Basic income
Basic income was debated in Sweden in the 1970s and 1980s, mostly thanks to influences from abroad, such as Milton Friedman and André Gorz. The Swedish/Danish economist Gunnar Adler-Karlsson was also influential at that time. During the 1990s the ideas came back again, for example with the polemic books by Lars Ekstrand 1995 and 1996. He criticized the full employment-ideology and argued, with reference to people such as Paul Lafargue and Aristotle, but also the Danish debate, that freedom would be a much better goal. Gunnar Wetterberg, leader in the labour Union, was perhaps the most active in the other ring-side, arguing that basic income was a threat to just about everything, but mostly jobs, growth and equality. The Green Party has flirted with the basic income idea since the start of the party, but has nevertheless not pushed for it seriously politically. However, the party congress 2015 decided that the party should work for a state investigation. None of the other political parties in the parliament is for basic income, or even basic income pilots, at the moment. But the Feminist Party (Feministiskt initiativ) and the Swedish Pirate Party (Piratpartiet) are both sympathetic to the idea. Especially the Pirates, who sees automation and technological development overall, as a key argument for basic income.