Ideology

Great, greater, greatest – in the age of mega-corporations – where capitalism leads to socialism

According to many communists, the fate of the capitalist system is that the corporations keep growing, until there are only a handful of global giants left, and they control world politics together with the corrupt ruling class. According to the theories of state monopoly capitalism and its inherent imperialist ambitions. Capitalism always strives for monopoly. …   →

The missing elite

It was not the Swedes who built one of the richest countries in the world until the 1950s, with strong industry and a world-class air force, any more than it was the Greeks who built the Parthenon temple and calculated the circumference of the earth. It was a rather small elite that did these things, …   →

Nobody wants to be called a racist

No one wants to be called a racist, for it is considered particularly degrading to engage in ethnic sorting of people for bad traits; and being subjected to this magical epithet is now associated with an almost ritual shame. Well, agitating for the murder of specific ethnic groups should not be confused with old ladies …   →

Look at me, love me – and give me money!

Is it reasonable that everyone should love transsexuals, queers, overweight people, people with full tattoos, etc, etc? Today we see more and more strange groups demanding acceptance and equality. They want to be recognised and maybe even liked by you. They want to worm their way into your consciousness. It’s not about equality in general …   →

Demography and population exchanges in turn-of-the-century Europe, a brief historical comment

In 1916 there were about 2.2 million inhabitants in Vienna, almost half of whom came from Bohemia, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, etc. In 1939 the population was down to just under 1.8 million. And in 1990 the population was estimated at just under 1.5 million, with far more German-speaking inhabitants than before. As economic and …   →

Best in the world at democracy

The concept of democracy is an interesting one to revisit periodically. What is considered important in a democratic society has changed throughout history. When modern democracies emerged after the American Revolutionary War, the focus was on the constitution. Today the constitution is not the most important validator (in many countries tt may be changed and …   →

Is local self-government a threat to nations and empires?

Are self-governing regions and municipalities a threat to the idea of nation and empire building? Of course, this objection can be made. The US is an empire, as are the EU and China, states made up of many different provinces and regions, where a central power has influence. I would argue that local government is …   →

Building a functioning nation out of a multicultural society of chaos

Historically, of course, the idea of governing a diverse society with many different ethnicities is nothing new. Romans, Greeks, Ottomans and Habsburgs have tried, and indeed succeeded, in keeping it stable for hundreds of years. It is a kind of oscillation between a strict authoritarian state and looser local self-government. The imperial power rarely interferes …   →

Twilight over Ukraine – thoughts on the origins of the conflict and where the war is going

Many of us wonder why the war is dragging on, both those who side with Ukraine and Russia. We see a protracted conflict with no major territorial gains, between partially equal armies, where the Russians have the demographic and economic advantage of being a larger country. And the longer the war continues, the greater the …   →

Swedish hubris – the rise and fall of the record-setting country

Many Swedes have never been attracted to a high-tax society or multiculturalism. They feel cheated and trampled on. And more and more people have changed their minds along the way, moving from being radical to more conservative in their view of society. And now they want to stop the decay and transformation of the country. …   →

The Constitution – an increasingly weak defender of citizens and their rights

When you ask people about the most important elements of democracy, most of them mention the parliament. This is where laws are made, or at least approved, and where political debates are held. Parliament comes from the French parlez, to speak. What other institution could better symbolize democracy? In other countries, people would mention the …   →