The disadvantages of living in a country with good welfare Posted by Katja on Apr 29, 2011 in Culture
I would just like to say that I am basing this article on the fact that Sweden has a reasonably good welfare system. But just what consequences does that have…? Can there be disadvantages with a system like this?
There are plenty of good things that come from having a country with good welfare, which I’m sure people have written a lot about.
In a lot of countries there is a strong “community feeling” where people do a lot of volunteer work in schools, for individual families, a lot of good deeds by churches or other religious groups. A huge amount of work is done by individuals, parents making school lunches, baking for sports/school events et.c All in all adults do a lot for their society to work.
What does this show their children? I think it sends the message that “we take responsibility for seeing things through, finishing our projects” and “we help each other, through the bad times and share the good ones”. From a very young age, children in these countries take part in after-school activities and clubs, join the student council, or prep groups for the yearly school festival. There is no teacher standing over these kids, forcing them to do anything. It is volunteering.
Well, in Sweden of course there are parents who buy/bake cookies or sandwiches for their kids football team and people do donate a lot of money to charities, but in general I have never thought of Sweden or experienced Sweden as a country where a lot of volunteer work is done. We do not have after-school clubs, and all activities at school are led by teachers (and often when the teachers are not there there is total chaos).
I think the reason is that in Sweden we have such a well-functioning welfare system that we have rarely have to volunteer for any causes and that for a very long time it has just not been a central part of the Swedish culture. We have reached a point where we take for granted, expect, our welfare system to do things for us, and maybe rightly so since we pay such high taxes. But we are then unable to solve problems, not having experience taking problems into our own hands.
We have created a society that enables everybody to live very individualistically, without really having to depend on your community, without having to ask for help and have the opportunity to help others. Volunteering gives such a great feeling and I’m afraid many Swedes are missing out on that feeling.
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Comments:
Eric Swanson:
I’m planning to move to Sweden, so it will be interesting to see to what extent your concerns seem true to me when I am living in Vaxjo. I had planned to volunteer in an after school program and assist with the local sporting club as an assistant coach. In USA we have a strong tradition of volunteering, but we usually don’t have enough volunteers because people say they are too busy earning a living.
M.K. Lang:
In Seattle volunteering is a way of life for almost everyone. There is great enthusiasm for helping to raise money for causes that are dear to our hearts, for example, such as extra money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and for scholarships for international students to attend universities and commnity colleges in the USA. We gather together for races and silent auctions and dinners to share our time and money toward innumerable events, weekly, monthly, yearly. My family’s team of 50 runners raised $12,000 last year for the JDRF race. The USA government does provide federal funding for this research, yet individuals derive deep satisfaction from contributing their own funds and their own energy. Some runners run to honor their loved ones. Some run with tears in their eyes, yet joy in their hearts, to be able to volunteer in this way. Further, for international scholarships for students from other countries we have dinners, stage performances and auctions. Fund-raising takes place here for hundreds of beloved causes. Vounteerism in our locality is a bonding and up-lifting activity. We have a passion for volunteering!
Greetings from Seattle!
Judy:
I was extremely interested to read what the Swedes had to say about this article, but I don’t see any responses yet. I don’t think too many of my friends in Sweden (I am American) would agree with it. I have friends who sing in their church choirs, belong to UN (FN) groups, volunteer on their coop boards (although that may not count as they receive the direct benefit), and have all types of protests and political volunteer activities. When I lived in Sweden (early 80’s), I never experienced a lack of volunteer activity. I was in my late teens and early 20’s and was able to participate in all kinds of volunteerism. I even played for the KFUM (YMCA) orchestra! What fun memories! At the time, I thought Sweden was equal to us in the non-profit arena. I wonder about organizations for illnesses, though. I know that when a dear friend passed away due to breast cancer, I made a donation in her name to the big cancer hospital over there. But, I don’t know if there is a large non-profit cancer organization like we have. What do people do in Sweden to help fund research and aid people who suffer from diseases? Is there no need because the government takes care of everything? I wonder…
Anya:
I think the strong welfare system vs. encouraging of volunteerism is a totally false dichotomy. I grew up in Sweden (moved to the U.S. at age 17), and was very active in after-school environmental organizations. We had regular school projects where we cleaned up parks and painted over graffiti. Yes, people complain about paying high taxes, but there is also a great amount of pride in knowing that you are supporting your community, and providing for those in need by contributing to social services. Volunteerism alone is not enough to serve the needs of a community; a strong welfare system is a great complement to that.
Kat:
A very interesting read! I have no idea how factual it is, given that I’ve only lived in Sweden for five months. My Swedish boyfriend has commented that he believes Americans donate much more money to causes than Swedes. Back at home in the US, I was involved in a variety of volunteer activities. I haven’t found any similar outlets here in Gothenburg, but I think that’s partly due to not yet knowing where to look.
Tom:
I’ve lived in Stockholm for a couple of years and have looked for ways to volunteer. Recently, at a program sponsored by The American Club of Sweden, I learned about the activities of http://www.volontarbyran.org/
Its an online matching service for volunteers and organizations needing volunteers started by Amelie Silfverstolpe and it works well.
Its difficult to briefly describe why differences in volunteerism exist, but this site certainly makes it easy for individuals and organizations to find each other.
Dave S:
I’m not aware of the situation with respect to volunteerism in Sweden (though I grew up in Minnesota, I never really understood the drive to volunteer for things), but I find it very strange that you present “we help each other, through the bad times and share the good ones” and “[not] really having to depend on your community” as the opposite of a welfare state. I see them as one and the same – what is a welfare state if not the entire country helping each other through the bad times and depending on each other?
Which is not to say that I necessarily think this is a good thing; I think that we should rely on ourselves first, those we know personally next, and fall back on strangers (community/government) only as a last resort, but your description of the benefits you see in community volunteerism seems equally applicable to government-mandated welfare. The primary difference, which you didn’t bring up, is that, by removing individual choice to contribute, welfare tends to be seen as coming from the government rather than from the people who are taxed to provide the government with the money it uses to provide welfare. (This is essentially the same as the question of private charity vs. public welfare; the net effect is identical, only matters of choice and perception distinguish the two.)
Anna:
There are around 200 000 non profit organisations in Sweden. 3 million swedes (we are 9 mill) do voluntary work. They work on average 13 hours pp a month. Popular npo´s in Sweden; humanitarian, religious, environmental, union work, sports (640 000 are trainers or do other stuff for their local sports team).
Sw households give on average 1300 SEK to charities each year. And of course, through our taxes, we give a lot more. Actually the most charitable country as a percentage (2010) with the US far behind….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_charitable_countries