The Three Ages of Swedish Man: 1766, 2016 & 2030

Titian, Three Ages of Man, 1514

Childhood, 1766: Anders Chydenius, a Finn living in Greater Sweden, a liberal (old-style) pastor, was the driving force behind the Freedom of the Press Act, 1766¹. This piece of legislation makes Sweden one of the first modern nations to address censorship. According to Wikipedia, “The initial purpose of the act was to abolish political censorship of public documents and make sure everyone had the right to publish.” [emphasis added]

Middle Age, 2016: As part of the crackdown on “fake news and hate”, Sweden’s Culture & Democracy Minister, Alice Bah Kuhnke, will meet with representatives from Facebook in order to determine which public posts don’t meet the government’s censorship guidelines².

Old Age & Death, 2030>: According to the 2010 United Nations Human Development Index (UN HDI), Sweden is set to become a mere shadow of itself by 2030; not quite a third-world country but living in stark contrast for example to chart-topping neighbours Norway. In its latest report Sweden sits at #14; by 2030 this was projected to be #45 as other less developed nations start to overtake it³. Unlike other European countries, and in fact most of the lesser developed countries around the world, Swedish society is incredibly going – backwards! Quickly.

If there’s anything to take away from the extremely fast degeneration of Sweden in the last thirty years it’s in John 8:32, but the Swedes knew this as recently as 1766. There are some obvious truths our there, but once governments censor the ability to speak, to read, to learn, to understand or even to express yourself, you die. Like Sweden is. Like Sweden will.