/leftypol/ - Leftist Politically Incorrect

Author: Anonymous (This article is a repost; please contact for deletion in case of infringement)
In today's public discourse, there is no shortage of so-called praise for the "Nordic Model." This argument holds that the "Nordic Model" relies on reform rather than external expansion, achieving a highly developed standard of living and social welfare on a so-called "Third Way," which is genuine "socialism." Especially at western website, such voices are particularly loud. In China, a large number of liberals also tout these Nordic welfare states, calling them a paradise on earth. However, is this really the truth?
In the Nordic region, there is a communist who supports the Third World people's resistance against imperialism, named Torkil Lauesen. This brother, who once screwed bolts in a factory and delivered packages on the streets, rebelled against Nordic capitalists because he opposed the Nordic exploitation of the Third World. As a result, he was sent to prison by the "democratic and free" Nordic Social Democratic government. After regaining his freedom, he wrote a book titled *Riding the Wave: Sweden’s Integration into the Imperialist World System*. Let's see how he exposes the imperialist acts of the Nordic countries.
Swedish capitalists have transferred a massive amount of low- to mid-end labor-intensive industries to the Third World, making a fortune overseas: [The Swedish company Electrolux is one of the world's leading producers of household appliances and tools; by 2010, about 70% of its production was outsourced to low-wage countries. In 2018, 3,103 Swedish multinational companies employed 2.16 million people, of which 1.5 million were abroad and another 660,000 were within Sweden. Swedish transnational capital is highly concentrated. The 30 largest companies employed 1,053,381 people in 2018, with 773,611 abroad and 279,770 in Sweden. The turnover of these companies abroad was 3,713 billion SEK (445.56 billion USD), compared to 2,263 billion SEK (271.56 billion USD) in Sweden.]
Some say that the countries Sweden invests in are primarily Western developed countries like Germany, so Sweden does not exploit the Third World. Regarding this, this brother also provided an explanation: [About half of the investments are inter-imperialist—Swedish investments in North America and the EU, and vice versa—which reflects the degree of global capital integration. Swedish Electrolux products are sold in the EU and the US, while German Siemens and US Apple products are sold in Sweden; importantly, the products of Electrolux, Siemens, and Apple are all actually produced in low-wage countries. From an imperialist perspective, investment in low-wage countries is the key.]
In plain terms, Sweden invests in German companies, and the products of these German companies are all produced by the working people of the Third World. The surplus value extracted by the German companies comes from the Third World, while Sweden can obtain a portion of the blood and sweat money from Third World working people through its equity investment in German companies, which is essentially "the sharing of spoils among imperialist robbers." However, in the eyes of some people with a worrying level of political economy, it seems as if Sweden exploited Germany rather than the Third World. I also find such bizarre remarks hard to understand.
[According to data from Statistics Sweden, in 2018, about 576,000 people living in low-wage countries worked for Swedish companies through subsidiaries. Among them, 252,000 lived in Asia, including 103,000 in China and 46,000 in India. South and Central America had 125,000 such workers, including 27,000 in Brazil and 33,000 in Mexico. Africa had 25,000, and South Africa had 12,000. Eastern Europe had 144,000, including 64,000 in Poland. The turnover of these Swedish subsidiaries in low-wage countries reached 93 billion SEK (11.16 billion USD) in 2018 alone.]
This kind of transnational exploitation by transferring labor-intensive industries outward also causes unemployment among industrial workers within imperialist countries. These industrial workers who lose their jobs are then transferred to the service industry: [Parallel to outsourcing, the number of industrial workers in Sweden decreased from about 370,000 in 1996 to 161,367 in 2018. During the same period, the number of employees in the service sector increased from about 275,000 in 1996 to 408,437 in 2018. Due to outsourcing, the number of workers directly employed by Swedish multinational companies in China and India alone is equivalent to the number of industrial workers these companies employ in Sweden.]
If the Swedish proletariat merely shifted from manufacturing to the service industry and could at least still enjoy some "Social Democratic blessings," then what kind of "blessings" do the working people of the Third World, who are brutally exploited by Swedish capitalists, enjoy?
[In 2016, the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) released a report on the working conditions in textile factories in Cambodia, India, and Bangladesh, which are suppliers to H&M. In Cambodia, about 700,000 people work in the garment industry, 90-95% of whom are women aged 18 to 35. The average monthly wage in Cambodian factories supplying H&M was $187. In Indian factories, the monthly wage was $114, and in Bangladesh, the monthly wage was about $87. According to the ILO report, these wage levels are only enough to cover about half of basic living necessities and simple housing.]
After finishing their work for the Swedish Social Democratic masters, the workers of the Third World receive pitifully low wages, unable to maintain even the most basic food and clothing. This is the "blessing" brought by imperialists to oppressed peoples—a bloody "blessing." Of course, Western imperialists, waving the banners of so-called "human rights" and "progress," sometimes put on a show and pretend to be great philanthropists, sanctimoniously saying they want to improve the labor conditions of Third World people, but in reality, it is lip service without substance:
[In February 2018, Swedish national television reported that factory workers at H&M's Hawassa supplier in Ethiopia earned only 300 SEK ($36) per month. At the same time, H&M was participating in a major new development aid project: Swedfund, the Swedish state development aid organization, had provided a preferential loan of 125 million SEK to the Bangladeshi company DBL, which was building a new textile factory that would provide 4,000 jobs in Ethiopia. H&M would take action to ensure sustainable conditions, committing to become a long-term buyer for the factory. In an interview with Swedish television, Swedfund's CEO did not want to talk about whether he thought 2 SEK per hour (300 SEK per month) was a good wage in Ethiopia. They stated that Swedfund intended to try to arrange higher wages in the country, but even though the joint project started in 2014, there were still no requirements regarding factory wages.]
As Comrade Lenin said, the exploitation of the labor of low-wage workers from backward countries and the extraction of their super-profits is a particularly typical phenomenon of imperialism. [Exploiting the labor of low-wage workers from backward countries is precisely a highly typical phenomenon of imperialism. To a certain extent, the parasitic nature of rich imperialist countries is built upon this. While these countries brazenly and extensively exploit the "cheap" labor of foreign workers, they also use higher wages to buy off a section of their own workers. The words "low-wage" should be added, and at the same time, the words "and often rightless" should be added, because the exploiters of "civilized" countries always take advantage of the fact that imported foreign workers have absolutely no rights.]
So, I advise some conservatives who are left in form but right in essence, who try to unite with Western imperialism under a leftist guise, to read more of Comrade Lenin's works, and do not try to claim kinship with foreign skin-flayers. Some netizens also say, "The Nordic countries didn't commit murder or arson, so how did they exploit you?" Well, Swedish capitalists really do commit murder and arson in the Third World:
[In June 2010, the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan published a report titled *Unpaid Debt*, calling on the Swedish government to investigate allegations regarding Lundin Petroleum's involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity during its activities in South Sudan (then Sudan), particularly between 1997 and 2003. The crimes in question included indiscriminate and deliberate targeting of civilians, burning of homes, looting, destroying objects necessary for survival, unlawful killing of civilians, rape of women, abduction of children, torture, and forced displacement. About 12,000 people died, 160,000 were forced to leave their lands and homes, and many could never return. Satellite images taken between 1994 and 2003 showed that the activities of the Swedish oil company coincided with a significant decline in the area of agricultural land in its operating zone.]
What "democratic socialism"? To me, this is nothing but the banditry of imperialism!