Book Reviews : The New Totalitarians. By ROLAND HUNTFORD. (New York: Stein and Day, 1972. Pp. 354. $10.00.)
| Date | 01 December 1972 |
| Published date | 01 December 1972 |
| Author | Peter Grothe |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591297202500419 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
794
The
New
Totalitarians.
By
ROLAND
HUNTFORD.
(New
York:
Stein
and
Day,
1972.
Pp.
354.
$10.00.)
If
one
were
to
question
a
random
sample
of
American
intellectuals
about
their
perceptions
of
Sweden,
one
could
guess
that
the
terms
most
often
used
would
be
ones
like
&dquo;the
middle
way,&dquo;
&dquo;no
labor
strife,&dquo;
&dquo;compromise,&dquo;
&dquo;the
model
demo-
cratic
welfare
state,&dquo;
etc.
In
short,
Sweden
seems
to
have
a
positive
image
in
the
American
intellectual
community.
Until
the
appearance
of
The
New
Totalitarians,
no
major
English-language
book
published
has
attempted
to
present
a
detailed,
negative
critique
of
the
Swedish
polity.
Roland
Huntford,
the
Scandinavian
correspondent
for
the
respected
English
publication,
The
Observer
and
a
long-time
resident
of
Sweden,
wastes
little
time
in
informing
the
reader
of
his
stance
on
Sweden:
The
book
is
subtitled:
&dquo;A
terrifying
portrait
of
an
’ideal’
society
that
has
destroyed
democracy.&dquo;
What
is
wrong
with
Sweden?
Almost
everything,
according
to
Huntford.
It
is
a
super-conformity
state,
run
by
a
conspiratorial
group
of
Social
Democrats.
Parliament
has
very
little
real
power.
The
country
is
really
run
by
powerful
bureaucrats
(who
are
beholden
to
the
Social
Democratic
party).
The
Social
Democrats
control
the
school
system,
the
influential
television
and
radio,
and
much
of
Swedish
cultural
life.
Further,
says
the
author,
what
makes
the
system
work
is
that
in
Sweden
there
is
&dquo;a
submission
to
authority,
a
reverence
for
the
expert,
an
aversion
to
individuality,
an
instinct
for
the
collective,
and
a
worship
of
the
State.&dquo;
Most
previous
English-language
books
on
Sweden
have
tended
to
emphasize
how
well
the
welfare
state
works.
A
good
book
has
been
needed
for
some
time
which
critically
examines
a
number
of
disturbing
political
and
social
phenomena
in
Sweden.
Unfortunately,
this
is
not
that
book.
Huntford’s
major
sin
is
that
he
is
guilty
of
overkill.
He
so
overstates
the
negative
and
so
understates
the
positive
that
he
loses
all
credibility.
Nevertheless,
while
Huntford
is
often
wide
of
the
mark,
he
is
also
remarkably
penetrating
at
times.
Many
foreigners
who
have
lived
in
Sweden
would
agree
with
the
author
that
there is
a
lack
of
tolerance
for
dissent,
except
within
narrowly
de-
fined
limits;
that
the
bureaucracy
(although
superbly
professional
and
virtually
uncorruptable)
is
too
all-powerful;
that
there
is
a
malaise
of
the welfare
state;
and
that
television
and
most
of
the
newspapers
are
models
of
lack
of
objectivity.
At
the
same
time,
the
author
might
have
given
more
than
passing
reference
to
the
fact
that
Sweden
has
abolished
poverty;
that
all
the
basic
needs
of
the
popula-
tion
are
taken
care
of;
that
Swedish
prisons
treat
inmates
humanely;
a.rid
that
the
institution
of
the
Ombudsman
could
serve
as-a
model
for
all
democratic
countries.
Further,
the
charge
that
Sweden
lacks
intellectual
diversity
is
not
so
true
of
the
population
at
large
as
it is
true
of
the
intellectual
establishment.
There
is,
indeed,
intellectual
diversity
among
Swedish
citizens
(although
it
doesn’t
compare
with
the
intellectual
diversity
in
some
of
the
more
heterogeneous
societies,
such
as
the
United
States),
but
that
diversity
is
not
reflected
in
the
intellectual
establishment.
There
is
no
Swedish
equivalent
of
a
William
F.
Buckley
who
could
challenge
some
basic
assumptions
of
the
Swedish
welfare
state.
There
is
no
room
for
the
gadfly.
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