However, I’m optimist and belive that this domino effect will bring the light back to a new reality where everyone is concious of their impact on reality when considered as a whole.

Piers, you came to Stockholm last fall and gave a lecture where I was seating. Since then, I’ve been thinkin quite a lot on the impact of such a strong social system – as the one established in Sweden – on individuals, that take too much for granted and do not value things as much as they should.

There are many examples for this.

From free University, to PhD students who, after getting the chance of getting quite a good salary (that will remain until they are done with their studies… Why did you think PhDs took longer in here??) and the chance to live in extremely cheap flats (when fiding something here in Stockholm is tough) spend their days on growing families and raising kids rather than researching.

From papaledhiget, the tones of money and holidays that you get when becoming a parent to VABBAR (if your kid is sick, stay home with him, you’ll get 80% of your salary).

From Fridays, that seem to be let’sNotWorkButSipCoffeeWithBuns day, to the decision from the government to freeze the interest rate at 1% (regardless of the inflation of the krona).

Finally, the queuing system (basically you can hire any apartment in the center, paying low rents… As long as you registered on a list maybe 24 years ago?!?) for hiring apartments helps nobody (those owning one of these first-hand contracts speculate and hire in second hand after having doubled the price)

It might shine but it’s not always gold.

So my hope is that crisis and layoffs wake up the society I live in so they start appreaciating all the advantages they have.