SWEDEN LOOKS AHEAD

Series

Series Name

The March of Time 14th Year

Issue

Issue No.

9

Date Released

1949

Length of issue (in feet)

1588

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1SWEDEN LOOKS AHEAD

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

The March of Time synopsis: Sweden’s steadfast refusal to unite either with the Soviet bloc to her east, or the new Atlantic-Pact to her west, forms the subject of this month’s March of Time. Wooed by each of the two great groups of government, Sweden has elected to join with neither - preferring to continue in the neutral course that has kept her country free from war for one hundred and thirty-five years.

This new March of Time shows much that has been achieved by Sweden’s "middle way" of life. Skilfully designed urbanism has retained the beauty of the countryside; planned reforestation and regulated logging have conserved the forestry, which provides the basis for nearly a quarter of the Swedish industries; non-productive land-holding is limited by permitting only those actively engaged in farming to buy farm land, and though only ten per cent of the country is arable, Sweden’s best wheatlands out-yield Nroth America’s. The film also discusses the activities of the agricultural co-operatives, whose fourteen associations, representing about ninety per cent of the farmers, account for an annual turnover of nearly one tenth of the national income. Reviewing the important part played by the trade unions in Sweden’s economy, the film points out they have been behind much of the country’s social planning. Each newborn child is endowed for two hundred and sixty kronor a year to the age of sixteen; hospital treatment is low in cost, and health insurance will soon be compulsory, while all citizens from the age of eighteen now pay taxes on the basis of which they will receive at sixty-seven, a yearly pension of one thousand kronor plus supplements to bring the pension up to the particular cost of living in their own district. While showing that the average Swedish family still lives better than its neighbours in other European countries, the film stresses that beneath the apparent calm of everyday life is a deep concern about the future. Though the Swedes feel that the risks of foreign alliances are greater than the advantages, they cannot remain aloof from international foreign commitments, for their foreign trade represents over one third of the national income. But Swedish faith does not rest entirely on diplomacy, and the government is spending more on its armed forces than ever before. In electing to go their own way the Swedish people have made a choice that may be the most critical in their history - though they hope that their concept of the middle way will see them into better days.

Researcher Comments

This story was included in Vol.15 No.5 of the US edition.

Keywords

Foreign relations; Diplomacy; Military

Written sources

The March of Time Promotional Material   Lobby Card, Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Time Inc.