3 ms·

This sounds like a desperate attempt to save face. Basically, their argument boils down to, "Well some countries did better than us and some did worse, so reall

by tharne 6y ago

This sounds like a desperate attempt to save face. Basically, their argument boils down to, "Well some countries did better than us and some did worse, so really our strategy wasn't so bad". The fact is a whole lot of people died in Sweden both in absolute numbers and relative to their neighbors. I know Sweden is used to being the smartest country in the room, but sometimes even the best among us make mistakes. It's ok, just own it. No one has a perfect answer to this situation. You tried something different and it didn't work out.

Kiro 6y ago
You speak like the pandemic is over. We don't know yet. If it turns out that countries now lifting their lockdown will catch up I think Sweden's strategy was the correct one. No lockdown, no overwhelmed hospitals, currently no excess mortality and the least impact on the economy: https://markets.businessinsider.com/amp/news/sweden-coronavirus-economy-relaxed-lockdown-stronger-rest-of-europe-2020-7-1029415101 https://markets.businessinsider.com/amp/news/sweden-coronavi...
dgellow 6y ago
> I know Sweden is used to being the smartest country in the room Sweden being "smarter" than other countries is just a common American trope. For some reasons Scandinavian countries are misrepresented all the time by US politicians and media trying to make a point.
- tharne 6y ago
  Fair enough. The American left worships Sweden.
  - raxxorrax 6y ago
    They certainly have a strong fetish for blonde white people right now.
  - dgellow 6y ago
    From what I've seen they seem to worship a version of Sweden that doesn't match reality, though I'm not that well informed on the American left specifically.
    - tharne 6y ago
      You're better informed than you think, your take is pretty spot on. I have relatives in Scandinavia and they always joke that they wished they lived in America's version of Sweden.
    - bluGill 6y ago
      Pretty much everyone has a vision of the rest of the world that doesn't match reality.
raxxorrax 6y ago
Even with billions of people on the planet, a virus like this doesn't spread evenly, even on a large scale. You always have pockets of infection caused by chance and opportunity. So regardless of the viability of the strategy, the numbers can look different. We could discuss which country did best, but I doubt it would lead to anything constructive. Of course a bad strategy can make it worse and I think Sweden was too naive with this, but you cannot really say which country had the best policies.

by tharne 6y ago

Kiro 6y ago

You speak like the pandemic is over. We don't know yet. If it turns out that countries now lifting their lockdown will catch up I think Sweden's strategy was the correct one. No lockdown, no overwhelmed hospitals, currently no excess mortality and the least impact on the economy: https://markets.businessinsider.com/amp/news/sweden-coronavirus-economy-relaxed-lockdown-stronger-rest-of-europe-2020-7-1029415101 https://markets.businessinsider.com/amp/news/sweden-coronavi...

dgellow 6y ago

> I know Sweden is used to being the smartest country in the room Sweden being "smarter" than other countries is just a common American trope. For some reasons Scandinavian countries are misrepresented all the time by US politicians and media trying to make a point.

tharne 6y ago
Fair enough. The American left worships Sweden.
- raxxorrax 6y ago
  They certainly have a strong fetish for blonde white people right now.
- dgellow 6y ago
  From what I've seen they seem to worship a version of Sweden that doesn't match reality, though I'm not that well informed on the American left specifically.
  - tharne 6y ago
    You're better informed than you think, your take is pretty spot on. I have relatives in Scandinavia and they always joke that they wished they lived in America's version of Sweden.
  - bluGill 6y ago
    Pretty much everyone has a vision of the rest of the world that doesn't match reality.

raxxorrax 6y ago

Even with billions of people on the planet, a virus like this doesn't spread evenly, even on a large scale. You always have pockets of infection caused by chance and opportunity. So regardless of the viability of the strategy, the numbers can look different. We could discuss which country did best, but I doubt it would lead to anything constructive. Of course a bad strategy can make it worse and I think Sweden was too naive with this, but you cannot really say which country had the best policies.