There is often the assumption that capitalism is a homogenous entity that works the same way throughout all the countries that practice it. In reality, there are many different types of capitalism, some which lean more towards a truly free market and some which have some more socialist elements. As such, the lifestyles that are associated with these capitalisms can vary greatly. The United States is often considered to be the pinnacle of capitalist evolution, having very low taxes compared to much of the Western world, but it is important to understand the differences between the United States and other capitalist nations to understand how these countries use the system for their benefit. The purpose of this paper is to explore how life as a citizen in Sweden would be different from that of a citizen living in the United States, with specific reference to health care, pensions and family policy and the way that this affects as part of general commodification.
Perhaps the biggest and most well-known element of American life is the fact that health care is not free. This contrasts with a lot of the health care systems in Europe, which generally provide either a totally free health care system or a partially subsidized option. In the United States, health care companies compete with each other in much the same way as any other business, and the primary method of getting health care is through insurance. This has the effect of making medication costs (as well as other elements of health care) higher than they are in other countries, like Sweden. Instead of the free market having the effect of pushing costs lower, the lack of a “central” contract for purchasing medications means that medication costs in the United States are affected more heavily by advertising and branding.

The effect that this has on daily life is interesting. Whilst in the United States, people who are out of work or do not have sufficient insurance spend a lot of time worrying about how to cover their health care, those living in Sweden do not. This means that life in Sweden does not have the same level of anxiety about unemployment, despite the fact that employment rates in Sweden are actually higher. It works as a way of de-commodifying social life because people that live in Sweden are not choosing their own medication based on advertisements but can take the actual recommendations made by their doctor. In some ways, however, it helps to reinforce the market because pharmaceutical companies are competing to be the first line of defense for the Swedish national health care system. This actually works to push costs lower because pharmaceutical companies can depend on a steady stream of revenue for as long as the contract lasts.

Sweden was also the pioneer of the first universal pension program, which provides every single retiree with a guaranteed, flat-rate benefit that is designed to reflect economic growth. This ties in with the compulsory public health insurance explored above. This seems on the surface to be an example of a socialist state, but it is important to note that Swedish people live in a capitalist economy, and there are earnings-related elements to this national pension scheme. The pension scheme can also be used to buy goods and services as with any other capitalist economy – these are not provided as part of the pension. As such, it is simply a different approach to capitalism, and it does not work to de-commodify the market because pensioners on this benefit system are still buying (and potentially selling) as part of the capitalist economy in Sweden. The free market here exists more for the provision of goods and services, but life in Sweden means that people have less fear about not having the money to participate in this market.

Life in Sweden is also affected by the fact that child care is part of family policy which helps to reduce the price of child care. In this sense, people are spending around 25-50% less on child care in Sweden than they are in the United States. This has the effect of actually supporting the Swedish economy because parents can more easily return to work knowing that they can afford child care throughout the period that they are working. Again, this works not to de-commodify the market but actually to bolster it, because people are contributing to the economy when they are parents, working for some of the biggest multi-national corporations in the world – Volvo, Ikea, Skanska. Again, the important thing to note is that the provision of subsidized and mandatory benefits is not working to de-commodify the market but actually to allow people to take a more active role in the economy. Parents can contribute to the economy not only by purchasing goods, but by contributing to manufacturing or other businesses through the provision of labor.

Another effect that this has on life in Sweden is that employers are much more flexible towards the needs of parents. There exists paternity leave as well as maternity leave and these are both statutory. This works again to support capitalism, rather than to detract from it. Parents can take their statutory leave and then get back to work with the support of their employer. In the United States, it is much more common for women in particular to leave the workplace when they get pregnant as they do not have the same amount of support from employers or the government. This has a negative effect on the economy because there are less people able to support manufacturing processes or to contribute to the economy in this way. People in Sweden are more likely to be working parents than in the United States because of this provision of cheaper child care and statutory parental leave.

There are also effects through union membership which play a part in Sweden’s success story as both a socialist and capitalist state. Union membership in Sweden is amongst the highest in the world and employers are much more accepting of union membership. This means that employees in Sweden have a lot more support when bargaining for salaries or unfair dismissal. The affect that this has is not only economical, but also has benefits in terms of social security and understanding rights. Life in Sweden may not be perfect, but these support systems are in place to create an environment of safety and support that helps reduce stress concerning economic issues and actually works to bolster the capitalist economy.

In conclusion, capitalism works in a different way in Sweden but this does not mean that it does not exist. Parents are more likely to contribute to the market not only through purchasing goods but also by contributing to the workplace because they have the support to continue working when they have kids. Health care costs are driven lower not in spite of the mandatory public health insurance but because of it. This means that the cost to the government to provide this health care is lower than it would be at current U.S. rates because there is competition for central contracts that drives these prices lower. The high tax rate in Sweden does not work against capitalism but actually supports it. There is no de-commodification of the market in any grand sense, because people actually have more security when buying these commodities.