Dear Isabel,
I very much liked your 'summary' of the discussion so far regarding subsidies. When I read it I recalled two experiences I had as a teenager in the then very poor mining and forest areas of Northern Sweden (1950s). The first observation relates to human dignity. All people in that area lived in poverty but all had a very strong dignity, because they were equally poor. It was not until I grew older and met much less poor people and was reminded about my poverty, that I lost my dignity. As a human rights scholar I believe that 'dignity' is the single most important aspect in the realisation of human rights.
My second experience I recall comes from the mid-1960s, when Tage Erlander still was Prime Minister in Sweden. The social democratic government had introduced a new child allowance programme, which meant that as a child we all could be sure to buy some new clothes twice a year. One day, in a TV discussion, our leader of the right wing party accused Tage Erlander of wasting public money by providing this child allowances also to less poor and richer children, who did not need it. Erlander said "The child allowance programme must be universal so that ALL children feel that they are the same; that they all have dignity. Do not worry, members of your party have an important role to play – by paying much higher taxes than the poor, they will ensure the success of the programme".
Best regards
Urban Jonsson
Dar es Salaam
Former Unicef
I very much liked your 'summary' of the discussion so far regarding subsidies. When I read it I recalled two experiences I had as a teenager in the then very poor mining and forest areas of Northern Sweden (1950s). The first observation relates to human dignity. All people in that area lived in poverty but all had a very strong dignity, because they were equally poor. It was not until I grew older and met much less poor people and was reminded about my poverty, that I lost my dignity. As a human rights scholar I believe that 'dignity' is the single most important aspect in the realisation of human rights.
My second experience I recall comes from the mid-1960s, when Tage Erlander still was Prime Minister in Sweden. The social democratic government had introduced a new child allowance programme, which meant that as a child we all could be sure to buy some new clothes twice a year. One day, in a TV discussion, our leader of the right wing party accused Tage Erlander of wasting public money by providing this child allowances also to less poor and richer children, who did not need it. Erlander said "The child allowance programme must be universal so that ALL children feel that they are the same; that they all have dignity. Do not worry, members of your party have an important role to play – by paying much higher taxes than the poor, they will ensure the success of the programme".
Best regards
Urban Jonsson
Dar es Salaam
Former Unicef
