Stefan Stojkovic, Personal Communication, September 25,
2014). His anecdote continued “ They did not have machine to look at my knee, so I have
to go all the way back to Halmstad so they could look at it” (Stefan Stojkovic, Personal
Communication, September 25, 2014). When Stefan finally got a diagnosis it was
determined that he needed surgery (Stefan Stojkovic, Personal Communication,
September 25, 2014). In the United States when it is determined someone needs ACL
surgery from personal experience I know the wait time is around two weeks. Stefan had
to wait for five weeks for his surgery because of the lack of specialists in the country
(Stefan Stojkovic, Personal Communication, September 25, 2014). He also told me this 5
weeks was a short wait because he was an athlete so he got somewhat preferred treatment
(Stefan Stojkovic, personal communication, September 25), 2014 Sweden’s national
website states that the average wait time just to see a specialty medical care physician is
about 90 days (Sweden 2014). After seeing a specialty care physician the website states
that nine out of 10 people are operated on within the next 90 days (Sweden 2014). So it is
possible to wait a full three months from the time of injury to receiving an operation. The
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long wait for specialty healthcare is because the entire country only has 61 hospitals that
provide specialty care (Sweden 2014).
Role of Women
As in the case of many countries throughout the world, a major issue in Sweden is
gender mainstreaming. Many people have become uncomfortable with the “classic”
gender roles that men and women play in society. Examples of classic gender roles would
include stereotypes of the woman staying home cooking and cleaning while the male is
the sole breadwinner of the family. In twenty first century society this idea has been
greatly criticized as woman have fought for equal opportunities in the workplace. In
Sweden this is extremely prevalent in urban locations (Gender Mainstreaming 2014).
Swedish women are fighting many feminist battles, and they play a very important and
influential role in society. Compared to American culture, Scandinavian cultures in
general, are known for being more progressive in the area of feminism. We perceive
them as being feminine, but many in the country itself feel there is still a gap between the
two genders. When interviewing Hampus I also brought up the topic of woman’s rights
and he told me “people think women are treated more equally than they are, in Sweden
they are trying to get equal rights.” (Hampus Agerstrom, personal communication,
September 26th, 2014). He also told me that protests for woman’s rights have been
known to become very violent and in one case women stormed a strip club and beat the
men inside with baseball bats and sacks full of metal (Hampus Agerstrom, personal
communication, September 26th, 2014). Although it is perceived that men and women in
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Sweden are on and even level, it is apparent that there are still strides to be made.
A model for many countries around the world Sweden has risen from a country
that was seen as a mystical land of fog, darkness and alien culture to a global leader.
Sweden is much more than tall blondes, meatballs and a furniture store. It is a country
filled with people striving for excellence in politics, economics, healthcare, and equality.
Abstract
Sweden is a country in Scandinavia that many Americans have false stereotypes
or just do not know much about. Sweden has become world leaders in many area’s
including the economy. The Swedish economy has held fast and not faltered as many
other countries economies have since the global crash in 2008. Sweden is known for its
incredibly liberal views. Their liberal way of thinking carries over into all aspects of life.
In this paper I will be exploring how Sweden’s liberal outlook impacts it’s dealings with
religion, economy healthcare and the role of women in the country. I will also be
comparing these areas of Swedish culture to the corresponding areas of American culture.
References
Alfred Nobel. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 14, from http://nobelprize.org
Health care in Sweden. (n.d.). Retrieved from https:/sweden.se/society/health-care-in-
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Sweden
Sweden Economy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/sw.html
Knoespel, K. J. (2014). Sweden and the Transformation of Northern Historiography.
Journal of Northern Studies, 103-119. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
Zebracki, Martin (2014). Sex in the City :Gender mainstreaming urban governance in
Europe. The case of Sweden and Italy. Fennia 192:1,pp 54-64. ISSN 1798
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