Time for our Ådalen 31
In
the 1930s Norway and Sweden
“fired”
the top 1 percent of people who set the direction for society and
both
countries went
on to build
economies that eliminated poverty, expanded free university
education, abolished slums, provided healthcare available to all and
created
a system of full employment.
They
had
realized
that, with the 1% in charge, electoral “democracy” was stacked
against them, so nonviolent direct action was needed to exert the
power for change.
In
both countries, troops were called out to defend the 1 percent;
people died. (Bo
Widerberg told the Swedish story in Ådalen
31,
which
depicts the sparking of a nationwide general strike.)
The
1% had
become increasingly
desperate as militancy grew among workers and farmers. The
misery of the poor became daily more urgent, and the Labour
Party felt increasing pressure from its members to alleviate their
suffering, which it could do only if it took charge of the
government.
This
it did. They expanded the economy and started public works projects
to head toward a policy of full employment that became the keystone
of economic policy.
The
1% thereby lost its historic power to dominate the economy and
society. Not until three decades later could the Conservatives return
to a governing coalition, having by then accepted the new rules of
the game, including a high degree of public ownership of the means of
production, extremely progressive taxation, strong business
regulation for the public good and the virtual abolition of poverty.
When
Conservatives tried a fling with neoliberal policies, Labour
stepped back
in,
seized the three largest banks, fired the top management, left the
stockholders without a dime and refused to bail out any of the
smaller banks.
Scandinavian
society’s high level of freedom and broadly-shared prosperity began
when workers and farmers, along with middle class allies, waged a
nonviolent struggle that empowered the people to govern for the
common good.
Does
this resonate with you and will Ken Loach still be alive to make our
Ådalen 31
Much
of this information is taken from this article
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