How to please a happy people

The Swedish Government has little changed over the past 65-70 years. Its people enjoy a luxury that very few other countries enjoy: satisfaction. Minor changes have been made here and there to accommodate new voices, and only recently has a major opponent provided a staunch contrast to the status quo. In the case of Sweden, we see that ideology theory proposed by political theorists Hinich and Munger work both ways in an election: preserve incumbents and establish a presence for a challenger.

Ideology, as Hinich and Munger explain, ultimately paves the path of a candidate. An ideology will make or break a candidate based on the doctrines they proclaim and their ability and willingness to follow through on their ideology. Sweden provides an interesting dilemma though and even brings some range of disagreement with Hinich and Munger.

The Social Democratic Party, after decades in power has held firm to its ideals; by so doing, this party has proven its reliability, giving a populous no reason to deny them power. The Moderate party, the Social Democrats major competitor, holds very different views on numerous topics compared to their counterpart. And though they challenge a system that seems to be working, they are gaining legitimacy. But why is this so?

If you look at the current state of affairs of Sweden, the economy is suffering, and the EU has to seriously intervene. The people need a new approach to overcome their plight. One problem is that the most conventional means of accomplishing economic stability are out of the question. The welfare state MUST stay. According to the New York Times, there even “…used to be a maxim in Swedish politics that you never won elections by offering to lower taxes…that was because people would suspect that you were going to cut the welfare state. There has been a change, but people still believe in the welfare system.” The Moderate party has taken an ideological stance that adopts approaches seen across the world as more free-market, internationally friendly, and so forth. This has been seen as a more reliable means of success. So even though the ideology has remained the same for decades and proven to be very good for the people, as soon as its reliability falters, new, credible options do become available. This proves Hinich and Munger’s principles that ideology is everything, even if the Moderate party has to compromise to preserve the welfare state.