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el, as was apparent in their rhetoric and in their diplomatic and aid missions to the Third World.
  In today’s international debate, Sweden is no longer presented as a model to emulate; rather, it is held up — particularly in Finland, West Germany, and increasingly in France — as a warning. At international symposia on economic and political problem-solving, delegates from the left now look to Austria as the land of promise, and those from the right, to Switzerland. Sweden nonetheless remains a bellwether state, early to show what is coming and thereby a good warning.

THE OLD BREED

  Sven Svensson lives in a middle-sized city in middle Sweden. He is the Swedish Archie Bunker. He is middle-aged, earns an average income, and is the quintessential middle-of-the-roader in a nation of joiners.
  Like other mainstream Swedes, Sven has an uncommonly strong affinity for security (trygghet). He was brought up with the rectitude of the temperance movement, to which his father belonged. He is rather intolerant of any who do not share his values, and looks askance at the strange customs of the immigrants from Southern Europe who have flooded into Sweden, and whose darker coloring makes them stand out from the paler Swedes. Sven takes care not to draw attention to himself trough deportment or attire.
  Sven is uncomfortable with deviation even in the form of excellence and prominence. In his habit of belittling other Swedes who have won recognition for their accomplishments, Sven manifests the reputed ”royal Swedish envy”. For safety, Sven sticks to an unwritten code: ”Keep your place! Don’t think you are somebody! Live as others do and think as others do!” He shuns extremes of behavior in word or deed. In Sven’s opinion, only people under the influence of alcohol or drugs or who are otherwise unaccountable display such conduct. To suit Sven, emotions should be well under control and come in easily digestible bite-size portions. At meetings, Sven expresses himself in a manner that is unquestionably earnest and sober. No one could ever accuse him of being flighty.
  Sven has worked for the same insurance company all his life, and has now reached the rank of supervisor. He is content with his career: working in the same place gives him a sense of continuity, and 

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