Sharing and capitalism

In Sweden, the ubiquity of state child care allows parents to pursue their careers, even if they're raising a child alone.

But one consequence of this "statist individualism," as Swedish historian Lars Trägårdh calls it, is loneliness. Individualism is dandy if you're young, pretty, talented and ambitious. For the rest of us, it can be problematic. In Sweden, the over-60s in particular, 900,000 of whom live alone, often feel lonely.

Elsewhere, they are needed: taking grandchildren to daycare or school, picking them up and often caring for them in the afternoons. As birth rates fall around the world and people live longer, the ratio of grandparents to grandchildren is rising: in China, where the Communist Party followed a strict one-child policy until a few years ago, the ratio is 4:1 in cities.

In contrast, capitalism demands mobility and flexibility — that is, individualism.

The Economist magazine proclaimed this "the age of grandparents." Studies show that the elderly do better when they feel needed and can care for grandchildren. They also show that children do better when they see their grandparents regularly.

In contrast, capitalism demands mobility and flexibility — that is, individualism. An ideal employee is a single person who can be assigned to Singapore tomorrow. The ideal consumer lives alone and needs her own refrigerator, stove, car and furniture.

Sharing is anti-economic. The total freedom of the individual is in reality their total availability, and only the comprehensive welfare state makes this freedom and availability possible.

There's nothing wrong with day-care centers and homes for the elderly, or with self-realization. But a little Bullerbü is allowed: extended family and welfare state. Grandma and daycare. Hygge, because you want it, not because you have to. Those who want this freedom also need the state.