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He created a policy slowly transferring company shares from private owners to workers unions with the intention of moving towards a fully worker driven economy.

He created a policy slowly transferring company shares from private owners to workers unions with the intention of moving towards a fully worker driven economy. That was a disaster causing many big companies to leave Sweden and was reversed soon after and nobody has tried something similar since. So you could call him a communist idealist and a lot of people really hated him for it. If you think that being against this makes you "far right", then you are probably pretty far left.

username90 6y ago
Do you get downvoted at HN just for mentioning "communism"? Doing this is why he was so loved and also so hated. Or could it be that the same things he did is being proposed in UK and USA right now, so people don't want to hear how it failed and was hated by many in Sweden over thirty years ago?
- achtung82 6y ago
  I dont think ive heard anything similar being sugested in the US or UK. And it should be noted that the employment funds was hardly Palmes issue but something driven through by the unions that have large power with in the Social Democratic party in sweden. It was largely impopular even within the social democratic leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_funds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_funds
  - username90 6y ago
    > I dont think ive heard anything similar being sugested in the US or UK. Both Bernie and Corbyn wants to do something very similar. > And it should be noted that the employment funds was hardly Palmes issue but something driven through by the unions that have large power with in the Social Democratic party in sweden But Olof Palme was the one who let it through, normally the Social Democrats doesn't agree with everything the unions wants. He might not have been that radical himself, but he was radical enough to not think it was a bad proposal.
    - achtung82 6y ago
      Ok, that might be so, i guess i dont follow US politics as close as i thought. As for Palme its true that he has a responsibility as a leader even if he wasnt the driving force for the issue from the start. He didnt exactly argue against it publicly. But i think the hate against Palme was more complex than a single issue and has much more to do with him being a loud and wellspoken voice for the left during the cold war / culture wars of the late 60s - early 70s. Added to that his upperclass background that seemed to annoy the right wing.
- deleted 6y ago
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username90 6y ago

Do you get downvoted at HN just for mentioning "communism"? Doing this is why he was so loved and also so hated. Or could it be that the same things he did is being proposed in UK and USA right now, so people don't want to hear how it failed and was hated by many in Sweden over thirty years ago?

achtung82 6y ago
I dont think ive heard anything similar being sugested in the US or UK. And it should be noted that the employment funds was hardly Palmes issue but something driven through by the unions that have large power with in the Social Democratic party in sweden. It was largely impopular even within the social democratic leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_funds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_funds
- username90 6y ago
  > I dont think ive heard anything similar being sugested in the US or UK. Both Bernie and Corbyn wants to do something very similar. > And it should be noted that the employment funds was hardly Palmes issue but something driven through by the unions that have large power with in the Social Democratic party in sweden But Olof Palme was the one who let it through, normally the Social Democrats doesn't agree with everything the unions wants. He might not have been that radical himself, but he was radical enough to not think it was a bad proposal.
  - achtung82 6y ago
    Ok, that might be so, i guess i dont follow US politics as close as i thought. As for Palme its true that he has a responsibility as a leader even if he wasnt the driving force for the issue from the start. He didnt exactly argue against it publicly. But i think the hate against Palme was more complex than a single issue and has much more to do with him being a loud and wellspoken voice for the left during the cold war / culture wars of the late 60s - early 70s. Added to that his upperclass background that seemed to annoy the right wing.
deleted 6y ago
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