ESSAY ON THE SWEDISH THEORY OF LOVE

The documentary titled “The Swedish Theory of Love” directed by the Italian-Swedish

filmmaker Erik Gandini and published in 2015, presents us with the harsh reality of society

in that country in the emotional sphere, marked by multiple shortcomings and

contradictions, unfortunately. The lifestyle lacking economic needs and a high level of

personal independence, sometimes marked by extremes, has led to an egocentric and

individualistic society, in which each person seeks to achieve their achievements and well-

being without thinking about others. The State is a provider of goods and services for the

benefit of the community, freeing its inhabitants from filial responsibilities which, among

other causes, has fostered an irreversible tendency towards individualism, isolation and

loneliness with the consequent delay in the social relations characteristic of the human being

as a member of a society.

With the creation of the manifesto “The family of the future” in 1972, the traditional family

model that prevailed in Swedish society, a father, a mother, and children who lived together

within the framework of mutual economic-social dependence, changed, since the new

political worldview -social of said manifesto seeks the independence of people in relation to

others, women from men, the elderly from their children, adolescents from their parents, etc.

which represented a profound transformation, from this moment the cell of society that was

the family lost its true meaning (unity and mutual help), the ties of consanguinity have no

meaning and each person has learned to live their individuality seeking self-realization. ,

living to please himself, filling himself with goods and comforts, accumulating wealth that

he does not share because he does not establish emotional ties with others.

Swedish society prioritizes individual freedom, free from the ties of family ties. In reality,

the social relationships that will last will only be those that are not based on dependency but
on freedom, that is, they are authentic, since these types of relationships They are the ones

that transcend because it is not correct to be united with someone just because it is

convenient or depends on that person, many times that does not imply union or true love.

It is unfortunate to see how Swedish society has gradually made the individualized way of

living more and more its own, creating beings that are increasingly self-assured but

distrustful, totally self-sufficient, to the point that a woman does not need the presence of a

man. to conceive children, it is good that the woman has achieved the security to decide to

have her own children and has left the harm of bringing them into the world alone without

the presence of the man, since she has a job and economic possibilities that allow her to raise

them, changing thus the traditional family style, but canceling the presence of a father for his

children because the donor has no contact with them, it has only become an instrument that

helps in fertilization and the children must have the right to know and share with their

parents, it is sad to think that in this type of society sooner or later the figure of the man will

not be indispensable, this fact has been taken to such an extreme that it is like asking for a

purchase order, and motherhood is something so important that they must both father and

mother get involved in raising their children.

As transcribed by Diels (2016) and credited to the Neoplatonic philosopher Iambicus:

Since men by nature are not in a position to live individually and for themselves,

but rather, obeying the laws of nature, they have united with each other; and since

their whole way of living, and the means for it, has been devised by them under these

conditions; given also that a life together in a lawless situation is unthinkable for them,

since the disadvantages that would befall them in that case would be much greater than

those they would have in an isolated life; It is forced to conclude, based on these

reasons, that Law and law have established their royal scepter among men and that it
 will be impossible for them to escape the sovereignty of both, since this relationship

has been established by nature itself. (p. 400).

It is clear that the human being is imminently social and must live in society because his

nature defines him that way, which is why I believe a society or a world of individuals is not

possible, since man would be renouncing his human nature as a social being.

In the case of Sweden, which has become a benchmark for economic development in which

individuals have achieved their goals and aspirations with their work, but it has become a

selfish and individualistic being, distancing itself from a true society, in which human

development is shared with others, each person must seek to fulfill their personal aspirations

aimed at the service of others because, in the world, we are in permanent contact with other

people and together with them we seek similar paths and aspirations. There is no point in

seeking dreams if others are not present in them, a true society is one in which we know how

to share goals and fight together to achieve them because the achievements achieved will not

only be individual but also collective, in this way we will be creating a society that is not

only united by material things but by stronger ties that involve friendship and love, hence we

can realize that a society of individuals leads us to the loneliness and depression that a large

part of Swedes currently experience. It is true that personal fulfillment leads to happiness as

long as it is shared, which is why it is essential that human beings establish ties of friendship

and familiarity, present in some emerging African countries that do not have the essential

resources to live with dignity, in in which material deficiencies are great but in return they

fight for collective aspirations, in which individual and collective needs inspire to fight for

better days and this brings them happiness marked by permanent ties, fostering authentic

social relationships based on permanent feelings. The nature of man seeks to unite

emotionally with others and by not having that, his life loses meaning, hence the large
number of suicides that are recorded, which demonstrate that material well-being is not

happiness. If we adopt these ways of life, man will be losing its human nature and a society

would have no meaning if it did not think about others.

Achieving interdependence in a society must be the primary objective because that

relationship of mutual and reciprocal help is what we must have as human beings, it allows

us to get to know each other, develop social skills of dialogue and conflict resolution that we

only obtain if we share and understand others. the rest. It can be exemplified in our daily

life, when we have a group work in which each one must contribute with their contribution

to the integral work, the sum of everyone's work leads to success, the skills and knowledge

of some are at the service of others to achieve a common good, in the same way, in a soccer

game each person plays from their positions and gives their skills for the common good.

It is necessary that we fortify a society in which we are always in interaction since "the

world of humanity constitutes a total of multiple interconnected processes" (Wolf, 2006,

p.15) reflected in globalization in the different economic, political and social fields. social,

because “often, people's daily activities are a basis for bonds of friendship” (Miller, 2016,

p.263), a bond that has unfortunately been lost in Swedish society, which is why we must

learn to know each other to form a humanized society in which values prevail and not

simple individualistic materialism, since an institution like the state cannot provide

dedication, friendship and affection that only human beings can do.

This lifestyle is unfortunately part of the culture of Sweden, since “Culture is the learned set

of socially acquired traditions and lifestyles of the members of a society, including their

patterned and repetitive ways of thinking, feeling and acting.” (i.e., their behavior)” (Harris,

2001, p.4). And we have seen how in this time he has learned these lifestyles to such an

extent that they are part of his way of being and seeing life.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES.

 Harris, M. (2001). Cultural anthropology (3rd ed.). Madrid, Spain: Alianza Editorial.

 Wolf, E. (2005). Europe and people without history (2nd ed.). Mexico City, Mexico:

Economic Culture Fund.

 Miller, B. (2016). Cultural anthropology (7th ed.). Madrid, Spain: Pearson

Education.

 Diels, H. (2016). The fragments of the pre-Socratics. Berlin, Germany: Weidmann