Popular education in Sweden: much more than you wanted to know (2022) • Hacker News Board

pengstrom wrote: post #10

Unfortunately, the current conservative/nationalistic government has been trying to get it shut down. They use the guide of "tough on crime" of course, but they have been opposing money for people of lesser means for a long, long time.

My wife and her friends are all middle-class, doctors, lawyers etc. The have a book club and get tax money to buy theater tickets and cheese for their meetings. It's not tax money well spent in my book. They would have had the book club anyway. And all of them can easily pay for cheese themselves.

There are endless examples of fraud too. You just write down a meeting schedule and put in names of people and get money.

Another problem is the Islamistic "studieförbund" Ibn Rush who is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. They get a lot of tax money to promote their worldview.

Re: Popular education in Sweden: much more than you wanted to know (2022)

#87

Post by marviio » Tue, Feb 28, 2023, 11:12 AM UTC

thomastjeffery wrote: post #63

I wish we had something like this in the US. We sorely need it. Today, in the US and much of the western world as a whole, we are missing something I have seen described as "the third place". This is defined as any social setting that isn't the "first place" (home), or the "second place" (work). Wikipedia introduces the "third place" with examples: "churches, cafes, clubs, public libraries, gyms, bookstores, stoops a…

From my European viewpoint US seems to have a thriving civil society.

Sweden used to have that. Workers movement, free churches and the temperance movement basically built the Swedish democracy. A large percent of the population were contributing members in them. They are almost extinct now.

The welfare state took their place. If something is not commercially viable in Sweden, it has to be funded by tax payers. And then you get all the issues of what should be funded and what shouldn't.

We no longer have strong, self-supporting associations. And we don't have the philanthropic tradition where rich people fund things.

Re: Popular education in Sweden: much more than you wanted to know (2022)

#88

Post by dsq » Tue, Feb 28, 2023, 11:25 AM UTC

somewhereoutth wrote: post #3

Excellent article, and a very interesting look into how a society may accelerate its development. Perhaps maker spaces are born of a similar ethos, though of course very stem driven. Unfortunately it seems that as formal education has become more institutionalised and more necessary as a marker for employability, doing anything remotely 'bookish' in your free time has become almost definitively 'uncool'. A shame.

I can reassure you that the uncoolness of books had existed for at least since I was in school (a looong time ago). Books have never been the cool thing.

Re: Popular education in Sweden: much more than you wanted to know (2022)

#89

Post by dsq » Tue, Feb 28, 2023, 11:29 AM UTC

somewhereoutth wrote: post #64

bsder wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps maker spaces are born of a similar ethos, though of course very stem driven. Huh? Most makerspaces are not at all STEM driven. In the US, most makerspaces are driven by woodworking. Metalworking and 3D printing generally take up the next tier in a makerspace of usage. Electronics and STEM stuff is generally the bottom of utilization, sadly. It's simply really hard to come up with good electronics projects t…

Anytime you try to make a 3D thing (and many 2D things) you are doing STEM. I feel the distinction between 'blue collar' e.g. woodworking and 'white collar' technology, and indeed 'purple collar' art & design, to be unhelpful - unless of course to segregate out the 'bookish'!

Better defined as occupational tradesmen/tradespersons.

Re: Popular education in Sweden: much more than you wanted to know (2022)

#90

Post by thomastjeffery » Tue, Feb 28, 2023, 3:00 PM UTC

marviio wrote: post #87

thomastjeffery wrote: post #63

I wish we had something like this in the US. We sorely need it. Today, in the US and much of the western world as a whole, we are missing something I have seen described as "the third place". This is defined as any social setting that isn't the "first place" (home), or the "second place" (work). Wikipedia introduces the "third place" with examples: "churches, cafes, clubs, public libraries, gyms, bookstores, stoops a…

From my European viewpoint US seems to have a thriving civil society. Sweden used to have that. Workers movement, free churches and the temperance movement basically built the Swedish democracy. A large percent of the population were contributing members in them. They are almost extinct now. The welfare state took their place. If something is not commercially viable in Sweden, it has to be funded by tax payers. And t…

I would trade you in a heartbeat.