Missing That Swedish Egalitarianism...

I'm back in the U.S. again, and this article helps explain why I, and especialy Ira, experience a sense of culture shock when we leave Sweden, a country's whose egalitarian social policies I would like to see emulated in America.

To learn more about life in Sverige, read Daniel Brook's "How Sweden Tweaked the Washington Consensus" in Dissent. Even after spending a fair amount of time there in the last couple years, I was surprised to learn that Sweden has the same proportion of foreign-born immigrants as the U.S.

As Ph.D. students in English, we're both members of the working poor in the States with all the worries that economic insecurity brings. Yesterday, for example, I received an ambiguous notice indicating that two visits I made to the UIC Medical Center last semester might night be covered by my student health insurance. It's damn hard to stay focused on preparing for exams, coming up with a dissertation that demonstrates one's professional competence (i.e. making an 'original contribution' to one's academic field), and teach overcrowded courses to undergrads when you're going into debt (for a job that may be non-existent) and still have to worry about paying the rent.

Best, to tarry with, rather than dwell on, the negative when there's work and more work to be done...