Impossible. Sweden is a bourgeois nation-state. Thus, it cannot be different than any other bourgeois nation-state. Don't be fooled by this piece of propaganda passing as a Wikki article.
--- Carl Remick <carlremick at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Moreover, the values that motivate Swedes are in
> every sense foreign to the
> US (and probably the UK). "Lagom," a communitarian
> concept central to
> Swedish identity, is a word that has -- as Wikipedia
> needlessly points out
> -- "no direct English equivalent." Other details:
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
> The Lexin Swedish-English dictionary defines lagom
> as "enough, sufficient,
> adequate, just right." Lagom is also widely
> translated as "in moderation,"
> "in balance," "optimal," "reasonable," and
> "average." But whereas words like
> "sufficient" and "average" suggest some degree of
> abstinence, scarcity, or
> failure, lagom decidedly carries the connotation of
> perfection or
> appropriateness. The archetypical Swedish proverb
> "Lagom är bäst," literally
> "Lagom is best," is translated as "Enough is as good
> as a feast" in the
> Lexin dictionary. ...
>
> The value of "just enough" can be contrasted to the
> value of "more is
> better." It is viewed favorably as a sustainable
> alternative to the hoarding
> extremes of consumerism: "Why do I need more than
> two? Det är [It is] lagom"
> (AtKisson, 2000). It can also be viewed as
> repressive: "You're not supposed
> to be too good, or too rich" (Gustavsson, 1995).
> Lagom has been fingered as
> a challenge to economic growth and the reason for
> Sweden's apparent lack of
> outward patriotism.
>
> In a single word, lagom is said to describe the
> basis of the Swedish
> national psyche, one of consensus and equality. In
> recent times Sweden has
> developed greater tolerance for risk and failure as
> a result of severe
> recession in the early 1990s. Nonetheless, it is
> still widely considered
> ideal to be modest, avoid extremes, and seek optimal
> solutions. "My aunt
> used to hold out her closed fist and say, 'How much
> can you get in this
> hand? It's much easier to get something in this
> [open] hand" (Silberman,
> 2001). "It's the idea that for everything there is
> the perfect amount: The
> perfect, and best, amount of food, space, laughter
> and sadness."
>
> The concept of lagom is similar to that of the
> Middle Path in Eastern
> philosophy, and Aristotle's "golden mean" of
> moderation in Western
> philosophy.
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagom>
>
> In short, "lagom" sums up everything that US culture
> isn't.
>
> Carl
>
> "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas
> anymore."
> -- Dorothy in The
> Wizard of Oz
>
>
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>
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>
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