How Sweden became a country of big-state libertarians
Europe | Charlemagne
How Sweden became a country of big-state libertarians
A Rorschach test with a side of meatballs
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Illustration: Peter Schrank
Aug 20th 2026|5 min read
Few ideological causes ever united Bernie Sanders, an American politician so left-wing he could run for office as a European centrist, and Charlie Kirk, a Trumpian firebrand. A rare point of agreement among them, oddly, was the appeal of Sweden. To the gruff senator the Scandinavian country is a wellhead of socialist good sense that America should emulate. For the conservative stalwart, who was murdered a year ago while preaching his right-wing credo at a university, the home of IKEA and Spotify was equally worthy of admiration. Yet to him Sweden thrived not because of its large state but in spite of it—it was all down to an innate don’t-tread-on-me individualism a Texan might recognise.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Individualism, together”
From the August 22nd 2026 edition
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