Saturday, January 21, 2006

Walk This Way, Set A

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2 comments:

The Sanity Inspector said...

P. J. O'Rourke said that the cold was why Sweden was so successful. The lazy ones froze.

30 January, 2006 18:14
EDR said...

[laughing] in this case, P.J. might be on to something... actually, i must say that having lived in northeast nebraska and chicago for many years, the winters in sweden are relatively mild. on average, it doesn't get as cold, and the wild chills are nowhere near as low.

you might get a laugh from this article, which reviews a new book by a swedish born, U.S. educated political science professor who makes a case for the nordic welfare state: Vive la welfare state!.

if this is the article i'm thinking of, there's an economist quoted who refuses to accept the claim that many europeans choose to work less than americans (and brits). his view is that such an argument amounts to the idea that europeans are lazy. i think he's full of beans.

living here, i'll admit to teasing my wife about 'lazy swedes', usually on a saturday afternoon when i've been slow getting down to the systembologet in time to buy beer. the nearest state-owned liquor store (and here, believe me, i'm all for a bit of free market competition. where are we, folks? utah? ), closes around 3 and isn't open on sunday.

what i've concluded is that although swedes are on the whole more secular than americans, they actually practice what some in american describe as 'family values' (a term i despise). people have more time off and spend that time doing things - outdoor activities, from walking to skiing to biking, for example - with family and friends. it's refreshing, which isn't to suggest that i don't miss, for whatever perverse reason, winter in my beloved chi-town...

31 January, 2006 04:52

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