What Sweden's Response To COVID-19 Tells Us About Their Values

Look across Europe at the various ways countries are responding to the coronavirus pandemic and you’ll see a lot of similarities… until you get to Sweden. In neighboring countries, public spaces are empty and residents are staying home unless they need groceries or medicine.

But in Sweden, life continues on as normal for the time being: children walk to school while adults gather in restaurants and bars at night. Nobody is being stopped on the street or fined for hanging out in public. Only the most vulnerable have been told to isolate at home.

In fact, I had a fairly frantic exchange with a friend of mine who lives in Sweden after I read about the country’s response. “Is this really how things are being handled?” I asked him.

“Oh yeah,” he replied. “Last night I was out at dinner with ten of my friends. Don’t worry though, we didn’t sit close to anyone else in the restaurant.” As you can imagine, this response did little to assuage my anxiety, as viruses don’t care whether you’re sitting with friends or strangers.

However, it did get me thinking: why is Sweden reacting so differently than other countries? We know that what we value determines what we do, so I turned to the Valuegraphics Database and the half a million surveys we’ve collected to find out what those in Sweden value most.

What Does Sweden Value?

The country’s top value is the same as the United States: belonging. The second and third values are family and financial security, which also are common across the world. So, in order, the Swedes desire that feeling of “we’re all in this together” right now, then they want to know how the coronavirus will impact their family, followed by its impact on their finances.

But again: a lot of countries with the same top three values are responding to coronavirus in totally different ways. The question we have to answer is: are there distinct, tightly-held values in Sweden that can help us understand the subdued nature of their response?

Sometimes when I’m looking at the data trying to answer a question like this, the answer is “no.” But other times, I have what I call an “OMG moment” where the answer nearly leaps off the page at me. I had one of those moments while looking at the list of Sweden’s values.

Compared to the rest of Europe, there are two values that stand out. Our data shows that the Swedes value political freedom and balance almost 50% more than their neighbors. How can these unique values help us understand what’s happening in Sweden? Let’s dive into it.

Unique Value #1: Political Freedom

The value of political freedom may be manifesting as a reluctance by the country’s officials to clamp down on residents. In many countries, we’ve seen what you might call a “heavy handed” approach by governments telling citizens what they are and are not allowed to do.

Citizens are being fined hefty sums for not behaving the way government leaders have decided they should. A priest in Italy was fined 400 euros for walking the streets with his cross. One man in Spain tried to skirt the quarantine rules by walking a stuffed dog on a leash. He wasn’t fined, but the Spanish government didn’t find it funny, reminding citizens that serious breaches of the current restrictions could result in fines of up to 600,000 euros.

This approach is the opposite of political freedom. Whether it’s the leaders in Sweden who are reluctant to interfere in the lives of citizens, or the citizens who are pushing back against infringements upon their freedom, I believe this value has shaped the response. 

Unique Value #2: Balance

Balance is an interesting value to examine in the context of our circumstances. We’re living in an unbalanced world. Actions taken by governments and citizens worldwide say clearly:

We value the lives of people who could be impacted by coronavirus more than anything else.

As this pandemic continues, economies are being decimated, jobs are being lost, and companies are closing. We’re even taking steps backwards with climate change, evidenced by the fact that many Americans can no longer bring reusable bags to the grocery.

Everything we’re doing is in favor of protecting each other from this global threat against our health. I believe this is the right call, but there’s no arguing that the balance isn’t there right now, and for a country like Sweden that values balance so highly, that’s an issue. It might explain why they’re clinging to the way things were: it helps maintain some semblance of balance.

Where Does Sweden Go from Here?

Right or wrong, the approach taken by the Swedes to deal with coronavirus is, at least partially,  influenced by their values. Now that we have a bit more insight on why this country of 10 million is reacting differently than the rest of Europe, the next question we have to ask is:

What happens next?

Concerns are mounting that Sweden’s laissez-faire approach might result in the spread of the virus being worse there than it could have been had stricter measures been put in place. As of April 10, the country had 9,685 confirmed cases and 870 deaths, placing the mortality rate at 8.98%. Compare that to Denmark, which has 6,014 cases and 247 deaths: a 4.1% rate.

Whether government officials decide to shift course—and what that might look like—remains to be seen. What we do know, based on their actions so far, is that the Swedes will act in a unique fashion based at least in part on the emphasis the country places on political freedom and balance, two of the 56 values we’ve mapped for the world in the Valuegraphics Database.