Fishing in Utopia
Fishing in Utopia - Sweden and the Future that Disappeared is a 2008 travelogue by Andrew Brown . The book reflects the development of Sweden from socialism to a capitalist society since the 1970s, but also contains autobiographical elements.
In 2009 the author was awarded the Orwell Prize for the political aspects in his work.
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The book “Fishing in Utopia” is divided into 27 chapters in which Andrew Brown describes his relationship with Sweden, which has lasted from the 1970s to the present day, and describes his personal and professional development. The course is occasionally interrupted by looking back at Brown's past.
The book begins with Brown's first summer in Sweden in 1977. The Briton has settled with his friend Anita, a Swede, with her family in the small town of Lilla Edet. During this time fishing is his great passion. He developed a special relationship with his future mother-in-law Anna.
The following year he married his girlfriend and moved with her to Nödinge, where he found a job in a timber factory. After the birth of his son Felix, his life changed fundamentally: he withdrew increasingly and began to work as a freelance journalist for an English newspaper. While Brown and his wife are slowly drifting apart, Brown begins to integrate himself in Sweden and, after the couple moved to Uddevalla, to find connection in a fishing club. Eventually, however, his ambitions prompt him to return to England and pursue his career as a journalist there. Shortly after this step, his marriage fails irrevocably and he and Anita divorce.
Brown first returned to Sweden the following year (1986) on the occasion of the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme to report on the event. His second visit to Sweden after separating from Anita is also of a professional nature: Brown is among the journalists who accompany the Pope on his trip through Scandinavia in 1989. During this trip he reflects on the changes in Swedish society, which he says has lost the sense of security that is typical of it.
Until 2005, Brown only visits Sweden sporadically for family celebrations. When Brown returned to Sweden for a long time after two decades, he traveled across the country in search of his old home. However, he realizes that the Sweden he had come to know and love no longer exists. The cities have changed, and in some cases he no longer recognizes the places where he once lived. Sweden was a different country. The only constants seem to be his friends, all of whom he is now visiting again. But over time, he realizes that he recognizes certain things and he learns to love Sweden again.
background
Sweden was one of the socialist strongholds in the 1970s. People thought that cooperation in a country is much more worthwhile than the selfishness of an individual and so the country naturally set itself the goal of ensuring that every person has equal rights. Sweden was considered to be a neutral country, so they did not take part in World War II and tried to avoid armed conflict.
When the social democrat Olof Palme became prime minister and thus head of Sweden, the country became one of the richest in the world. Between 1932 and 1976, the government passed social reforms, which among other things ensured high taxes but also workers' insurance. Unemployment was very low, as was the housing shortage which, thanks to Palme's Social Democrats, was reduced as they had built new social housing. In addition, equal rights for women were at the center of politics, as was environmental protection.
The 70s were one of the best that happened to the country.
However, politics also created a society of conformity and concrete. State surveillance was the order of the day. In the years between 1935 and 1976, 60,000 Swedes, all of them poor, were victims of forced sterilization . These included travelers, young women, petty criminals, and vagrants whose mental health was classified as subnormal or whose behavior was classified as promiscuous.
A few years later, in the 80s and 90s, the country seemed to have changed completely. Olof Palme was killed and the Social Democrats were no longer in power, their interests were no longer pursued and the welfare system began to collapse. Public train connections and the post office were privatized, but private schools were founded and promoted. Sweden had changed. It didn't seem safe anymore. Crime rose rapidly, as did residents' alcohol consumption.
Sweden has evolved from a socialist, safe, tolerant state to a nation where there is more crime, less security and also less prosperity.
Sweden is seen as a role model when it comes to family policy . The Swedish government provides sufficient all-day childcare facilities for working parents. It is important to her to ensure that men and women are equally integrated into the labor market.
Reviews
Paul Binding characterizes Fishing in Utopia in his review as a “brilliant book that processes a complex plot very intelligently, but also humanely, while incorporating the old Swedish belief that we all deserve a just and friendly society.” For Binding, this reflects Against the background of the protagonist's problems with the Swedish way of life, book again the British problem of adapting to a society that is influenced by an idea rather than tradition. Binding attributes the changes that occurred in Sweden during Brown's absence to the Swedish attitude of wanting to create a unique, incomparable country. "Brown especially felt this attitude during his excursions into the northern wilderness," said Binding.
Footnotes
- ^ Winners: Fishing in Utopia: Sweden & The Future That Disappeared. Andrew Brown. ( Memento of the original from April 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Orwell Prize side
- ^ John Carey: Fishing in Utopia: Sweden and the Future that Disappeared by Andrew Brown. In: The Sunday Times. July 6, 2008, accessed February 8, 2011
- ^ Sigrid Rausing: The Death of a Dream. In: New Statesman. June 25, 2009
- ^ Family policy: Sweden as a European model.
- ^ Paul Binding: Fishing in Utopia, By Andrew Brown. In: The Independent. July 27, 2008
