The values and attitudes of high-income earners in Sweden

Full text

June 2021
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The values and
attitudes of high-
income earners in
Sweden
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Lena Sohl, Mikael Svensson
and Lisa Pelling

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©!The!authors!and!Arena!Idé ,!Stockholm,!June!2021!
Illustration:!Linn!Brolin!!
This!report!is!available!at!www.arenaide.se/rapporter!
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Lena!Sohl!has!a!
PhD!in!Sociology!
and!is!associate!
senior!lecturer!at!
the!Department!
of!Social!Sciences!
at!Södertörn!
University.!
!
!
!
Mikael!Svensson!
has!a!PhD!in!
Sociology!and!is!a!
senior!lecturer!at!
the!Department!
of!Social!Sciences!
at!Södertörn!
University.!
!
!
!
!
Lisa!Pelling!has!a!
PhD!in!Political!
Science!and!is!
Director!of!the!
think!tank!Arena!
Idé.!
! !

INTRODUCTION!...............................................................................................!5!
BACKGROUND:!THE!SWEDISH!CONTEXT!................................................!8!
POLICY!CHANGES!HAVE!CONTRIBUTED!TO!INCREASED!
INEQUALITY!...................................................................................................!10!
HIGH-INCOME!EARNERS!IN!SWEDEN!.....................................................!12!
THE!INTERVIEW!STUDY!.............................................................................!14!
PERCEPTIONS!OF!MERITOCRACY!AND!UPWARD!MOBILITY!.........!16!
HIGH-INCOME!EARNERS!IN!SWEDEN:!AN!ECONOMICALLY!SECURE!
GROUP!..............................................................................................................!19!
ATTITUDES!TOWARDS!INEQUALITY!AND!THE!WELFARE!STATE!24!
TAXATION!AND!SOCIAL!RESPONSIBILITY!...........................................!31!
POLITICAL!PARTICIPATION!AND!CIVIC!ENGAGEMENT!...................!34!
CONCLUSION!..................................................................................................!41!
REFERENCES!..................................................................................................!44!
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Of!course,!I!know!that!I!earn!a!good!salary;!I!know!what!
salary!I!have,!but!I!rarely!think!about!it!and!I!spend!quite!
a!lot!of!time!with!people!who!are!not!among!the!top!10%!
highest...!except!my!colleagues!of!course![…].!Of!course,!I!
know!I!belong![there],!but!I!don't!think!about!it.!I!
probably!wouldn’t!think!of!myself!as!one!of!them.!(Erika,!
a!doctor)!
Introduction!!
Erika,!a!doctor,!does!not!identify!as!a!high-income!earner,!even!
though!she!is!well!aware!that!her!salary!makes!her!one.!Several!
other!Swedish!high-income!earners!that!were!interviewed!think!
along!similar!lines.
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!!They!do!not!see!themselves!as!particularly!
affluent;!in!Erika's!words,!they!do!not!think!of!themselves!“as!one!of!
them”.!This!report!looks!at!Swedish!high-income!earners’!values!
and!attitudes!to!meritocracy,!redistribution,!and!inequality.
2
!
In!the!decades!following!the!Second!World!War,!inequality!in!
Sweden!decreased.!The!period!between!1944!and!1974!was!
characterised!by!reduced!income!and!wealth!gaps!(Bengtsson!et!al.!
2012)!and!coincided!with!the!expansion!of!the!Swedish!welfare!
state.!Indeed,!one!of!the!welfare!state’s!main!purposes!was,!as!
Edlund!(1999:106)!notes,!“to!decrease!market-generated!
inequalities.”!During!the!decades!that!the!welfare!state!expanded,!
governments!decreased!economic!inequality!through!a!high!degree!
of!control!over!the!economy!via!taxation!on!capital,!capital!controls,!
financial!regulation,!and!a!large!public!sector.!!
Therborn!(2018)!describes!the!1980s!as!a!turning!point!for!
inequality!in!Sweden.!He!argues!that!it!was!the!product!of!
ascendant!right-wing!politics,!which!led!to!neo-liberal!policies!and!
the!emergence!of!financial!capitalism.!The!labour!movement!no!
longer!had!the!same!influence.!As!a!result,!Sweden!has!experienced!
increases!in!inequality!for!several!decades.!The!incomes!of!the!
Swedish!“power!elite”!illustrate!this!increase.!The!“power!elite”!is!a!
group!consisting!of!200!CEOs,!top-level!politicians!and!civil!
servants!whose!incomes!the!Swedish!blue-collar!trade!union!
confederation!Landsorganisationen!(LO),!has!measured!since!the!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
1
!In!this!report,!we!look!at!the!top!10!%!of!high-income!earners.!“Top!10%”!refers!to!the!top!
decile!of!income!earners!in!Sweden.!Income!is!defined!as!gross!labour!income,!that!is:!
income!before!tax,!and!excluding!capital!incomes.!The!income!distribution!is!often!divided!
into!deciles,!that!is!in!groups!of!10%.!The!top!10%!is!the!10th!decile.!Expressed!in!percentiles,!
the!top!10!%!is!P90.!
2
!The!research!has!been!conducted!on!behalf!of!Arenagruppen.!Thanks!go!to!Love!Bohman,!Paul!
Fuehrer,!Tove!Sohlberg!and!Pär!Zetterberg!for!contributing!with!their!statistical!expertise.!We!
would!also!like!to!thank!Kristina!Boréus!and!Magnus!Wennerhag!for!valuable!comments!on!an!
earlier!version!of!this!text.!

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year!1950.!In!1950,!the!power!elite’s!average!pre-tax!income!
corresponded!to!11.1!times!the!average!wage!of!industrial!workers.!
In!1980,!this!difference!was!at!its!lowest,!at!4.9!times.!However,!in!
2017,!this!figure!reached!19.6!(Almqvist!2019).!!
A!well-used,!although!criticised,!measure!of!income!inequality!is!
the!Gini!coefficient.!Sweden's!Gini!coefficient!for!2018!was!0.275,!
the!ninth!lowest!in!the!OECD!(OECD!2021).!Recent!developments!
have!benefitted!the!wealthiest!part!of!the!population.!The!OECD!
(2019a)!notes!that!“income!has!increased!for!all!income!groups!in!
Sweden,!but!more!strongly!in!the!upper!part!of!the!distribution.”!As!
indicated!by!the!OECD!(2015):!
The!growth!in!inequality!between!1985!and!the!early!
2010s!was!the!largest!among!all!OECD!countries,!
increasing!by!one!third.!In!2012,!the!average!income!of!
the!top!10%!of!income!earners!was!6.3!times!higher!
than!that!of!the!bottom!10%.!This!is!up!from!a!ratio!of!
around!5.75!to!1!in!2007!and!a!ratio!of!around!4!to!1!
during!much!of!the!1990s.!
Since!the!mid-1990s,!income!differences!have!increased,!mainly!
due!to!strong!income!growth!in!the!upper!part!of!the!distribution,!
with!capital!incomes!becoming!ever!more!important!at!the!top!
(Långtidsutredningen!2019:10).
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!Roine!and!Waldenström!
(2010:330)!note!that!there!are!important!differences!between!
Sweden!and!other!continental!European!countries,!arguing!that!the!
growth!in!gains!from!capital!makes!Sweden!closer!to!Anglo-Saxon!
countries:!
By!1950!top!income!shares!had!already!dropped!more!
in!Sweden!than!in!any!other!country![…]!and!the!
further!increases!in!marginal!taxes!as!well!as!
‘solidarity!wage!policies’!caused!them!to!drop!even!
further!in!the!1970s.!However,!the!most!remarkably!
different!aspect!in!the!Swedish!data!appears!over!the!
past!decades.!During!this!period,!when!top!income!
shares!increased!significantly!in!Anglo-Saxon!
countries,!mainly!due!to!wage!increases,!but!remained!
virtually!unchanged!in!continental!Europe,!the!
Swedish!development!depends!largely!on!how!realized!
capital!gains!are!treated.!If!we!include!realized!capital!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!As!noted!by!Boschini,!Gunnarsson!and!Roine!(2017:2)!previous!studies!on!top!incomes!have!
“shown!the!importance!of!distinguishing!between!different!sources!of!income,!in!particular!to!
consider!incomes!from!capital,!and!also!to!study!the!diverse!developments!across!different!
groups!within!the!top!of!the!income!distribution.”!

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gains,!Swedish!top!income!shares!look!like!the!Anglo-
Saxon!ones;!if!we!do!not!include!them!top!income!
shares!have!increased!slightly!but!still!resemble!the!
continental!European!experience.!
This!report!focuses!on!how!Swedish!high-income!earners!view!
such!developments.!There!are!several!reasons!why!high-income!
earners’!opinions!and!political!values!are!important!to!study.!One!is!
that,!in!recent!decades,!there!have!been!changes!to!Swedish!
redistributive!policies!that!favour!high-income!earners.!It!is!
therefore!interesting!to!know!more!about!high-income!earners’!
views!on!equality!and!social!responsibility.!Another!important!
reason!is!that!there!is!a!lack!of!qualitative!research!on!groups!with!
power!and!influence!in!society!(see!Eriksson,!Holmqvist,!and!Sohl!
2018;!Holmqvist!2018b).!!
The!report!is!based!on!25!interviews!with!members!of!this!
group!carried!out!in!2019,!and!survey!data!from!the!European!
Social!Survey!(ESS,!2008,!2012!and!2016)!and!the!European!Survey!
of!Income!and!Living!Conditions!(EU-SILC,!2016).
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!It!is!important!to!
note!that!the!ESS!constructs!its!income!variable!on!self-reported!
household!income,!while!individual!salary!is!the!basis!for!the!
interview!sample.!This!means!that!we!do!not!know!how!much!the!
individual!respondents!to!the!ESS!survey!actually!earn,!only!that!
they!consider!themselves!as!belonging!to!the!top!decile.!
Approximately!15%!of!the!respondents!to!ESS!have!judged!
themselves!to!be!in!the!highest!decile!in!terms!of!household!
income.!It!is!also!worth!noticing!that!in!the!ESS,!it!is!the!household's!
total!income,!after!tax!and!deductions!and!from!all!sources,!that!is!
reported.!Furthermore,!the!ESS!data!has!a!limited!sample!size.!For!
the!background!on!high-income!earners!in!Sweden,!data!is!used!
from!EU-SILC,!which!collects!cross-sectional!and!multidimensional!
longitudinal!microdata!on!income!and!living!conditions.
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!For!the!
purpose!of!sampling!for!the!interviews,!this!text!uses!a!monthly!
income!of!SEK!49,200!(2018.!See!more!details!below)!as!the!
threshold!for!belonging!to!the!top!10%,!based!on!EU-SILC!data.!
This!text!begins!by!describing!the!Swedish!socio-economic!
context,!high-income!earners!in!Sweden,!and!the!interview!sample.!
An!analysis!of!the!interview!material!begins!with!the!interviewees’!
perceptions!of!meritocracy!and!upward!mobility!and!is!followed!by!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!Emil!Frisk!has!provided!us!with!the!statistics!from!the!European!Social!Survey.!In!the!data!from!
ESS!and!EU-SILC!used!in!this!text,!all!differences!between!the!top!10%!of!high-income!earners!
and!the!rest!of!the!population!are!significant!at!a!significance!level!of!at!least!95%!(or!p-value!
<.05).!
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!Data!from!Sweden!was!updated!in!2016.!

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their!perceived!economic!security!and!their!attitudes!to!economic!
inequality,!the!welfare!state,!taxation!and!social!responsibility.!The!
last!section!contains!an!analysis!of!the!political!participation!and!
civic!engagement!of!the!respondents.!
!
Background:!the!Swedish!context!!
In!1900,!Sweden!had!“more!severe!economic!inequality!than!the!
United!States”!(Bengtsson!2019:40).!The!Swedish!working!class!
was,!however,!as!Bengtsson!(2019:35)!puts!it,!“the!most!well!
organized!in!the!world.”!Partly!thanks!to!successful!labour!
organising,!in!the!1920s,!the!foundations!were!laid!for!a!welfare!
state!that!was!seen!as!an!answer!to!the!conflict!between!capital!and!
labour.!When!Esping-Andersen!(1990/1998)!developed!his!
influential!–!if!contested!–!categorisation!of!welfare!regimes,!he!
described!the!Swedish!welfare!state!as!a!social!democratic!project.!
He!regarded!Scandinavian!welfare!states!as!the!most!successful!in!
dealing!with!inequalities.!Esping-Andersen!highlights!the!ability!of!
the!social!democratic!welfare!state!regime!to!create!solidarity!
between!the!middle!and!the!working!class!through!the!social!
insurance!systems.!Social!justice!and!increased!equality!were!
particularly!important!(Korpi!1978).!One!goal!for!the!Social!
Democratic!Party!and!the!labour!movement!during!that!period!was!
the!elevation!of!the!working!class!by!providing!access!to!housing,!
healthcare,!and!unemployment!and!health!insurance!through!the!
welfare!system.!
In!more!recent!research,!the!image!of!the!welfare!state!as!a!
social!democratic!project!is!seen!as!an!oversimplification,!not!least!
because!it!was!based!on!“the!reformist!alliance!between!the!liberal!
intelligentsia!and!the!labour!movement”!(Bengtsson!2019:37).!The!
Swedish!welfare!state!project!was!based!on!a!class!compromise!
(see!Fraser!2003)!and!the!creation!of!what!de!los!Reyes!(2006:7)!
calls!a!“consensus!around!the!social!order,!even!if!the!content!of!the!
welfare!state!has!been!the!subject!of!political!negotiations!and!
ideological!conflicts”.
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This!shaped!the!self-image!of!Swedish!society!and!gave!the!
country!a!reputation!for!being!among!the!most!equal!in!the!world!
(Pred!2000).!According!to!de!los!Reyes!(2006),!the!emergence!of!
the!Swedish!welfare!model!was!based!on!the!ideal!of!equality!
through!redistribution,!and!hence!that!access!to!welfare!would!be!
equal!for!all.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!Our!translation.!

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Still,!Swedes!have!access!to!relatively!generous!universal!public!
services,!such!as!subsidised!healthcare,!free!education,!and!
universal!benefits!such!as!child!and!parental!benefits.!Childcare!and!
public!transportation!are!subsidised,!though!the!level!of!service!
varies!between!municipalities.
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!Public!transfers!that!depend!on!
income!include!sick!leave!compensation,!unemployment!benefits!
and!pensions.!In!2003,!a!state!inquiry!concluded!that!only!18%!of!
public!revenues!were!spent!on!redistribution!between!individuals.!
The!remainder,!over!80%!of!resources,!were!redistributed!over!
individuals’!life!courses!(Pettersson!and!Pettersson!2003:85).!
However,!the!Swedish!welfare!state!has!its!limitations.!For!
example,!Pringle!(2011:145-146)!has!suggested!that,!when!
comparing!the!UK!and!Sweden,!the!“state-collective”!and!
consensus-oriented!Swedish!system!has!in!some!ways!been!
relatively!unsuccessful!in!challenging!racial!or!gender!inequality.!
Furthermore,!as!noted!by!Fritzell!(2011),!high!poverty!rates!for!
those!with!migrant!backgrounds!go!against!the!equality!ideals!of!
the!Nordic!countries.!!
In!addition,!neo-liberal!reforms!during!recent!decades!–!for!
example!the!introduction!of!voucher!systems!in!school!–!have!
changed!the!character!of!the!public!sector.!Changes!have!been!
particularly!striking!in!primary!and!secondary!education.!In!1992,!a!
charter!school!reform!was!introduced,!along!with!a!voucher!
system.!Privately-run!charter!schools!entitled!to!public!funding!
began!to!emerge.!Today,!schools!are!run!either!by!municipalities,!
independent!non-profit!providers,!or!increasingly,!for-profit!school!
corporations.!Charter!schools!funded!by!public!money!are!not!
allowed!to!charge!fees,!but!they!can!freely!choose!where!to!
establish!themselves.!The!charter!school!reform!has!increased!
school!segregation!based!on!ethnic!and!class!backgrounds,!and!has!
thus!led!to!increased!educational!inequality!(see!Allelin!2019;!
Eurofound!2017;!Nyström!2012).!
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!Swedes!have!access!to!free!primary!and!secondary!education!and!universal!student!grants,!
including!tuition-free!tertiary!education.!

! !
Policy!changes!have!contributed!to!
increased!inequality!
During!the!last!three!decades,!a!number!of!policy!changes!have!
contributed!to!increased!inequality,!tending!to!benefit!the!relatively!
well-off.!Particularly!since!the!start!of!the!21st!century,!there!have!
been!extensive!changes!to!the!Swedish!tax!system.!As!described!by!
the!OECD!(2015:1):!"[i]n!Sweden,!like!in!most!other!Nordic!
countries,!tax!reforms!over!the!1990s!have!decreased!the!tax!
burden!also!and!sometimes!particularly!for!wealthier!households,!
e.g.,!by!decreasing!capital!taxation!and!lowering!or!abandoning!
wealth!taxation.”!In!2005,!both!the!inheritance!and!gift!taxes!were!
abolished!by!the!social!democratic!government.!The!wealth!tax!was!
abolished!in!2007!by!the!right-wing!coalition!government,!which!
led!to!an!increase!in!wealth!inequality!primarily!due!to!“more!
unequal!holdings!of!apartments!and!bank!savings”!(Lundberg!and!
Waldenström!2018:540).!Since!the!abolition!of!the!wealth!tax,!there!
have!been!no!official!statistics!on!wealth,!since!banks!and!other!
financial!entities!are!no!longer!obliged!to!provide!data!on!financial!
assets!and!liabilities!(Bengtsson!et!al.!2012).!In!2007,!earned!
income!tax!credits!were!introduced!by!the!right-wing!coalition!
government!and!expanded!until!2014.!With!this!policy,!disposable!
income!increased!substantially!for!those!with!a!job.!At!the!same!
time,!the!government!tightened!both!payments!from!and!access!to!
social!security!for!those!outside!the!labour!market,!including!
unemployment!benefits!and!sick!leave,!which!could!be!described!as!
benefits!austerity.!Tax!deductions!benefitting!high-income!earners!
include!those!for!the!repair!and!renovation!of!self-owned!housing!
(ROT-deduction,!not!available!for!tenants);!for!domestic!services!
such!as!cleaning,!baby-sitting!and!gardening!(RUT-deduction,!
introduced!in!2007);!for!interest!rates!on!mortgages;!and!pension!
savings.
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!
The!tax!deduction!for!domestic!services!has!been!widely!
debated!and,!as!shown!by!Anving!and!Eldén!(2016),!its!effect!has!
been!an!increase!in!class,!“race”!and!gender!inequalities.!Gavanas!
(2010:10)!argues!that!the!growth!of!the!domestic!service!sector!
should!be!understood!in!relation!to!the!downsizing!of!the!welfare!
state!system:!“[t]he!Swedish!market!for!domestic!service!is!
expanding!as!a!result!of!welfare!state!cutbacks,!as!well!as!
privatization!of!public!care,!deregulation,!internationalization!and!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
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!ROT!is!an!abbreviation!for!repairs,!conversions,!and!extensions,!and!RUT!stands!for!cleaning,!
maintenance,!and!laundry.!If!you!hire!a!person!to!do!these!services!in!your!household,!you!can!
apply!for!a!ROT!or!RUT!deduction!on!the!labour!cost!(Swedish!Tax!Agency!2020-03-18).!

11!
flexibilization!of!labour!markets.”!Furthermore,!in!2020,!the!
additional!state!income!tax!–!collected!from!annual!incomes!over!
SEK!689,300!–!was!removed,!which!means!that!the!well-off!will!pay!
less!tax.!This!has!tilted!the!redistributive!profile!of!the!government!
budget!for!2020!heavily!in!favour!of!the!top!10%!of!income!earners!
(Swedish!Government!2019a).!!
The!privatisation!of!welfare!that!began!in!the!1990s!has!
transformed!relations!between!public!and!private!capital!(Allelin!et!
al.!2018).!An!example!of!this!is!housing.!Polanska!and!Richard!
(2019:142)!show:!
The!national!housing!regime!is!regarded!as!a!
cornerstone!of!Sweden’s!welfare!politics.!This!model,!
introduced!in!the!country!after!the!Second!World!War,!
is!internationally!distinguished!for!its!universality!and!
egalitarian!approach,!such!as!its!high!percentage!of!
public!housing,!strong!tenants’!rights!and!exceptionally!
good!standard!in!housing.!
Polanska!and!Richard!argue!that!at!least!three!decades!of!
deregulation!have!resulted!in!“high!levels!of!residential!
segregation”!as!well!as!"increasing!displacement!of!low-income!
households![and]!the!creation!of!‘urban!nomads’!(people!moving!
several!times!due!to!renovations!and!raised!rents)”!(Ibid.:142).!
Furthermore,!since!the!1980s,!Swedish!firms!have!increasingly!
become!part!of!globalised!production!chains.!Capital!controls!were!
abolished!in!1989,!and!in!1995,!Sweden!joined!the!EU!and!the!WTO.!
As!noted!by!Pareliussen!et!al.,!(2018:53):!"[p]olicies!to!redistribute!
wealth!have!weakened!considerably!in!the!Nordics!over!the!past!
few!decades,!partly!as!a!response!to!globalisation,!and!encouraged!
by!organised!interests!from!the!business!community.”!Beginning!in!
the!1980s,!in!Sweden,!as!elsewhere,!financial!deregulation!took!
place!with!the!objective!of!enhancing!growth.!Roine!(2014)!points!
out!that!such!policy!changes!were!mainly!about!deregulating!the!
financial!sector!and!shrinking!the!tax!system.!In!Sweden,!these!
policies!contributed!to!a!bursting!housing!bubble!and!a!banking!
crisis!in!1990-91,!whose!repercussions!were!felt!throughout!the!
1990s.!The!political!answer!to!the!ensuing!economic!crisis!was!a!
further!neoliberalisation!of!the!economy:!the!privatisation!of!parts!
of!the!public!sector;!the!institution!of!a!purportedly!independent!
central!bank;!and!the!setting!of!an!inflation!target!given!priority!
over!full!employment.!In!2008,!however,!Sweden!was!not!as!
severely!hit!as!other!European!countries.!

! !
In!terms!of!its!labour!market,!Sweden!is!characterised!by!a!high!
rate!of!employment:!77.1%!of!the!working!age!population!were!
employed!in!the!last!quarter!of!2019!(OECD!2020).!Levels!of!union!
density!are!high,!particularly!among!white-collar!employees,!which!
is!unique!in!an!international!perspective.!While!union!density!has!
decreased!in!general,!levels!of!union!membership!have!remained!
high:!they!were!77%!in!2006!and!67%!in!2018!(72%!among!white-
collar!employees;!see!Kjellberg!2019:7).!An!even!larger!percentage!
of!the!workforce!is!covered!by!collective!bargaining!agreements:!
nine!out!of!ten!(Ibid.:8).!There!has!not!been!any!substantial!
increase!in!the!proportion!of!temporary!employment!during!the!
past!ten!years.!However,!it!is!important!to!note!that!precarisation!
has!increased,!since!temporary!jobs!have!become!more!insecure!
(Wingborg!2019).
9
!
!
High-income!earners!in!Sweden!
Based!on!Statistics!Sweden’s!(2018a)!data!on!salary!dispersion!by!
sector,!the!lower!threshold!of!the!top!10%!high-income!group!is!a!
monthly!wage!of!SEK!49,200!before!tax.!For!women,!this!is!SEK!
45,000!and!for!men!SEK!53,100,!while!the!average!monthly!wage!in!
2018!was!SEK!34,600!before!tax!(Statistics!Sweden!2018a).!
According!to!data!from!EU-SILC!(2016),!women!are!clearly!under-
represented!among!the!top!10%!high-income!earners.!!
However,!as!shown!by!Boschini,!Gunnarsson!and!Roine!
(2017:3),!the!proportion!of!women!in!the!top!decile!has!“steadily!
increased!since!the!1970s.!In!the!distribution!of!total!income!
(including!capital!gains)!the!proportion!of!women!in!the!top!10!
group!more!than!doubled!from!about!12%!in!1974!to!about
!28%!in!
2013.”!Their!study!indicates!that!realised!capital!gains!have!an!
influence!on!the!gender!composition!of!the!top!decile.!In!1995,!the!
proportion!of!total!income!of!the!top!10%!in!Sweden!was!19.7%.!In!
2017,!the!proportion!of!the!top!10%!had!risen!to!27.2!%!of!total!
income!(Swedish!Government!2019b:27).!The!number!of!high-
income!earners!in!the!top!10%!increases!after!the!age!of!35!and!
begins!to!decline!from!the!age!of!60!(EU-SILC!2016).!
Individuals!with!excellent!marks!in!upper!secondary!school!have!
a!higher!probability!of!becoming!high-income!earners!later!in!life!
than!those!with!lower!grades.!However,!the!likelihood!of!those!with!
excellent!marks!in!upper!secondary!school!becoming!high-income!
earners!is!greater!for!men!than!for!women!(Statistics!Sweden!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
9
!Parts!of!the!discussion!on!the!Swedish!welfare!state!in!this!section!is!based!on!Sohl!(2014).!

13!
2017).!Income!is!to!a!great!degree!related!to!education:!high-
income!earners!tend!to!have!higher!educational!levels!than!the!rest!
of!the!Swedish!population!(ESS!2016).!Within!the!top!10%,!55%!
belong!to!the!highest!education!category!in!the!ISCED!classification;!
that!is,!they!have!tertiary!education!(EU-SILC!2016).
10
!It!is!worth!
noticing!that!approximately!35%!of!the!top!10%!have!upper!
secondary!education!qualifications!as!their!highest!qualifications!
and!are!not!currently!enrolled!in!higher!education!(EU-SILC!2016).!
However,!this!was!true!of!only!two!interviewees!in!our!sample.!!
In!terms!of!national!origin,!the!majority!(89.5%)!of!the!top!10%!
were!born!in!Sweden,!compared!to!80.1%!among!the!rest!of!the!
population.!Geographically,!high-income!earners!are!over-
represented!in!Mälardalen,!western!Sweden!(Gothenburg),!and!
southern!Sweden!(ESS!2016).!They!also!tend!to!move!to!the!same!
neighbourhoods!within!cities,!which!is!particularly!evident!in!
Stockholm!(Statistics!Sweden!2018c).!
According!to!ESS!(2016)!data,!high-income!earners!are!more!
likely!to!vote!in!national!elections!than!the!rest!of!the!population.!
They!are!also!more!likely!to!vote!for!right-of-centre!parties.!As!
reported!by!Jylhä,!Rydgren,!and!Strimling!(2019:64):!"[h]aving!a!
high!income!is!most!common!among!Conservative!voters:!29!
percent!of!Conservative!voters!have!a!monthly!income!of!over!
40,000!SEK,!which!may!be!compared!with!16!percent!of!Social!
Democrat!voters!and!14!percent!of!Sweden!Democrat!voters.”!
Research!on!political!values!shows!that!people!in!higher!class!
positions!tend!to!be!on!the!right!on!questions!concerning!the!
economy.
11
!They!also!tend!to!be!more!libertarian!on!the!
libertarian/!authoritarian!dimension.
12
!In!contrast,!the!working!
class!is!likely!to!be!on!the!left!on!questions!concerning!the!economy!
and!hold!authoritarian!attitudes!regarding!culture!and!individual!
liberty.!Class!can!explain!political!attitudes!on!the!right/left!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
10
!It!refers!to!the!highest!completed!education!level!or,!for!those!still!in!the!education!system,!
their!current!level.!The!International!Standard!Classification!of!Education!(ISCED)!is!a!statistical!
framework!for!comparing!education!across!countries.!This!classification!is!designed!by!UNESCO.!
According!to!UNESCO's!definition,!tertiary!education!includes!academic!education!as!well!as!
advanced!vocational!or!professional!education.!It!comprises!ISCED!levels:!5!(short-cycle!tertiary!
education),!6!(Bachelors!or!equivalent!level),!7!(Masters!or!equivalent!level)!and!8!(Doctoral!or!
equivalent)!(UNESCO,!2012).!
11
!
In!
this!text,!the!interviewees!are!considered!to!be!on!the!left!if!they!voted!for!the!Social!
Democrats,!the!Left!Party,!the!Green!Party,!and!Feminist!Initiative!in!the!last!election.!Those!who!
voted!for!the!Moderate!Party,!the!Centre!Party,!the!Liberals,!and!the!Christian!Democrats!–!that!
is,!the!parties!that!in!the!2018!election!still!constituted!the!so-called!Alliance!–!are!placed!on!the!
right.!We!also!include!the!Sweden!Democrats!on!the!right.!
12
!The!category!“Libertarian”!includes!attitudes!in!favour!of!cultural!diversity,!individual!freedom,!
acceptance!of!minority!groups!and!freedom!from!authority.!“Authoritarian”!includes!a!belief!in!
social!hierarchy!and!intolerance!of!cultural!differences!and!non-conformity.!

! !
dimension,!but!level!of!education!is!the!main!factor!in!position!on!
the!libertarian/authoritarian!dimension!(Bengtsson,!Berglund!and!
Oskarson!2013;!Berglund!and!Oskarson!2010).!In!the!US!context,!
Gilens!(2012)!has!found!that!the!top!10%!of!income!earners!are!
more!likely!than!the!rest!of!the!population!to!take!a!number!of!
positions!that!in!many!contexts!are!considered!left-wing,!such!as!
liberal!views!on!abortion,!immigration,!and!same-sex!marriage,!
while!at!the!same!time!leaning!to!the!right!on!economic!issues.!
!
The!interview!study!
In!total,!the!interview!sample!consists!of!25!semi-structured!
interviews,!which!lasted!between!45!and!90!minutes.
13
!Our!
questions!concerned!seven!themes:!background,!self-perception,!
perceptions!on!inequality!and!social!distance,!views!on!the!reason!
for!inequality,!the!welfare!state/policy,!political!engagement!and!
responsibility!for!solidarity!in!society.!The!interview!included!
questions!about!education,!career!path,!parents’!background,!
whether!they!saw!themselves!as!high-income!earners,!views!about!
equality!in!society,!thoughts!about!the!development!of!society!and!
whether!they!had!any!worries!about!that!development,!views!about!
taxes!and!whether!they!thought!that!any!particular!tax!should!be!
changed,!what!parts!of!the!welfare!system!they!thought!were!most!
important!in!general!and!what!parts!were!most!important!for!them!
(and!their!family),!whether!they!were!politically!engaged,!whether!
they!voted!in!the!last!election,!whether!they!had!been!a!member!of!
a!political!party!and!whether!they!had!donated!money!to!charity.!!
The!interviewees!were!selected!on!the!basis!of!their!salary.
14
!In!
the!sample,!respondents!have!a!range!of!monthly!wage!incomes!
from!SEK!50,000!to!400,000,!reflecting!the!top!10!%!of!income!
earners!(Statistics!Sweden!2018a).
15
!Six!interviewees!also!receive!
bonuses.!In!addition,!we!actively!looked!for!people!who!are!in!the!
highest!income!group,!the!top!1%,!and!three!of!the!interviewees!
belong!to!this!group.!
We!used!a!combination!of!convenience!sampling!and!strategic!
selection!to!include!respondents!from!different!income!levels!and!
from!occupations!common!to!high-income!earners.!A!convenience!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
13
!Twenty-four!interviews!were!conducted!by!Mikael!Svensson!and!one!by!Lena!Sohl.!They!were!
conducted!in!Swedish,!and!were!recorded!and!transcribed.!We!have!translated!the!quotes!in!this!
text!into!English.!The!quotes!from!the!interviews!have!been!slightly!edited!for!readability.!The!
interview!study!has!been!audited!and!approved!by!the!Regional!Ethical!Review!Board!in!2018.!
14
!The!interviewees!were!asked!about!their!average!monthly!income.!
15
!The!income!data!is!based!on!what!the!interviewees!reported!during!the!interviews.!

15!
sample!was!chosen!due!to!the!relatively!limited!time!frame!for!the!
study.
16
!We!also!chose!to!recruit!interviewees!through!strategic!
sampling,!aiming!to!cover!specific!profiles.!In!practice,!interviewees!
were!recruited!both!through!contacts!and!by!emailing!all!
employees!in!seven!workplaces!where!many!high-income!earners!
work.!
Of!the!25!respondents!interviewed,!ten!are!women!and!15!are!
men.!Ten!respondents!are!35-40!years!old,!nine!are!41-50,!four!are!
51-60,!and!two!are!over!60.!Seventeen!work!in!the!private!sector!
and!eight!in!the!public!sector.!The!sample!is!dominated!by!those!
living!in!Stockholm!(16!out!of!25)!and!other!places!in!Mälardalen!
(4).!Of!the!rest,!three!live!in!Gothenburg!and!two!in!cities!in!the!
north!of!Sweden.!Twenty-four!respondents!were!born!in!Sweden,!
one!in!another!western!European!country.!Of!those!born!in!Sweden,!
one!has!parents!who!were!both!born!in!another!western!European!
country,!and!one!has!one!parent!who!was!born!in!the!US.!Twenty-
three!interviewees!have!higher!education!qualifications,!while!two!
have!upper!secondary!education!qualifications!as!their!highest!
qualification.!Twenty-two!participants!have!partners.!
In!the!sample!we!have!more!interviewees!on!the!left!politically!
than!among!the!group!of!high-income!earners!at!large.!One!
explanation!may!have!to!do!with!who!are!willing!to!participate!in!
an!interview!study!about!high-income!earners.!Another!explanation!
could!be!that!the!research!was!carried!out!on!behalf!of!Arena,!
which!is!perceived!by!politically!interested!people!as!a!left-wing!
organisation.!However,!one!advantage!of!having!this!kind!of!sample!
is!that!it!has!allowed!us!to!see!differences!between!those!with!left-
wing!and!those!with!right-wing!attitudes.!!
Their!paths!to!belonging!to!this!segment!of!the!population!differ:!
some!were!born!into!families!where!both!parents!were!highly!
educated!high-income!earners;!others!came!to!belong!to!this!group!
through!educational!and!career!pathways.!They!are!therefore!
diverse!in!terms!of!their!family!background,!inheritance,!education,!
and!social!networks.!There!is!also!an!interesting!dissociation!within!
this!group!in!relation!to!lifestyle.!Several!interviewees!describe!
their!own!lifestyle!as!being!markedly!different!from!what!they!
associate!with!high-income!earners.!Several!of!our!interviewees!
vote!for!right-of-centre!parties.!However,!it!is!worth!noting!that!we!
also!have!several!left-leaning!respondents,!both!in!terms!of!voting!
and!in!relation!to!their!own!self-description.!Thus,!there!is!greater!
differentiation!in!terms!of!values!and!attitudes!among!the!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
16
!Although!a!convenience!sample!make!the!results!more!difficult!to!generalise!(Bryman!2018),!
that!is!not!the!main!goal!of!qualitative!research.!

! !
interviewees!than!might!have!been!expected!based!on!the!usual!
perception!of!high-income!earners.!
!
Perceptions!of!meritocracy!and!
upward!mobility!
As!Eurofound!(2017a:4)!describes,!social!fluidity!can!be!used!as!“an!
indicator!of!societal!openness”!as!well!as!of!“the!inequality!between!
individuals!from!different!occupational!classes!in!terms!of!their!
chances!of!occupying!one!destination!class!rather!than!another.”!
Eurofound!reports!decreasing!social!fluidity!in!Sweden!over!the!
three!age!cohorts!studied!(born!1927-1945,!1946-1964,!and!1965-
1975),!and!for!both!men!and!women.!Eurofound!(2017a:32)!
explains!this!decrease!as!follows:!
An!increase!in!the!freedom!of!choice!in!public!services!
(for!example,!school!choice)!has!widened!the!gap!
between!families,!income!inequalities!have!increased!
and!income!redistribution!has!decreased.!It!remains!an!
open!question!whether!a!reduction!in!mobility!in!
Sweden!is!temporary!or!not.!
In!the!interview!material!used!for!this!report,!there!are!three!
different!aspects!to!perceptions!of!meritocracy!and!upward!
mobility:!1)!Several!interviewees!focus!on!the!Swedish!education!
system!as!crucial!to!achieving!equality.!2)!When!it!comes!to!their!
own!career!trajectory,!the!interviewees!tell!us!they!attained!their!
position!thanks!to!the!education!system,!their!(class)!background,!
hard!work,!opportunities!(structural!preconditions),!luck!and!social!
skills.!3)!The!interviewees!see!a!connection!between!success!and!
hard!work,!though!some!acknowledge!that!not!all!who!work!hard!
get!their!just!rewards.!
Access!to!higher!education!is!therefore!presented!as!essential!by!
our!respondents.!Although!higher!education!is!free!of!charge!in!
Sweden,!working-class!children!are!under-represented!in!higher!
education!(see!Bengtsson!et!al.!2012).!Thus,!class!differences!are!
reproduced!within!the!education!system!(Isopahkala-Bouret!et!al.!
2018;!Holmqvist!2018a).!Several!interviewees!talk!about!the!fact!
that!education!divides!Sweden!along!class!lines.!Some!present!this!
as!an!information!problem:!if!people!knew!about!available!
opportunities,!they!would!take!advantage!of!them.!For!instance,!
Carl!uses!his!own!upbringing,!in!an!upwardly!mobile!family,!to!
describe!the!conditions!of!those!with!a!privileged!background.!

17!
Whether!higher!education!is!considered!a!possibility!is,!according!
to!Carl,!clearly!dependent!on!class.!Against!this!backdrop,!he!
believes!the!education!system!should!remain!free,!including!
universities.!He!also!thinks!that!the!fact!that!education!is!free!for!all!
should!be!more!widely!disseminated.!
For!Carl,!the!importance!of!education!is!clear!when!other!people!
assume!that!he!comes!from!a!family!of!lawyers!because!he!is!a!
lawyer!himself.!He!sees!education!as!especially!important!for!
families!who,!like!his,!have!a!migrant!background,!“[e]ducation!is!a!
stepping!stone,!I!think.”!He!told!us!that!the!downward!class!
mobility!experienced!in!the!earlier!generations!of!his!family!was!
reversed!thanks!to!the!opportunities!provided!via!welfare!policies.!
Several!other!interviewees!also!emphasise!that,!thanks!to!the!
Swedish!education!system!being!free,!they!have!had!access!to!
higher!education!regardless!of!their!class!background.!Some!have!
highly!educated!parents!with!a!working-class!background,!while!
others!are!the!first!in!their!family!to!have!gone!onto!higher!
education.!Education!is!central!to!several!interviewees’!narratives,!
with!the!majority!seeing!their!pursuit!of!higher!education!as!logical!
in!the!context!of!their!class!backgrounds.!For!instance,!Erika!raises!
the!subject!of!her!upbringing!at!the!beginning!of!the!interview:!“[I]!
think!I!have!a!fairly!typical!Swedish!middle-class!background.!Dad!
was!the!first!in!his!family!who!went!on!to!higher!education,!he!is!a!
civil!engineer.!Mum!worked!as!a!secretary.”!Others,!like!Antonia,!
who!has!middle-class!professional!parents,!think!their!family!
expected!them!to!go!to!university.!Sara,!who!works!as!a!doctor,!told!
us!it!is!not!possible!to!fail!once!you!manage!to!get!into!medical!
school.!She!adds!that!there!was!“no!discussion”!at!home!about!
whether!she!should!attend!university.!
As!mentioned!earlier,!the!interviewees!tend!to!explain!where!
they!have!ended!up!by!recourse!to!education,!hard!work,!
opportunities,!luck,!and!social!skills.!Lars!tells!us!about!
opportunities,!luck,!and!his!ability!to!take!advantage!of!
circumstances:!“[I]!would!say!that!it!is!largely!by!chance!and!the!
will!to!seize!them![opportunities],!when!they!come”.!According!to!
Bastani!and!Waldenström!(2019),!high-income!earners,!more!often!
than!others,!think!that!a!person’s!economic!position!is!a!result!of!
effort!and!hard!work.!In!our!interviews,!hard!work!is!a!recurring!
theme.!An!example!of!stressing!the!importance!of!hard!work!comes!
from!Annika,!who!is!head!of!a!department!of!a!local!government:!
“[I']!m!not!very!smart![laughs]!and!I!haven't!been!very!specialised!
in!anything!either.!But!then!I'm!a!pretty!ambitious!person.”!

! !
It!is!worth!noticing,!however,!that!few!claim!their!own!talent!or!
effort!is!the!only!explanation!for!their!favourable!position.!It!also!
seems!that!several!interviewees!do!not!see!a!strong!link!between!
success!and!hard!work,!though!some!do!make!this!connection.!One!
is!Helena,!a!medical!professor,!who!believes!that!those!who!make!
an!effort!get!more,!but!this!does!not!necessarily!mean!they!get!what!
they!deserve.!Others,!like!Rikard,!working!in!the!medical!industry,!
argue!that!there!is!no!connection!between!the!effort!people!make!
and!their!financial!situation:!"[n]o.!Absolutely,!no,!no,!no.!
Absolutely!not."!Early!in!the!interview,!Rikard!notes!that,!although!
people!who!work!as!carpenters!or!nurses!have!demanding!jobs,!
they!are!not!rewarded!in!proportion!to!their!hard!work,!especially!
when!compared!to!the!pay!more!privileged!people!might!get,!
regardless!of!their!effort.!Markus,!who!works!in!the!IT!sector,!also!
tells!us!he!is!not!sure!there!is!a!connection!between!effort!and!
reward:!
In!some!cases,!yes,!but!then!you!also!have!classes,!such!
as!nursing!assistants,!who!work!very!much,!work!
nights,!or!warehouse!workers!who!work!really!hard!
physically,!but!maybe!do!not!earn!so!much.!So!that’s!
unfairly!distributed,!I!think.!Then!there!are!also!some!
people!who!maybe!kind!of!just!surf!along!because!of!
their!social!backgrounds.!For!me!it!has!been!quite!easy,!
maybe!only!because!of!my!social!skills.!
As!for!who!tends!not!to!get!their!fair!share,!Markus,!like!Rikard,!
thinks!first!of!working-class!occupations.!Markus!adds!another!
dimension:!the!importance!of!people’s!class!background.!He!
acknowledges!that!while!some!work!hard!without!being!paid!well,!
others!earn!well!thanks!to!their!upbringing!and!the!social!skills!that!
come!with!it.!Markus!claims!his!social!skills!enabled!him!to!reach!
the!place!he!is!in.!He!tells!us:!"[I]!have!had!a!very!privileged!
background.!Had!parents!who!were!well-off!economically!and!we!
as!family!had!it!safe.”!In!addition,!Hugo,!who!is!a!programmer,!
explains!why!he!managed!to!get!a!coveted!job!with!a!high!salary:!
“[y]es,!I!am!white!and!a!man![laughter]!and!it!probably!has!a!lot!to!
do!with!it.”!When!explaining!how!he!ended!up!where!he!is,!Markus!
does!not!bring!up!hard!work,!but!rather!it!is!his!social!skills!that!
represented!the!defining!factor,!identified!as!essential!for!becoming!
part!of!the!Swedish!elite!(Holmqvist!2017).!
Some!interviewees!also!highlight!gendered!dimensions!of!
inequality,!for!instance!when!Markus!takes!the!example!of!a!
nursing!assistant,!a!low!paid!female-dominated!occupation!in!

19!
which!people!work!hard!for!little!pay.!An!interesting!view!on!
injustice!emerges:!people!in!working-class!occupations!might!work!
hard!in!demanding!jobs!without!getting!a!fair!wage!while!others!–!
as!Markus!and!Hugo!point!out!–!are!better!paid!thanks!to!their!
privileges!in!terms!of!class,!gender,!and!being!born!in!Sweden.!
Nevertheless,!and!regardless!of!whether!they!sympathise!with!the!
left!or!the!right,!a!majority!believe!there!is!some!connection!
between!working!hard!and!the!situation!in!which!people!find!
themselves.!For!them,!effort!does!have!a!reward,!if!uneven.!This!
argument!is!most!prevalent!among!those!on!the!right.!Some!
interviewees!on!the!left!talk!about!unequal!opportunities!in!
education!and!several,!as!mentioned!earlier,!point!out!that!people!
in!working-class!positions!often!work!hard!for!little!reward.!
Education!is!central!for!the!majority!of!interviewees,!as!it!opens!
up!possibilities!for!upward!mobility!–!hence!the!importance!of!the!
education!system!being!free!of!charge.!It!should!also!be!noted!that,!
as!part!of!the!neo-liberal!shift!of!the!Swedish!welfare!state:!"[t]he!
understanding!of!upward!mobility!changed!from!a!collective!
project!to!an!individual!responsibility!to!improve!one’s!life!
conditions”!(Sohl!2018a:96).!The!interviewees!express!support!for!
one!of!the!core!tenets!of!the!Swedish!welfare!state!that!working-
class!children!should!have!access!to!higher!education!(see!Sohl!
2018a),!even!though!the!system!has!always!been!stratified.!
!
High-income!earners!in!Sweden:!an!
economically!secure!group!
According!to!ESS!data,!respondents!who!consider!themselves!as!
belonging!to!the!top!10%!highest!income!households!feel!economic!
security!to!a!greater!extent!than!the!rest.!There!have!been!no!major!
changes!over!time,!but!the!proportion!of!the!group!who!answered!
“Living!comfortably!on!present!income”!has!increased!slightly!over!
the!years.!Compared!to!2008,!the!group!of!high-income!earners!
feels!even!safer!in!2016!(ESS!2008!&!2016).!A!majority!reported!
that!they!feel!they!can!live!comfortably!on!their!income!in!2016.!
According!to!ESS!(2016)!very!few!high-income!earners!in!Sweden!
claim!to!have!difficulty!in!making!ends!meet.!This!might!explain!
why!higher!salaries!do!not!seem!to!be!especially!important!for!the!
interviewees!in!deciding!what!jobs!to!pursue.!Rather,!they!are!more!
likely!to!be!motivated!by!new!challenges!in!their!working!lives.!In!
addition,!high-income!earners,!as!explained!earlier,!have!benefitted!
from!a!number!of!changes!to!the!tax!system.!

! !
In!line!with!survey!data,!our!interviewees!also!describe!a!feeling!
of!economic!security.!Our!interviews!indicate!that!this!feeling!of!
economic!security!might!be!linked!to!their!stable!position!in!the!
labour!market,!which!they!expect!to!maintain.!Indeed,!our!
participants!are!not!worried!about!unemployment.!None!of!our!
interviewees!worry!about!money.!This!was!evident,!for!example,!
when!they!were!asked!whether!they!ever!feel!like!they!do!not!have!
enough!money.!For!several!interviewees,!this!just!does!not!happen.!
Amanda,!who!runs!a!business!with!several!employees,!told!us:!
I!earn!49![000!SEK]!and!then!I!have!other!side!jobs!that!
increase!the!tax!rate,!but…!I!thought!that!I!would!
have…!that!I!had!more.!Since!I!have!never!experienced!
the!money!running!out,!do!you!understand!what!I!
mean?!
Similarly,!Helena!tells!us!that!she!barely!knows!how!much!she!
earns!nowadays.!She!adds!that!it!is!“embarrassing”!to!negotiate!her!
salary!as!she!already!earns!so!much.!
Some!interviewees!mention!situations!in!which!they!would!have!
liked!to!have!more!economic!resources.!Despite!the!fact!that!he!
works!part-time!and!has!an!income!that!places!him!comfortably!
above!the!top!10%!threshold,!Sebastian!mentions!housing!costs!
and!says!he!would!not!be!able!to!make!renovations!to!his!current!
flat,!or!move!into!the!inner!city!of!Stockholm,!“[I]!could!not!afford!
that,!so!that!feels!like!a!financial!limitation.”!However,!these!
comments!that!interviewees,!like!Sebastian,!make!are!not!about!
being!unable!to!meet!their!necessities,!but!rather!about!not!being!
able!to!spend!at!the!level!they!would!wish!and!in!comparison!to!
those!earning!more.!!
Sebastian,!who!works!in!the!financial!industry!and!was!born!in!
another!western!European!country,!tells!us!that!he!does!not!really!
feel!like!a!high-income!earner:!“I!do!not!feel!rich!or!financially!
flexible.”!He!compares!himself!to!those!with!high!incomes!born!in!
Sweden,!claiming!that!there!are!notable!differences!between!them!
and!him.!He!notes!that!often,!those!high-income!earners!who!were!
born!in!Sweden!have!inherited!assets!that!span!generations:!
Yes,!the!monthly!salary!I!may!agree!on![makes!him!a!
high-income!earner],!but!if!you!look!at!my!Swedish!
colleagues!who!grew!up!and!have!had!a!family!here,!
there!is!much!more!prosperity!behind!them.!Of!course,!
you!don’t!travel!during!the!summer!because!your!
family!has!a!summer!house.!

21!
While!Sebastian!agrees!that!his!monthly!salary!qualifies!him!as!a!
high-income!earner,!he!is!not!as!wealthy!as!his!colleagues!who!
were!raised!in!Sweden!and!who!have!assets.!To!be!a!native!Swede!
is!here!used!as!signifying!a!distinction!from!other!high-income!
earners!who!have!immigrated!to!Sweden!and!have!no!inherited!
assets!in!the!form!of,!for!example,!summer!houses.!Inherited!assets!
are!associated!with!a!class-specific!Swedishness.!Although!many,!
like!Sebastian,!play!down!their!own!position!in!relation!to!others!
who!are!better!off,!they!still!express!awareness!that!they!are!high!
income!earners.!Cristian,!a!lawyer,!compares!himself!with!
colleagues!in!other!countries:!
If!you!compare!yourself!to!the!Germans!and!the!British!
[…],!you!are!hardly!seen!as!a!high-income!earner.!They!
earn!so!much!more.!From!a!Swedish!perspective,!yes,!I!
probably!do![earn!a!lot].!It!can!sometimes!hit!me...!I!
don't!feel!like!I!can!spend!money!on!whatever!I!want.!
Nevertheless,!Cristian!adds!that!even!though!they!cannot!afford!
what!he!calls!“mega!excesses”,!he!and!his!partner!do!not!have!to!
save!to!buy!what!they!want.!Thus,!the!interviewees!tend!to!
compare!themselves!first!with!those!who!earn!more!than!they!do.!
These!comparisons!could!be!understood!as!a!way!of!marking!class-
based!boundaries,!but!also!as!attempts!to!play!down!their!own!
privilege,!which!chimes!with!previous!research!on!Swedish!middle!
and!upper!classes!(Sohl!2018b).!Especially!those!who!live!in!
Stockholm!tend!to!draw!these!kinds!of!boundaries,!and!they!tend!to!
compare!themselves!with!people!living!near!them.!One!example!is!
Susann,!a!medical!doctor.!Following!her!divorce,!she!now!rents!a!
house!in!a!very!affluent!area!of!the!city,!and!claims!her!family!is!
“the!poorest!where!I!live”.!She!tells!us!that!although!she!has!a!high!
salary,!she!cannot!get!a!mortgage!as!she!has!no!savings.!
Several!interviewees,!however,!are!well!aware!of!their!relative!
privilege.!This!applies!regardless!of!whether!they!are!at!the!top!of!
our!sample!or!in!the!lower!income!range.!Even!though!Susann!tells!
us!that!she!cannot!get!a!mortgage!to!buy!the!house!she!wants,!she!
describes!her!life!circumstances:!"[I]!belong!to!those!who!lead!a!
good!life.!I!live!beautifully,!I!have!my!animals,!I!have!everything.”!
Likewise,!Daniel!tells!us!his!family!never!has!to!consider!how!much!
things!cost:!"[t]hat!is!a!great!privilege,!I!think."!Previous!research!
on!middle!and!upper-class!women!in!Sweden!(Sohl!2018b),!has!
found!that!they!often!describe!their!lives!as!“good”!and!“privileged”.!
In!this!study,!it!is!also!clear!that!high-income!earners!are!aware!of!
their!privilege!and!that!their!earnings!are!good!in!comparison!to!

! !
most,!even!though!most!interviewees!do!not!think!about!it!very!
often!in!their!daily!lives.!!
Interestingly,!several!interviewees!also!make!distinctions!
upwards.!For!instance,!Henrik!compares!himself!to!those!“at!the!
top”:!"[I]!am!really!not!at!the!top.!It!is!a!huge!difference!to!be!at!the!
top!in!terms!of!pay.!Then!you!can!really!talk!about!being!very!
wealthy.”!Similarly,!Lars!who!is!at!the!top!of!our!sample!in!terms!of!
income,!tells!us!about!his!experience!at!a!colleague's!wedding:!
“[s]uddenly,!I!realised!everyone!he!knew!had!gone!to!Lundsberg![a!
prestigious!private!school]!with!him.!And!that!is!not!something!I!
did,!so!it!is!a!world!which!I!am!not!in!at!all.”!Other!interviewees!also!
mention!those!“above”!them!in!the!social!hierarchy,!who!have!more!
than!their!fair!share,!thus!underlining!social!injustices!in!Sweden.!
They!describe!their!own!present!and!future!situations!in!positive!
terms.!However,!some!respondents!belong!to!households!with!two!
high-income!earners,!whereas!in!others!only!one!person!enjoys!a!
high!income.!But!even!in!the!latter!cases,!they!do!not!seem!to!face!
financial!problems.!For!instance,!Markus!tells!us!he!is!the!main!
earner!in!his!family,!as!his!wife!works!in!the!cultural!sector.!He!
compares!his!family!with!households!with!two!high-income!
earners:!“[s]ince!my!wife!does!not!make!any!money,!we!might!not!
be!super!rich!if!you!compare!us!with!other!friends!who!have!two!
incomes!over!say!51,000.”!However,!Markus!tells!us!he!has!never!
felt!any!stress!over!money.!
As!the!interviewees!feel!economically!secure,!they!claim!that!the!
pursuit!of!new!challenges!in!their!careers!motivates!their!decisions!
about!their!working!lives!to!a!greater!extent!than!pay!increases.!For!
example,!Daniel!says!his!salary!was!not!the!main!factor!in!the!
decision!to!make!this!change!when!he!last!switched!from!being!a!
consultant!to!a!less!well-paid!job!in!a!state-owned!company:!
It!went!down!by!20,000,!I!think.!But!it!feels!totally!
okay,!I!thought.!I!wanted!to!do!something!different!and!
thought!I!would!join!a!new!organisation.!And!I!still!
thought!that!the!salary!I!was!getting!was...!I!had!no!
problems!supporting!myself.!
After!that!move,!he!worked!his!way!up!and!today!he!has!a!
significantly!higher!salary!than!when!he!started.!This!is!a!recurring!
pattern!when!the!interviewees!talk!about!their!future!in!the!labour!
market.!Another!example!comes!from!Stefan,!who!works!in!a!large!
corporation:!

23!
This!might!sound!really!strange,!but!at!present!it!
[economic!reward]!is!not!a!driving!force.!No,!the!
driving!force!is!that!the!company!I!am!working!for!is!
doing!well!and!that!the!people!who!work!there!feel!
happy,!as!do!the!customers!who!come!there!to!shop.!
Similarly,!Lars,!who!works!in!financial!investment!and!is!self-
employed,!says!that!a!higher!salary!was!not!the!reason!he!pursued!
the!position!he!is!currently!in,!and!the!salary!is!no!longer!an!
important!factor!for!him:!“After!a!while!the!salary!does!not!become!
a!criterion!for!jobs!really!at!all,!because!it’s!good!everywhere.”!Lars,!
who!reports!earning!up!to!SEK!400,000!per!month,!which!puts!him!
among!the!top!1%!income!earners,!adds!that!having!financial!
margins!means!that!in!the!event!of!being!unemployed!–!which!he!
sees!as!unlikely!–!he!would!be!able!to!manage!for!at!least!half!a!
year:!“[a]bsolutely.!It!has!been!like!that!for!probably![..]!twenty!
years!at!least.”!
Another!indication!of!the!interviewees’!feelings!of!economic!
security!is!that!some!are!not!union!members.!As!already!
mentioned,!in!Sweden,!trade!union!membership!is!more!prevalent!
among!white-collar!than!blue-collar!workers.!According!to!
Statistics!Sweden!(2018b),!employees!(who!had!work!as!their!main!
activity)!(aged!16-64)!with!post-!secondary!education!are!more!
likely!to!be!members!of!a!trade!union!or!employer!organisation!
than!those!without:!74%!compared!to!54%.!Rikard!tells!us!that!he!
is!not!worried!about!unemployment!but!he!still!wants!to!guarantee!
his!income!by!being!a!member!of!a!union:!“[w]ell,!the!only!reason!I!
am!a![union]!member!is!actually!that!it![the!membership]!includes!
income!insurance.!Not!because!I!think!I'm!going!to!become!
unemployed,!but...!yes,!you!sleep!a!little!better!at!night.”!
Some!respondents!have!chosen!to!be!part!of!a!union,!not,!
presumably,!because!they!need!the!membership!to!feel!secure,!
because!they!already!do.!However,!like!Rikard,!some!interviewees!
still!like!to!have!that!extra!security,!even!though!they!do!not!think!
they!will!need!it.!Besides!the!fact!that!their!current!income!provides!
them!with!a!good!standard!of!living,!the!security!of!having!a!well-
paid!job!in!the!future!also!appears!to!be!crucial!to!their!feeling!of!
economic!security.!They!feel!secure!in!being!able!to!retain!their!
current!job,!and!in!knowing!that!their!education!and!work!
experience!would!enable!them!to!find!another!equivalent!job,!if!
necessary.!

! !
Attitudes!towards!inequality!and!the!
welfare!state!
According!to!Svallfors!(2012:2):!“[a]ttitudes!toward!the!welfare!
state!and!other!public!institutions!should!be!seen!as!central!
components!of!social!order,!governance,!and!legitimacy!of!modern!
societies.”!As!for!support!for!the!welfare!state,!Svallfors!(2011)!has!
shown!that!there!were!no!major!changes!in!Sweden!between!1981!
and!2010.!This!is!also!evident!in!data!from!annual!national!surveys!
carried!out!by!the!SOM!Institute!at!Gothenburg!University!since!
1986!(Nilsson!2019).!However,!support!for!the!public!sector!has!
increased!substantially!since!2010.!In!2017,!there!were!twice!as!
many!who!opposed!cuts!to!the!public!sector!as!those!in!favour!of!a!
smaller!public!sector.!As!shown!in!previous!research,!people’s!
views!on!the!welfare!policy!in!Sweden!are!closely!linked!to!class,!
education!and!income!(Svallfors!1989).!
This!pattern!is!visible!in!data!on!support!for!lowering!income!
differences!in!society.!According!to!a!survey!carried!out!in!2018,!
63%!of!Swedes!think!it!is!a!fairly!good!or!a!very!good!idea!to!lower!
income!differences!in!society.!The!rate!is!significantly!higher!among!
people!who!have!not!completed!compulsory!education!(79%)!and!
lowest!among!those!with!a!university!degree!or!more!(58%)!
(Wärnlöf-Bové!2019).!Another!study!has!shown!that!certain!high-
income!earning!professions,!such!as!lawyers,!economists,!and!civil!
engineers,!support!reducing!the!public!sector!and!would!like!to!see!
more!privatisation!(Brante!et!al.!2015).!
ESS!data!shows!that!44%!of!the!top!10%!(as!opposed!to!62%!of!
the!rest!of!the!income!distribution)!support!the!claim!that!“for!a!fair!
society,!differences!in!living!standards!should!be!small”!and!that!
there!have!been!no!major!changes!in!these!attitudes!over!time!(ESS,!
2008,!2012!and!2016).!ESS!data!(2008,!2016)!also!shows!that!those!
who!consider!themselves!as!belonging!to!the!top!10%!of!
households!agree!with!the!claim:!“[l]arge!differences!in!income!
[are]!acceptable!to!reward!talents!and!efforts”!to!a!greater!extent!
than!the!rest.!This!is!true!in!both!2008!and!2016.!However,!some!
minor!changes!over!time!are!noticeable:!in!both!groups,!the!
proportion!of!“agree”!responses!diminished.!In!the!interviews,!
there!are!different!arguments!about!inequality.!Interviewees!on!the!
left!seem!to!think!that!reducing!inequality!in!outcomes!would!be!
good!for!society,!while!several!on!the!right!argue!that!equality!of!
opportunity!is!more!important.!Another!view!is!that!inequality!is!
not!bad!in!itself.!Instead,!the!focus!should!be!on!the!actual!living!
standards!of!the!very!poorest!in!society.!

25!
In!an!ESS!data-based!study!on!age,!class,!and!attitudes!towards!
government!responsibilities!and!income!redistributions,!Svallfors,!
Kulin!and!Schnabel!(2012:179)!find!that!for!Denmark!and!Sweden:!
“[c]lass!differences!are!substantially!smaller!in!both!countries!in!
2008!than!they!were!in!2002.!Support!for!redistributive!policies!
increased!in!all!classes!in!the!two!Scandinavian!countries!between!
2006!and!2008,!but!increases!more!among!the!most!sceptical!–!that!
is,!among!members!of!service!class!I.”
17
!Moreover,!they!(Ibid.:181)!
conclude:!“[w]ith!almost!no!exceptions,!we!find!workers!to!be!more!
supportive!of!extensive!welfare!policies!than!the!self-employed!and!
the!high!salariat.”!
The!interviews!seem!to!indicate!relatively!strong!support!for!
welfare!policies!in!general,!especially!for!free!education!(attitudes!
to!education!are!further!discussed!below).!In!the!sample,!there!are!
differences!between!those!on!the!right!and!on!the!left!in!relation!to!
three!questions:!are!current!levels!of!inequality!a!problem!or,!on!
the!contrary,!are!they!necessary!or!even!positive?!Should!inequality!
be!considered!in!absolute!or!relative!terms!–!that!is,!should!poverty!
and!absolute!living!standards!be!the!focus!or!is!inequality!a!
problem!in!itself?!And!lastly,!should!everyone!be!given!equal!
opportunities!or!should!society!seek!equality!of!outcomes?!
There!is!a!range!of!views!among!respondents!on!the!left,!
between!those!who!think!economic!inequality!is!problematic!at!the!
level!it!is!today,!to!those!who!merely!think!it!should!not!increase.!
An!example!of!the!former!is!Lars,!who!tells!us!income!inequalities!
seem!to!make!more!of!a!difference!in!people's!lives!today!than!they!
used!to:!
I!was!a!high-income!earner!in!the!nineties.!It!feels!like!
there!was!no!major!difference![then].!Now!there!is!a!
much!bigger!difference,!with!all!private!insurance!and!
healthcare!companies!and!RUT!stuff!and!ROT.!
Everything!like!that!clearly!favours,!I!think,!those!who!
earn!a!little!more.!I!think!society!has!become!less!
equal.!
Conversely,!Johanna,!who!works!as!a!civil!servant,!believes!only!
that!inequality!should!not!grow!beyond!its!current!levels.!She!told!
us!a!50%!income!tax!should!be!the!absolute!maximum,!thus!setting!
a!limit!for!income!redistribution.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
17
!Svallfors,!Kulin!and!Schnabel!(2012:169)!explain!their!class!categorisation!as!follows:!“[w]e!
collapse!the!Erikson-!Goldthorpe!schema!into!six!classes:!unskilled!workers,!skilled!workers,!
routine!nonmanuals![sic],!service!class!II,!service!class!I,!and!the!self-employed.”!

! !
There!are!also!those!on!the!right!who!agree!that!inequality!
should!be!addressed.!When!asked!about!the!causes!of!income!
inequality,!Cristian!mentions!the!increasing!gap!between!income!
from!wages!and!income!from!capital!gains:!“[a]s!I!understand!it,!
there!has!never!been!a!larger!gap,!not!since!the!1930s!or!
something,!and!I!don’t!think!that’s!good.”!Several!interviewees!
point!to!the!negative!consequences!of!inequality,!including!for!the!
rich,!as!it!contributes!to!more!crime.!Cristian,!who!voted!for!the!
liberal-conservative!Moderate!Party,!told!us!high-income!earners!
might!ultimately!be!affected!negatively!by!a!large!income!gap:!“[i]t!
creates!friction.!I!think!it!creates!a!bad!social!climate.!I!imagine!it!
creates!crime.!Everything!like!that.!So,!I!definitely!don't!think!it's!
good.”!As!the!interviewees!discuss!what!society!will!be!like!in!the!
future,!several!envisage!a!more!fragmented!one.!Mats!discusses!the!
wealthy!area!he!lives!in,!and!predicts!he!might!need!more!security!
measures!than!just!surveillance!cameras!to!protect!his!house!in!the!
future:!
I!don't!have!fences!here.!It's!not!because!I!can't!afford!
to!build!a!fence,!but!it's!because!I!don't!have!to.!Now!I!
have!surrounded!myself!with!lots,!lots!of!cameras,!it’s!
because!I!need!it.!But!I!can!give!it!twenty!more!years!
and!you!can!be!sure!that!I!will!live!in!an!area!with!
security!guards.!
In!a!similar!vein,!Daniel!ponders!what!kind!of!country!he!thinks!
Sweden!will!be!in!ten!years’!time.!He!believes!social!stratification!
will!be!more!pronounced!and!that!it!will!be!“even!harder!to!find!
common!projects!for!all!segments!of!society”!to!rally!around.!
There!are!other!interviewees!on!the!right!who!do!not!think!that!
a!more!equal!society!is!necessarily!inherently!desirable.!Henrik,!
who!works!in!PR!and!communications,!thinks!this!depends!on!what!
you!mean!by!inequality:!
I!really!hope!and!do!believe!that!it!is!possible!in!
Sweden!to!come!from!Rinkeby![a!marginalised!
neighbourhood!in!Stockholm]!or!something!and!
become!CEO!of!Ericsson.!I!really!think!it's!special!for!
those!born!today.!And!at!the!same!time,!I!am!not!for!
any!form!of!redistribution!of!income...!wage!
adjustments!between!communities.![I]f!you!mean!it!
would!be!more!equal!then,!I!wouldn’t!agree.!
Henrik!goes!even!further,!and!tells!us!he!wants!greater!income!
differences:!“[I]!would!benefit!from!it.!Absolutely.!And!I!think!

27!
society!would!benefit!from!it.!Sweden!would!benefit!from!it.”!
Henrik!emphasises,!however,!that!this!should!not!mean!that!the!
most!socially!excluded!should!be!worse!off.!He!believes!differences!
in!society!are!not!negative!per!se,!as!they!can!be!a!driving!force.!
Having!voted!for!the!Centre!Party!in!the!last!election,!he!believes!it!
would!be!positive!if!Sweden!became!more!unequal.!He!thinks!that!
politicians!are!afraid!to!admit!they!want!a!society!with!larger!
economic!gaps,!and!that!they!would!find!that!many!support!larger!
inequalities:!“[I]t!is!clear!that,!when!almost!half!of!the!population!
vote!for!it,!then!it!is!a!view!that!a!large!part!of!the!population!has.”!
Henrik!adds:!
It!is!really!something!that!is!frequently!brought!up,!
that!the!gaps!in!Sweden!are!becoming!larger.!But!yes,!it!
is!obvious!that!they!will!be.!The!proposals!that!have!
been!made!by!the!last!few!governments,!apart!from!the!
one!that!was![in!office]!just!before,!but!even!now!again,!
yes,!have!been!focused!on!tax!cuts.!This!will!lead!to!
increased!gaps.!
Henrik,!like!other!interviewees,!seems!to!think!society!needs!
some!level!of!inequality.!Sebastian,!when!responding!as!to!whether!
more!equality!is!inherently!desirable,!claims:!“it![society]!should!
not!be!too!bureaucratic!or!static!either.!There!is!a!certain!dynamic!
in!that!you!have!the!opportunity!to!distinguish!yourself!from!
others.!It!is!a!driving!force!too,!so![some!inequality]!is!okay.”!Other!
interviewees,!especially!on!the!right,!like!Amanda,!think!along!
similar!lines.!For!her,!one!of!the!most!important!aspects!of!
inequality!is!that!it!contributes!to!other!problems!such!as!
“exclusion”!and!“segregation”!that!cause!everyone!to!lose!out.!But!
ultimately,!for!her,!inequality!is!not!really!the!problem:!
It![inequality]!is!completely!uninteresting;!people!can!
make!a!billion!if!they!want.!If!they!pay!65!%!of!it!in!tax,!
then!we!should!be!damn!happy!that!there!are!Swedish!
companies!that!bring!in!a!lot!of!taxable!money!to!
Sweden.!
In!Amanda’s!opinion,!high!entry!wages,!which!she!believes!many!
trade!unions!have!negotiated!in!recent!years,!contribute!to!
inequality.!She!thinks!these!wage!agreements!keep!many!people!
outside!the!labour!market:!“because!of!this,!society!has!been!torn!
apart.!And!I!wonder!if!the!trade!union!movement!understands!this.”!
However,!Amanda,!who!runs!a!business!with!several!employees!but!
earns!just!above!the!10%!threshold,!does!not!see!inequality!as!bad!

! !
in!itself,!putting!an!emphasis!instead!on!avoiding!social!exclusion!
and!absolute!poverty:!“[s]ociety!must!have!a!minimum!level!that!is!
acceptable."!Among!our!interviewees,!there!are!those!who!believe!
inequality!can!incentivise!people!to!improve!their!situation!–!those!
who!think!poverty!is!the!problem!rather!than!inequality.!Others,!
meanwhile,!see!inequality!itself!as!a!problem!because!it!affects!
people's!living!conditions.!For!instance,!Jenny,!a!programmer,!notes!
that!society!is!built!on!injustice:!“no!one!can!be!rich!if!no!one!is!
poor,!because!it!is!a!relative!concept.”!!
As!mentioned!in!the!introduction,!Sweden!has!experienced!a!
rapid!increase!in!inequality!in!the!past!few!decades!(OECD!2015).!
When!it!comes!to!explaining!why,!there!are!some!common!themes!
among!the!interviews.!First,!there!are!those!who!describe!
increasing!inequality!as!a!consequence!of!political!decisions.!The!
interviewees!on!the!left,!and!some!on!the!right,!discuss!how!the!
impact!of!neo-liberal!reforms!of!the!welfare!state!has!transformed!
society.!Among!others!on!the!right,!this!development!is!not!
described!as!purely!negative.!Second,!some!interviewees!associate!
inequality!with!increased!individualisation,!an!explanation!which!is!
based!on!their!comparison!with!previous!decades.!The!third!
dimension!of!the!interviewees’!views!and!attitudes!on!inequality,!
discussed!previously,!namely!whether!everyone!should!be!given!
equal!opportunities!or!equal!rights,!can!be!illustrated!by!the!
interviewees’!concerns!about!the!deterioration!of!the!education!
system.!
As!previously!mentioned,!the!respondents!agree!on!the!
importance!of!the!education!system!regardless!of!their!party!
political!views.!They!consider!it!the!welfare!state’s!responsibility!to!
provide!everyone!with!free!access!to!good!quality!education.!
According!to!previous!research!(Martinsson!and!Weissenbilder!
2017),!highly!educated!and!high-income!earners!regard!the!school!
system!as!one!of!the!most!pressing!societal!problems.!In!addition,!
the!education!system!is!also!the!facet!of!the!welfare!state!that!the!
interviewees!themselves!have!most!benefitted!from,!as,!for!
instance,!Lars!emphasises.!In!addition!to!the!education!system,!Lars!
also!mentions!the!low!cost!of!pre-schools!as!an!important!part!of!
the!Swedish!welfare!system,!as!the!low!cost!enables!both!parents!to!
work,!and!he!compares!this!with!the!high!cost!of!childcare!in!the!
UK.!Carl,!a!lawyer,!also!highlights!how!the!education!system!can!
contribute!to!equality.!He!uses!as!an!example!a!project!in!a!
marginalised!area!for!which!he!volunteers!through!work!–!talking!
with!secondary!school!pupils:!

29!
[…]!I!told!them!“it's!free!to!have!an!education!like!mine.!
It!doesn’t!cost!any!money.![…]!If!you!work!hard,!you!
get!good!grades!and!then!put!an!effort!into!making!the!
most!of!your!education,!then!you!can!get!this.!You!get!it!
for!free.”!And!I!don't!know!what!an!education!like!mine!
costs,!it's!quite!an!inexpensive!education!but!let's!say!it!
still!costs!a!couple!of!hundred!thousand,!so!the!state!
will!provide!you!with!that,!and!afterwards!you!will!
work!and!pay!taxes.!
Carl!believes!that!in!Sweden,!it!is!possible!to!work!hard,!make!an!
effort,!and!be!rewarded!for!it.!For!those!like!Carl,!who!highlight!the!
importance!of!equal!opportunities,!it!is!central!that!everyone!gets!
the!same!chance!to!develop!their!potential.!
The!respondents’!focus!on!the!education!system!is!not!that!
surprising.!Previous!research!(Svallfors!1989)!has!found!that!
higher!grade!professionals!and!the!highly!educated!generally!want!
to!spend!more!on!education!and,!indeed,!the!majority!of!the!
interviewees!are!highly!educated!and!have!benefitted!from!free!
education.!
The!interviewees!also!agree!that!primary!and!secondary!schools!
have!undergone!negative!changes!and!are!more!strongly!
segregated!by!class!than!before.!An!example!comes!from!Stefan,!
who!votes!for!the!Moderate!Party:!
I!am!not!that!excited!about!charter!schools,!for!
example.!I!think!that!you!should!go!to!school!in!your!
neighbourhood!with!your!friends!and!that!it!should!
create!the!same!opportunities!for!everyone!there![...];!
the!protected!schooling!that!we!had!in!the!1970s,!
compared!to!what!those!born!in!the!1990s!and!in!
2000s!have...!It!is!quite!a!big!difference.!
Several!interviewees!seem!to!think!that!the!school!system!has!
failed!to!meet!the!needs!of!some!groups,!such!as!migrants!and!
working-class!children,!and!this!failure!has!increased!knowledge-
gaps!between!different!groups.!Erika!is!one!of!the!interviewees!who!
argues!that!Sweden!has!“become!a!more!unequal!society”!with!
reference!to!the!education!system:!
I!think!the!way!in!which!the!school!system!has!
developed,!and!above!all,!perhaps,!with!charter!
schools,!where!it!is!very!obvious![…]!that!some!
[parents]!know!how!to!navigate!the!system!and!others!
don’t!know.!So,!it!becomes!like!informal!inequality.!

! !
Erika!is!concerned!about!increasing!levels!of!inequality!and!
about!charter!schools!contributing!to!inequality!and!ethnic!
segregation.!In!such!accounts,!the!education!system!is!seen!as!both!
having!the!potential!to!make!Sweden!more!equal!and!to!contribute!
to!inequality!–!especially!in!its!current!form!through!privately-run!
charter!schools.!
Most!interviewees!do!not!feel!that!growing!inequality!is!positive,!
even!for!the!very!wealthiest.!As!already!mentioned,!some!are!
concerned!that!large!inequalities!could!lead!to!rising!crime!rates.!
One!interviewee!also!says!that!the!rich!will!have!to!protect!
themselves!in!gated!communities!in!the!future.!Several!
interviewees!also!believe!that!the!education!system!has!
deteriorated.!They!associate!inequality!in!education!primarily!with!
the!existence!of!private!charter!schools.!The!fact!that!Swedish!
schools!are!administered!by!municipalities,!which!spend!varying!
amounts!on!education,!is!also!seen!as!contributing!to!inequalities.!
Some!believe!that!possible!solutions!include!the!central!state!being!
in!charge!of!schools!and!improved!dissemination!of!information!on!
access!to!higher!education.!
Historically,!education!played!an!important!role!in!the!
construction!of!the!Swedish!welfare!state!(Nyström!2012).!As!
Nyström!points!out,!education!policies!in!Sweden!have!historically!
been!central!to!the!welfare!state!project.!Tackling!stratification!
based!on!class!and!gender!was!traditionally!regarded!as!an!
important!function!of!the!education!system.!Despite!this,!education!
has!remained!a!stratifying!factor!in!Sweden,!for!instance!in!relation!
to!access!to!tertiary!studies!for!those!from!working-class!
backgrounds!(Kahlroth!2019).!Even!though!the!education!system!
has!never!been!equal,!inequalities!have!noticeably!increased.!
Nyström!(2012:52)!describes!this!as!a!consequence!of!political!
reforms:!“[i]n!the!rear-view!mirror,!it!is!clear!that!the!reforms!of!
the!1990s!seem!to!have!increased!the!importance!of!pupils’!class!
backgrounds,!at!the!individual!level!and,!to!an!even!greater!extent,!
at!school!level.”
18
!At!the!same!time,!prestigious!publicly-run!schools!
are!increasingly!attractive!to!upper-middle!class!children!(Lidegran!
2018).!
!
!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
18
!Our!translation.!

31!
Taxation!and!social!responsibility!
Sweden’s!tax-to-GDP!ratio!has!decreased!dramatically!since!the!
year!2000,!from!49%!to!44%,!but!is!still!one!of!the!highest!within!
the!OECD.!The!OECD!average!tax-to-GDP!ratio!is!34.2!%!(2017,!see!
OECD!2019a).!Compared!to!other!OECD!countries,!Sweden!also!has!
a!much!higher!tax!revenue!on!personal!income.!!
Proportionally!higher!payroll!taxes!also!contribute!to!the!
decrease!in!individuals’!disposable!income!in!Sweden!compared!to!
other!OECD!countries!(OECD!2019b).!As!shown!by!previous!
research!(Edlund!1999),!there!is!relatively!strong!support!for!
progressive!taxation!in!Sweden.!However,!Edlund!(Ibid.:120)!notes!
that!“those!with!lower!service!class!occupations!and!the!self-
employed!are!less!supportive.!The!‘deviant’!case!of!the!higher!
service!class!may!be!noticed.”!In!recent!years,!the!Swedish!tax!
system!has!become!less!progressive.!In!addition,!as!shown!by!
Bastani!and!Waldenström!(2019),!university!education!is!strongly!
positively!correlated!with!support!for!almost!all!forms!of!taxation.!
However,!the!top!10%!high-income!earners!seem!to!hold!more!
negative!attitudes!towards!inheritance!and!wealth!taxes,!and!
especially!state!income!tax.!According!to!Bastani!and!Waldenström!
(2019),!the!explanation!for!their!negative!attitudes!towards!state!
income!tax!could!be!that!it!is!high-income!earners!who!pay!this!tax.!
Some!interviewees!believe!that!the!tax!system!needs!reforming,!
especially!income!and!corporation!tax!as!these!benefit!those!at!the!
very!top.!There!is!a!pattern!among!the!interviewees:!they!talk!about!
the!importance!of!financing!welfare!services!through!taxes!rather!
than!charity.!This!is!something!that!everyone!seems!to!agree!on,!no!
matter!where!they!are!on!the!political!scale.!Several!interviewees!
told!us!they!are!in!favour!of!redistributive!policies.!Concerning!the!
progressivity!of!the!tax!system,!Sebastian!said:!"[t]here!is!a!
difference!between!me!and,!I!would!say,!the!top…!those!who!earn!a!
lot!of!money.!So,!I!pay!the!top!tax!rate,!which!I!understand.!And!it!
feels!a!little!unfair.”!He!also!believes!that!it!is!reasonable!that!high-
income!earners!pay!more!in!taxes:!“Yes,!yes,!yes.!I!do!not!like!my!
tax!rate.!I!just!think!I!am!not!at!the!top!of!the!pyramid!yet.!I!think!it!
[the!tax!rate]!could!be!much!higher.”!!
The!interviewees!also!point!out!that!some!taxes!should!be!
reformed.!Although!the!tax!system!benefits!Cristian,!as!a!partner!in!
a!law-firm,!he!is!nevertheless!critical!of!it!as!he!believes!that!tax!
reform!would!help!deal!with!mounting!inequalities:!!
!!

! !
Yes,!I!think!taxation!is!a!good!practice.!If!you!do!it!right.!
Personally,!as!a!high-income!earner,!I!sometimes!think!
it!works!in!a!rather!questionable!way.!After!all,!there!
are!quite!a!few!people!who!become!high-income!
earners!and!I!think!it!hits!the!middle!class!and!upper-
middle!class!unfairly,!maybe.!While!the!extremely…!
rich!if!you!may!call!them!that,!or!the!corporate!taxes…!
and!the!companies!have!it!way!much!easier.!!
At!the!same!time,!Cristian!says!the!tax!system!disadvantages!
other!parts!of!the!middle!class.!He!believes!it!could!be!reformed:!
that!is,!that!the!largest!companies!could!pay!considerably!more!tax!
than!they!do!now,!and!that!such!changes!could!help!reduce!
inequality.!Another!example!comes!from!Nils:!“[i]!think!it!should!
pay!off!to!work![…]!it!is!a!little!strange!that!you!pay!more!tax!on!
salary!than!you!do!on!stock!profits.”!Taking!into!account!that!our!
interviewees!are!high-income!earners!who!derive!most!of!their!
earnings!from!employment,!it!is!not!surprising!that!the!taxation!of!
income!is!seen!by!several!as!being!too!high.!!
The!interviewees!also!discuss!other!taxes.!Cristian!draws!
attention!to!the!fact!that!abolition!of!inheritance!tax!has!
contributed!to!wealth!building!up!in!a!way!that!allows!those!he!
calls!the!“aristocracy”!to!transfer!assets!over!generations.!In!
seeming!to!benefit!those!who!already!have!assets,!he!likens!
Sweden’s!tax!system!to!that!of!the!United!States,!which!goes!against!
the!image!of!the!country!as!a!pioneer!of!equality!(See!Nyström!
2012;!Pred!2000).!Indeed,!many!interviewees!think!high-income!
earners!should!pay!higher!taxes;!some!even!believe!they!should!pay!
higher!rates!than!they!do!today.!Some!are!critical!of!income!tax!
levels,!either!because!they!are!too!high!or!too!low.!One!example!of!
the!former!is!Henrik.!He!thinks!tax!levels!in!Sweden!“could!
probably!be!lower”!and!would!like!to!see!reform!of!state!income!
tax,!municipal!income!tax!and!the!additional!state!income!tax.
19
!
Several!interviewees,!such!as!Maja,!feel!that!the!tax!on!capital!
should!be!higher:!!
If!you!earn!more,!you!should!pay!higher!taxes.!I!think!
that!you!should…!invest!more!in!structures!that!benefit!
everyone.!It!doesn’t!get!better!just!because!high-
income!earners!earn!more!and!can![…]!give!their!loved!
ones!good!healthcare!or!good!education.!That!does!not!
serve!the!system!or!the!community.!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
19
!Additional!state!income!tax!was!abolished!in!January!2020.!

33!
Like!Maja,!several!interviewees!told!us!they!think!that!those!who!
earn!more!should!contribute!more;!some!even!say!they!enjoy!
paying!taxes.!Sebastian!says!that!one!of!the!most!important!ways!to!
achieve!solidarity!is!to!ensure!that!taxes!that!should!be!paid!are!
paid,!and!that!“there!is!no!tax!evasion!or!Panama!papers!stuff,!to!
show!those!who!may!feel!they!are!at!the!bottom![...],!that!yes...!the!
state!actually!goes!after!the!rich.”!For!Sebastian,!it!is!important!that!
the!state!acts!against!tax!evasion.!On!a!similar!note,!Cristian!
comments:!
I!think!people!who!work!a!lot,!no!matter!what!they!do,!
as!employees!for!a!company!or…!must!have!the!
opportunity!to!create!a!small!fortune!as!well.!And!I!
think!that!is!difficult!today,!actually,!for!most!of!us.!
Even!if!you!earn!a!lot!it!is!not!like!you!can!save!and!
have!a!million!in!the!bank.!But!on!the!other!hand,!I!
think!that!those!who!are!in!the!top!layer!earn!a!
disproportionate!amount.!
Cristian!tells!us!that!he!also!thinks!that!there!should!be!more!
focus!on!corporate!tax.!A!noticeable!pattern!is!that!some!
interviewees!tend!to!perceive!the!tax!burden!on!income!as!too!
heavy.!
Taking!a!closer!look!at!the!interviewees’!views!on!the!social!
responsibility!of!high-income!earners,!it!is!noticeable!that!some!say!
they!automatically!take!responsibility!by!paying!taxes!–!an!
interesting!example!is!Annika!who!consents!to!paying!high!taxes!
and!thinks!that!she!is!automatically!fulfilling!her!social!
responsibility!in!doing!so.!Beyond!that,!she!does!not!feel!she!has!
any!other!responsibility.!Furthermore,!she!believes!everyone!has!a!
responsibility,!and!high-income!earners!are!not!special!in!this!
respect:!"[n]o,!I!think!everyone!has!equal!responsibility.”!
When!asked!if!high-income!earners!have!a!special!responsibility!
to!contribute!to!society,!Carl!conveys!a!similar!point!of!view:!
[...]!One!contributes!to!a!great!extent!by!paying!a!larger!
share!of!tax.!If!I!get!a!wage!increase!now,!then!it!
benefits!the!welfare!state!as!well.!The!welfare!state!
earns!more!from!it!than!I!do,!and!the!social!services!
that!I!use!are!the!same!as!they!were!before.!In!a!way,!I!
think!that!you!contribute!more.!A!special!
responsibility...!No,!I!don't!think!so.!
Helena!also!believes!that!high-income!earners!have!a!
responsibility!to!pay!taxes:!!

! !
[Y]es,!I'm!not!doing!tax!planning.!I!don´t!do!things!like!
that!to!try!to!get!away!from!paying!tax.!I!have!sold!my!
home!with!a!good!profit,!and!I!am!not!complaining!at!
all!that!there!will!be!tax!on!the!profit.!In!turn,!I!have!
received!interest!rate!tax!deductions!on!my!mortgage.!!
Helena,!like!other!interviewees,!believes!high-income!earners!
should!not!“complain”!about!high!taxes.!However,!others!think!
high-income!earners!have!a!responsibility,!beyond!paying!taxes,!as!
they!wield!considerable!power!over!the!direction!that!society!takes.!
For!instance,!Nils!argues!that!high-income!earners!have!additional!
responsibility!"because!it![being!a!high-income!earner]!is!often!
linked!to!greater!influence,!perhaps.!In!some!places!at!least."!And!
Lars!tells!us:!"[a]s!a!privileged![person]!in!society,!you!have!to!start!
taking!more!responsibility.”!Similarly,!Markus!describes!high-
income!earners!as!having!a!particular!responsibility:!"[y]ou!usually!
have!more!power!and!are!able!to!influence!the!development!of!
society.”!However,!Markus!has!the!view!that!high-income!earners!
mainly!have!right-wing!opinions!and,!in!order!to!improve!society,!
he!argues!they!“must!drop!their!individualism!and!think!more!
collectively.”!
In!sum,!most!interviewees!seem!to!agree!that!taxes!are!a!good!
way!to!redistribute!economic!resources.!Nevertheless,!some!see!
themselves!as!disadvantaged!because!of!Swedish!taxation’s!focus!
on!income,!rather!than!on!capital!or!wealth.!To!understand!our!
interviewees'!views!on!different!taxes,!it!is!important!to!remember!
that!almost!every!one!of!them!relies!on!a!salary!as!their!main!
source!of!income.!They!describe!people!who!also!have!financial!
resources!in!the!form!of!capital!income!or!inherited!wealth!as!the!
economic!elite,!and!place!that!elite!above!themselves.!
!
Political!participation!and!civic!
engagement!
There!is!a!tendency!for!the!top!10%!to!be!somewhat!more!
interested!in!politics!than!the!remaining!90%!of!the!income!
distribution.!We!can!see!that!71%!of!the!top!10%!are!very!or!quite!
interested!in!politics,!compared!to!64%!of!the!rest!of!the!population!
(ESS!2016).!However,!a!large!majority!have!not!volunteered!or!
been!involved!in!politics!in!the!past!year.!This!applies!to!both!
groups.!There!are!no!significant!differences!between!the!top!10%!

35!
and!the!rest!of!the!population.!No!trends!can!be!seen!over!time!(ESS!
2008,!2012!and!2016).!
As!shown!in!previous!studies!(e.g.,!Olofsson!2018),!high-income!
earners!are!more!likely!to!vote!than!the!rest.!As!far!as!class!voting!
in!Sweden!is!concerned,!it!is!known!from!previous!research!
(Oskarson!2010;!Vestin!and!Oskarson!2017)!that!class!is!significant!
for!party!sympathies!–!public!officials!and!entrepreneurs!tend!to!
sympathise!with!parties!on!the!right!while!blue-collar!and!lower!
level!white-collar!workers!tend!to!vote!for!the!left.!However,!in!
recent!decades!there!has!been!a!decline!in!class!voting!in!Sweden!
(Vestin!and!Oskarson!2017;!Vestin!2019).!
The!fact!that!high-income!earners!seem!to!have!an!interest!in!
politics!is!also!reflected!in!the!interviews.!However,!only!a!few!have!
ever!worked!or!volunteered!for!a!political!party!or!organisation.!
The!most!common!reasons!they!give!for!not!wanting!to!get!
involved!include!that!it!is!time-consuming;!that!they!regard!
political!work!as!boring;!or!they!do!not!share!the!groupthink!they!
associate!with!political!parties.!
The!political!context!in!which!the!interviews!were!conducted!
was!that!of!an!unusually!difficult!process!(for!Sweden)!of!forming!a!
government!when!the!2018!general!election!ended!in!deadlock.!
None!of!the!traditional!political!blocks!managed!to!secure!the!175!
seats!needed!to!form!a!coalition!because!none!of!them!–!or!any!of!
the!parties!for!that!matter!–!were!willing!to!form!a!government!that!
would!be!dependent!upon!support!from!the!far-right!party,!the!
Sweden!Democrats.!The!other!political!parties’!approach!to!the!
Sweden!Democrats!has!dominated!Swedish!politics!since!they!first!
entered!parliament!in!2010.!After!three!months!of!negotiations,!the!
Social!Democrats!and!the!Green!Party!formed!a!minority!
government!based!on!support!from!the!Liberal!and!the!Centre!
Party!through!the!so-called!“January!Agreement”!signed!in!2019!by!
the!Social!Democrats,!the!Centre!Party,!the!Liberals!and!the!Green!
Party.!
Respondents!were!asked!why!they!voted!as!they!did!in!the!last!
election.!Jenny!explains:!
I!personally!have!such!a!good!life!that!I!may!not!have!
to!vote.!I!don’t!have!to!worry.!No!matter!who!wins,!it!
won't!make!much!difference!to!me.!I!will!still!be!able!to!
go!to!work!and!drive!my!car!if!I!want.!But!then!I!can!
instead!vote!for!someone!who!is!worse!off.!
Jenny!tells!us!that!she!does!not!primarily!vote!out!of!self-
interest.!As!a!high-income!earner,!she!can!live!her!life!as!usual!no!

! !
matter!what!political!party!is!in!power.!Instead,!she!wants!to!use!
her!voice!to!improve!the!lives!of!those!in!a!less!fortunate!position.!
Indeed,!several!interviewees!actively!reject!the!Sweden!
Democrats,!regardless!of!where!they!are!on!the!political!spectrum.!
For!example,!Susann!states!that!she!voted!for!the!Social!Democrats!
because!she!did!not!want!the!Sweden!Democrats!to!gain!more!
power.!The!exception!to!this!is!Mats.!He!is!the!only!interviewee!
who!voted!for!the!Sweden!Democrats!in!the!2018!election,!and!also!
in!2014.!The!SOM!Institute!has!shown!that!the!Sweden!Democrats!
had!weak!support!among!high-income!earners!in!the!2014!election!
(Sannerstedt!2016:172).!This!was!true!also!in!2018.!When!
compared!to!Social!Democrat!voters,!a!recent!study!shows!that!
Sweden!Democrats!voters!have!roughly!the!same!income!
distribution,!though!it!is!little!more!common!for!Sweden!Democrat!
voters!to!have!a!very!high!income!(over!SEK!70,000!per!month)!
(Jylhä,!Rydgren!and!Strimling!2019).!Mats!says!his!decision!to!vote!
for!the!Sweden!Democrats!was!for!“purely!strategic!reasons”!and!
explains:!
It!is!only!in!this!way![by!voting!for!the!Sweden!
Democrats]!that!you!can!force!the!Social!Democrats!in!
a!healthy!direction.!The!Social!Democrats,![forming!a!
coalition]!together!with!the!Green!Party,!that!has!been!
the!most!dangerous!thing!we!have!done.!That!is,!when!
we!brought!in!the!Green!Party![into!government]!and!
let!the!Green!Party!have!an!influence!on!migration!
policy,!then!we!entered!into!the!extreme!completely.!!
Mats!explains!his!voting!for!the!Sweden!Democrats!by!referring!
to!earlier!migration!policies;!a!change!in!a!liberal!direction!that!was!
largely!driven!by!the!Green!Party!who!were!in!a!government!
coalition!with!the!Social!Democrats!from!2014.!However,!it!should!
be!noted!that!the!Social!Democrats’!migration!policies!have!
changed!dramatically!in!the!other!direction!since!the!refugee!
situation!at!the!end!of!2015.!Mats’!views!could!also!be!understood!
in!light!of!what!existing!research!tells!us!about!the!position!of!the!
elite,!that!is,!as!Khan,!(2016:9)!puts!it:!“‘populist’!ethno-nationalist!
movements”!appeal!to!“some!sub-set!of!élites”.!
Mats!is!an!exception;!most!other!interviewees!think!the!Sweden!
Democrats!must!be!curtailed.!Annika!is!one!interviewee!who!
flagged!migration!as!important,!and!has!both!voted!for!and!been!
active!in!the!Social!Democrats.!However,!after!the!restrictive!
migration!agreement!the!party!made!with!the!right!and!the!Green!
Party,!she!says!that!she!can!no!longer!vote!for!them.!However,!some!

37!
believe!it!is!dangerous!to!exclude!them!from!negotiations!and!
coalitions.!For!instance,!Peter!says!he!has!no!time!to!spare!for!the!
Sweden!Democrats,!but!he!does!not!think!it!is!right!to!isolate!them!
politically,!which!happened!after!the!last!parliamentary!election:!
They!must!be!let!in!and!then!you!have!to!debate,!and!
make!visible,!the!downside!of!their!way!of!thinking.!By!
shutting!them!out,!it!becomes!like!Germany!in!the!
1930s,!they!become!martyrs!and!there!will!be!more!
and!more!people!who!think!“[y]es,!but!we!just!want!to!
bring!about!a!change”!and!do!not!care!what!change.!
In!the!latest!parliamentary!election,!Amanda!voted!for!the!
Moderate!Party,!and!not!for!the!Sweden!Democrats,!but!believes!
that!“it!is!not!democratic”!to!exclude!a!party,!the!way!the!Sweden!
Democrats!have!been!excluded!from!political!negotiations!and!
coalitions!since!they!entered!parliament!for!the!first!time!in!2010.!
It!is!worth!noting!that!some!interviewees!are!swing!voters:!they!
view!both!left!and!right!parties!as!viable!alternatives.!The!voting!
behaviour!of!some!interviewees!can!be!understood!through!the!
GAL-TAN!scale!used!to!describe!different!sides!of!the!political!
spectrum.
20
!Some!interviewees,!like!Stefan,!express!political!views!
that!can!be!associated!with!the!left,!yet!vote!for!parties!on!the!right.!
Others,!like!Rikard!and!Annika,!most!often!vote!for!parties!
associated!with!the!left!but!have!considered!voting!for!the!Centre!
Party,!at!times!for!reasons!related!to!gender!representation.!Annika!
tells!us:!
Even!though!I!vote!for!Fi![Feminist!Initiative]!
[laughter],!I'm!not!that!far!from!Centre!politics!either.!
And!I!would!like!to!have!a!female!prime!minister.!So!
yes,!I!thought![...]!I!could!vote!for!Annie!Lööf![the!
leader!of!the!Centre!Party].!
Few!interviewees!have!ever!worked!for!a!political!organisation,!
even!though!some!respondents!have!been!local!politicians!and!one!
is!a!politically!appointed!full-time!official.!In!addition!to!Annika,!
also!Mats!has!been!active!in!the!Social!Democrats.!Others!have!
worked!for!specific!political!campaigns.!Cristian,!for!example,!was!
part!of!the!campaign!for!Sweden!to!join!the!Economic!and!
Monetary!Union,!where!he!did!paid!work!in!the!campaign!for!a!
“yes”!vote.!As!mentioned!earlier,!all!interviewees!but!one!vote!in!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
20
!GAL!stands!for!green,!alternative,!and!libertarian,!while!TAN!stands!for!traditional,!
authoritarian!and!nationalist.!

! !
general!elections,!though!few!of!them!are!or!have!been!active!in!a!
political!party.!It!is!also!worth!noting!that!the!interviewees!are!
often!critical!of!the!content!and!direction!of!current!policy,!though!
not!necessarily!of!the!political!system!per!se.!While!a!majority!of!
the!interviewees!are!not!interested!in!becoming!politically!active,!
this!does!not!seem!to!be!due!to!a!feeling!of!distance!from!politics.!
Rather,!they!believe!engaging!with!political!parties!is!boring!and!
time-consuming.!Erika!adds!that!she!would!have!difficulty!aligning!
herself!with!a!party,!and!similarly!Peter!refuses!to!have!to!share!a!
way!of!thinking!with!a!political!party:!"[i]t!becomes!conformist!and!
it!becomes!simplistic.!No,!I!don't!think!it's!good.!I!really!like!people!
to!have!complete!freedom!of!choice.!I!don’t!like!groupings.”!!
However,!there!are!exceptions,!such!as!Cristian.!He!tells!us!that!
he!thinks!it!would!be!fun!to!be!politically!active,!but!he!does!not!
think!he!has!time!to!fully!contribute.!Although!several!interviewees!
seem!reluctant!to!become!active!in!a!political!party,!some!engage!in!
broader!political!commitments.!Those!who!are!–!or!are!considering!
becoming!–!involved!politically,!have!three!main!areas!of!interest:!
migration,!immigrant!integration,!and!the!environment.!Concerning!
the!latter,!it!is!clear!that!these!interviewees!consider!environmental!
issues!important,!but!few!of!them!are!actively!involved.!Those!who!
are,!donate!or!have!donated!money!to!Greenpeace,!while!others,!
such!as!Peter,!describe!their!reason!for!working!professionally!with!
environmental!issues!as!a!way!of!contributing.!
In!contrast,!several!interviewees!are!involved!in!integration!
projects,!and!it!is!striking!how!many!of!the!interviewees!seem!to!
equate!civic!engagement!with!working!with!immigrants.!None!of!
our!respondents!mentioned!doing!charity!work!for!poor!non-
immigrants,!such!as!contributing!to!food!banks!or!volunteering!at!
shelters!for!homeless!people.!The!impression!is!that!social!
marginalisation!and!vulnerability!–!social!injustice!–!primarily!
affect!immigrants.!Some!respondents!help!migrants!through!their!
work;!others!join!and!meet!people!through!different!kinds!of!
integration!projects;!one!works!for!a!network!offering!practical!
support!to!refused!asylum-seekers.!Rikard,!with!a!background!of!
being!active!in!his!student!union,!highlights!the!environment!and!
integration!as!political!issues!that!are!important!to!him.!He!argues!
that!to!achieve!the!latter,!it!is!important!that!newly!arrived!
immigrants!join!the!labour!market!–!which!is!often!discussed!in!
Swedish!public!debate.!Rikard!is!careful!to!add:!"[y]ou!should!not!
see!the!group!itself!as!a!problem.!You!should!see!it!as!an!
opportunity.”!

39!
Other!respondents!have!also!tried!to!get!involved!in!projects!
integrating!migrants.!Through!work,!Carl!volunteered!for!a!project!
in!a!marginalised!area!of!Stockholm!and!contrasts!it!with!the!inner-
city!district!where!he!lives.!He!describes!being!affected!by!meeting!
young!people!and!how!they!are!forced!to!take!responsibility!for!
their!parents’!situations:!
Now,!just!sitting!here!in!Södermalm!and!moving!in!my!
own!circles…!It!was!an!eye-opener!to!come!out!to![a!
marginalised!area!in!Stockholm]!and!meet!eighth-
graders!and!see!what...!what!it’s!like!there.!And!it!
touched!me!profoundly.!When!there!was!a!young!guy!
who!said!“yes,!I!must!explain!how!the!political!system!
works!for!my!mother”.!And!it!is!such!a!huge!
responsibility!when!it!is!a!15-year-old!guy.!
Carl!became!more!aware!of!people’s!unequal!chances!in!Sweden!
by!leaving!his!own!neighbourhood!and!social!circles,!and!meeting!
young!people!in!different!socio-economic!circumstances.!He!felt!
that!one!possible!way!to!make!a!difference!was!to!inform!young!
people,!through!face-to-face!interactions,!about!the!opportunities!
that!exist!elsewhere!in!society.!Other!interviewees!tell!us!that!they!
are!active!in!–!or!are!thinking!about!becoming!involved!in!–!
integration!initiatives.!For!instance,!Stefan!tells!us!that!he!would!
consider!getting!involved!in!“creating!possibilities!for!young!people!
and!newcomers”.!Helena,!a!soon-to-retire!professor,!tells!us!that!
the!integration!of!refugees!is!an!area!she!might!get!involved!in.!She!
says!that!she!might!invite!a!refugee!for!dinner!with!her!friends.!She!
tells!us!that!rather!than!inviting!a!Roma!asking!for!money!outside!
her!nearest!grocery!store,!she!would!invite!“[a]cademics!from!Syria,!
who!are!very!similar!to!us!in!many!ways.![pause]!Unfortunately,!I!
must!admit!to!having!such!preferences!in!this!case.”!Helena!has!a!
self-critical!tone!when!she!adds!that!she!thinks!that!she!would!
prefer!inviting!refugees!who,!like!herself,!are!highly!educated.!
Helena!is!also!active!in!a!charity!project!for!an!orphanage!in!the!
global!south.!
Those!interviewees!highly!critical!of!the!Sweden!Democrats!also!
defend!those!who!signed!the!January!Agreement,!one!aim!of!which!
was!to!enable!the!Social!Democrats!and!the!Green!Party!to!stay!in!
power,!and!keep!the!Sweden!Democrats!out!after!the!2018!general!
election.!The!agreement!is!beneficial!for!high-income!earners,!with!
tax!cuts!for!their!income!band!on!the!political!agenda.!Nevertheless,!
some!interviewees!considered!the!agreement!problematic,!as!it!
would!lead!to!compromised!and!blurred!party!boundaries,!which!in!

! !
turn!would!make!voters!lose!confidence!in!the!political!system.!
Erika!is!one!respondent!who,!concerned!at!the!possibility!of!the!
political!situation!shifting,!given!the!emerging!anti-democratic!
right-wing!politics!in!Europe,!is!considering!becoming!more!
politically!engaged.!Erika!defines!herself!as!left-wing!and!has!been!
active!in!student!politics!and!involved!with!ATTAC,!an!international!
network!critical!of!neo-liberal!globalisation!that!campaigns!for!the!
regulation!of!financial!markets.!Erika!is!currently!engaged!in!
asylum!issues.!She!says!she!might!become!more!politically!engaged!
if!the!situation!changes:!
[…]!Imagine!that!we!would!end!up!in!a!situation!like!
Poland,!Hungary![…].!I!think!I!would!be!a!lot!more!
committed!if!I!felt!that!very!important!rights!like...!
Then!maybe!you!would!be!forced...!Yes,!that!there!
would!be!an!even!more!polarised!position.!The!fact!
that!I!am!active!in!the!asylum!committee!is!pretty!
much!a!reaction!to!the!fact!that!I!think!it!has!become!
like!that.!
While!Erika!tells!us!that!she!is!involved!in!asylum!issues!because!
of!her!concern!at!the!growth!of!right!wing!nationalism!in!Europe,!
including!Sweden,!she!points!out!that!she!does!not!engage!with!
political!parties.!Carl!feels!it!is!important!to!make!sure!that!
European!cooperation!will!not!be!undermined!by!authoritarian!
right-wing!forces!and!talks!about!some!integration!projects!he!is!
considering!getting!involved!with.!Having!previously!emphasised!
the!importance!of!education,!he!tells!us!that!he!has!donated!money!
to!sports!projects!in!marginalised!areas.!This!accords!with!the!
importance!other!interviewees!attach!to!integration!–!an!issue!for!
which!there!is!an!appetite!for!engagement.!
Within!the!interview!data,!there!are!three!identifiable!trends!in!
respondents'!involvement!in!politics!and!the!third!sector.!First,!the!
interviewees!(with!one!exception)!vote,!and!seem!to!attach!great!
importance!to!participating!in!elections.!Second,!even!though!they!
have!a!genuine!interest!in!politics!–!and!several!have!a!pronounced!
political!ideology!–!most!(although!there!are!exceptions)!are!not!
active!in!any!political!organisation.!Third,!when!it!comes!to!their!
involvement!in!civil!society!and!the!third!sector,!many!express!
ambivalence!about!charity.!While!sceptical,!they!have!made!a!
pragmatic!decision!to!continue!to!donate!money!–!mainly!to!large!
established!organisations!such!as!the!Red!Cross,!Greenpeace,!Save!
the!Children,!and!Médecins!Sans!Frontières!–!but!do!not!view!
charity!as!a!long-term!solution.!This!can!be!understood!in!relation!

41!
to!the!recent!history!of!Sweden;!the!state,!rather!than!non-profit!
organisations,!is!seen!as!responsible!for!providing!support!to!those!
who!need!it.!The!interviews!do!not!show!any!political!difference!in!
attitudes!to!this!between!those!on!the!right!or!the!left.!Even!the!
former!agree!that!it!is!primarily!the!state!that!should!take!
responsibility!for!people!living!in!poverty.!
!
Conclusion!
It!is!striking!that,!regardless!of!whether!the!interviewees!are!on!the!
left!or!right!of!the!political!spectrum,!most!believe!that!the!
education!system!is!one!of!the!most!important!institutions!through!
which!equality!can!be!achieved.!In!Sweden,!investment!in!education!
intensified!during!the!“golden!years”!of!the!welfare!state!–!creating!
universal!access!to!pre-school!and!introducing!universal!grants!and!
subsiding!student!credits!for!higher!education!–!in!an!effort!to!
elevate!the!whole!of!the!working!class!(see!Sohl!2018a).!However,!
following!neo-liberal!reforms!to!the!welfare!state,!upward!mobility!
came!to!be!understood!as!the!responsibility!of!individuals:!it!was!
up!to!them!to!improve!their!own!life!conditions.!This!is!reflected!in!
the!respondents'!narratives.!On!the!one!hand,!they!stress!the!
importance!of!a!universal!education!system,!as!the!main!
mechanism!for!upward!mobility.!This!accords!with!the!fact!that,!as!
mentioned!earlier,!the!majority!of!respondents!have!a!university!
degree.!On!the!other!hand,!they!also!point!to!their!own!agency!and!
individual!efforts!as!decisive!for!their!position!on!the!income!scale.!
It!is!evident!that!Swedish!high-income!earners!do!not!worry!about!
money!and!mostly!feel!secure!about!their!economic!position,!but!
not!about!that!of!society!as!a!whole.!According!to!ESS!data!(2016),!
very!few!high-income!earners!in!Sweden!claim!to!face!some!
difficulty!in!making!ends!meet.!According!to!the!ESS,!the!top!10%!
felt!safer!in!2016!than!in!2008;!suggesting!that!the!2008!financial!
crisis!did!not!significantly!affect!them.!
Their!feeling!of!economic!security!is!tied!to!their!access!to!stable!
employment!and!good!labour!market!opportunities.!For!instance,!
some!are!not!members!of!a!trade!union,!and!do!not!seem!to!be!
worried!about!becoming!unemployed.!
The!interviewees!strongly!support!the!welfare!state.!They!also!
put!the!primary!responsibility!for!reducing!inequality!on!the!state,!
regardless!of!whether!they!are!on!the!right!or!left!of!the!political!
spectrum.!Our!interviews!indicate!that,!besides!paying!their!taxes,!

! !
the!majority!do!not!think!high-income!earners!have!a!particular!
responsibility!for!addressing!inequality.!
The!interviewees'!views!on!inequality!differ.!Some!describe!
large!inequalities!as!negative,!both!for!those!at!the!bottom!and!at!
the!top;!others!see!inequality!as!necessary!or!positive.!Several!
interviewees!voice!concerns!about!growing!inequalities!in!the!
education!system!due!to!school!segregation.!The!interviewees!also!
seem!to!understand!poverty!as!an!issue!of!integration.!
Although!not!unanimous,!there!is!support!among!most!
interviewees!for!taxation!as!a!redistributive!mechanism.!This!is!
interesting!in!the!light!of!public!debates!about!taxes!being!too!high,!
particularly!for!high-income!earners.!Nevertheless,!some!
respondents!argue!that!the!tax!system!needs!reform,!flagging!up!
that!reform!of!corporate!and!asset!taxes!(including!inheritance!tax)!
is!needed!because!such!taxes!currently!benefit!those!at!the!top.!
Several!believe!tax!evasion!is!morally!wrong!and!a!problem!that!
needs!to!be!addressed.!It!is!important!to!note!that!high-income!
earners!are!especially!affected!by!taxes!on!income.!Some!believe!
that!their!taxes!should!be!even!higher!and!more!progressive,!while!
others!think!taxes!in!general!should!be!lower,!arguing!that!if!people!
retain!more!of!their!income!it!would!incentivise!them!to!work!
harder.!
Previous!studies!(e.g.,!Olofsson!2018)!have!found!that!high-
income!earners!are!more!likely!to!vote!than!the!rest.!Several!
respondents!have!an!interest!in!politics!and!hold!strong!political!
views.!However,!few!have!worked!or!campaigned!for!a!political!
organisation!or!party.!Previous!research!(e.g.,!Oskarson!2010;!
Vestin!and!Oskarson!2017)!has!shown!that!class!is!significant!for!
party!sympathies,!even!though!there!has!been!a!decline!in!class!
voting!in!Sweden!in!recent!decades!(Vestin!and!Oskarson!2017;!
Vestin!2019).!Today,!the!GAL-TAN!scale!is!often!used!to!describe!
new!political!dividing!lines.!For!most!of!our!respondents,!however,!
a!traditional!right-left!scale!seems!to!explain!the!interviewees’!
values!and!attitudes:!those!who!favour!increased!redistribution!
through!higher!taxes!place!themselves!to!the!left,!and!vice!versa.!
They!clearly!reject!xenophobic!parties!and!right-wing!populism,!
except!for!one!interviewee!who!voted!for!the!Sweden!Democrats.!
Several!interviewees!express!political!attitudes!and!values!that!
tend!to!be!more!left-wing!than!indicated!by!the!voting!behaviour!of!
high-income!earners!as!a!group.!Strikingly,!some!interviewees!tend!
to!express!left-wing!attitudes!and!believe!taxes!are!a!good!way!to!
redistribute!economic!resources,!even!if!they!vote!for!political!
parties!on!the!right.!

43!
It!is!clear!that!most!interviewees!regard!meritocracy!as!a!key!
characteristic!of!a!fair!society.!Hence,!they!emphasise!the!
importance!of!the!education!system!in!achieving!upward!mobility.!
Why!are!narratives!about!upward!mobility!so!powerful?!One!
answer!is!that!such!narratives!“fit!in!with!the!national!'success!
story'”!(Sohl!2014:467)!of!the!Swedish!welfare!state.!Social!
mobility!is!also!often!equated!with!equality!and!social!justice.!
However,!some!interviewees!acknowledge!that!there!are!
limitations!to!what!individual!effort!and!hard!work!can!achieve.!
They!point!out!that!having!an!immigrant!background!is!an!
impediment!to!upward!mobility,!and!that!this!is!exacerbated!by!
housing!and!educational!segregation.!Several!also!identify!class-
related!injustices!that!impede!people’s!life!chances,!pointing!out!
that!those!in!working-class!occupations!are!often!not!
proportionately!rewarded!for!their!work.!In!general,!the!
interviewees!stress!the!connection!between!success!and!hard!work,!
even!though!some!acknowledge!that!people!in!working-class!jobs!
often!work!hard!without!being!fairly!paid.!
! !

! !
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