They have a system of family benefits that is very adequate to cover the basic necessities of life. It was great to see that single mothers are not stigmatized in the welfare system the way they are here. Youth experiment heavily with alcohol from a young age. It is as if adults are afraid to set clear rules with respect to drinking. I was told that Swedes fix problems by passing laws.
Citizens abide because they have faith in the state.
Against this cultural background it was curious to see that there are no major social programs to curb drinking and substance abuse among youth. It may be that drinking is such a commercial enterprise that there are heavy duty financial interests against programs to reduce substance abuse. I was also surprised to see that, relatively speaking, Swedes don't have as many community-based programs as we seem to have in North America. Most services are in the type of formal support from a social agency. Community-based initiatives are not as prominent as in other countries.