Evening star., 1945-10-14
5weden's Economic
Status Is Favorable
Observer, However, Doubts That
Socialism Is Responsible
By RAYMOND Moleu.

Socialism Is Responsible
By Raymond Molev.
Swedish leaders already are boasting,
perhaps too much, that, in her good
fortune, Sweden is "in the same boat as
America" This comment Is made by
her Secretary of Commerce, a Socialist
and an economist, Prof. Gunnar Myrdal.
The professor-politician is well known
to many American businessmen.
Prof. Myrdal Is in q position where
ne is largely responsible for the foreign
and domestic economic policies of his
country, now governed by laborite ma
jority He explains that Sweden, in
avoiding a postwar depression, will
partly use the same methods as the
United States. OF course, we all wish
that our plans, which seem so clear to
Prof. Myrdal, were a trifie clearer to us.
And we hope that Sweden will not be-
heve that our present wave of strikes
is part of our plan for recovery.
The economic situation of Sweden,
indeed, Is bright. 1t gave or pledged
to neighbors during the war, partly as
gifts and partly as loans, no less than
S675 900 600. Translated into American
per capita terms this Is about half what
We lend-leased to Britain. OF these
loans. Sweden already has Cancelled
$l2,500,000 to Denmark and $135 900 900
to Norway. 1t is very doubtful whether
Sweden ever will get back the s55 900 900
given to Finland.
Whether Sweden was spared the raw
ages of war by accident or design is
not clear. 1t is claimed that Hermann
Goering, in loving appreciation of the
excellence of the lunatic asylums where
he rebuilt his shattered nerves in the
1920s. interceded with Hitler to spare
Sweden. A better explanation is the
fact that Sweden was a goose that laid
steel eggs for Hitler's war machine. The
Nazis preferred the eggs to the goose.
In any event, Sweden did a thriving
business with all concerned and her out
look now is marred only by a few en-
barrassing connections between some of
her people and German industrial con-
Germs
very little about more nationalizations
or socializations. His whole concern is
to increase Sweden's exports. His plans
for stabilizing Swedish economy are:
l. To provide low interest rates for
Industrial needs;
2. To stimulate housing construction;
8. To use public money as stabilizer
OF business cycles, as, for example, in
the electriication of railroads;
4. To subsidize consumer purchases of
durable goods, such as furniture, some
what along the lines of the American
food-stamp plan;
5. To stockpile everything that can
be stockpiled without destroying the
market"
This stockpile idea is somewhat like an
American proposal known as the con-
sumner subscribing plan" advocated by
DR.. John Pierson. 1t seems TO have
attracted little support here.
Most interesting to Americans is the
argument of Prof Myrdal that Sweden
will find it much easier to combat infia-
cause public-that is, "socialized' enter
prise-is relatively larger in Sweden
The Swedish state has taken over the
railroad, telephone, telegraph and other
enterprises. 1t also practically controls
housing through having taken over most
Of the financing involved. Another diff
ference pointed out by Prof. Myrdal is
that there is in Sweden very close COL
laboration between government and pri-
vate capital as to investment in indus
try"
1t is q shame to question the en-
thusiasm OF Socialist over the benefits
Of socialized economy. But 1t cannot
be too strongly urged that whatever the
form of Sweden's economy might have
been, prosperity would have resulted
from her fortunate exclusion from the
ravages of war. Socialism, of itself, did
| not make her be spared. Other coun-
tries, with similar state-owned indus
tries, went down before the tide. It
was the fortunate possession of the
means needed by Germany and, more
recently, by Russia, which has helped
Sweden emerge in such good shape.
1t must also be added that Prof.
Myrdal neglects to point out the essential
mildness of swedens socialism. swed-
ish, as we'll as British trade union
policy, does not trend toward Dictator
ship or total naturalization. The Myr-
dal program is considerably less radical
than the restraints and government
competition suggested by the prewar
New Deal. The private profit system is
still very important element in Swedish
economy. Any one who doubts that
need only seek the instruction provided
by few commercial transactions with
Shrewd Swedish private concerns.