Thinkers and political figures
Portrait: Pool Moncloa, 1984, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Attribution
Olof Palme
- Country
- Sweden
- Era
- 1927–1986
- Tradition
- Democratic socialism
Swedish prime minister who built one of the most extensive welfare states in the world and used a small country’s foreign policy to denounce the United States in Vietnam, apartheid South Africa and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia alike.
01
Documented positions
Documented positions come from the sources listed. Similarity is this project’s inference from those positions, and is a much weaker claim.
- Expanded universal childcare, parental leave shared between parents, and public housing
- Introduced wage-earner funds transferring shares in companies to union-controlled funds over time
- Publicly compared the American bombing of Hanoi to historical atrocities, provoking a diplomatic rupture
- Condemned the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and supported dissidents in the Eastern bloc
- Provided material support to the African National Congress and led international pressure against apartheid
- Chaired the Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security, proposing "common security"
- Legislated for workplace codetermination and employment protection against dismissal
02
Where it sits on each dimension
Wealth and inequality
12
RedistributionMarket outcomes
Evidence: Well documented
The state in the economy
20
Active stateLimited state
Evidence: Well documented
Personal liberty
74
Collective orderIndividual freedom
Evidence: Well documented
Tradition and change
88
ContinuityReform
Evidence: Well documented
Nation and the world
14
InternationalistNationalist
Evidence: Well documented
Religion and the state
12
Secular stateReligion in public life
Evidence: Documented
Power and its limits
80
Concentrated authorityChecks and pluralism
Evidence: Well documented
Environment and growth
66
Production firstProtection first
Evidence: Documented
Crime and punishment
82
PunishmentRehabilitation
Evidence: Documented
Sources
- Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues, Common Security: A Blueprint for Survival · 1982
- Kjell Östberg, Olof Palme: Sweden’s Radical Statesman · Verso · 2024
Last verified: