Chapter 11: Suburban PoliticsMen and young people dislike suburbia; Misplaced belief in Representative Democracy; Democracy as opium of suburban masses; Sweden goes to communion every three years; Attendance at elections in Stockholm; Reaction to addiction ripe for exploitation; Money for Old Votes Party changes tactics; Returns on Bribery (ROB) explored; Board meetings and the bottom line; Voting in the Stockholm City Region 1982-88.
It is in suburbia that we find the true believers. In the Stockholm City Region, it is in Bromma and Älvsjö rather than Södermalm and Farsta where Schooling is revered and Jobs give life its meaning. It is in the new suburbs of the city regions where Democracy is The New Church and votes are its indulgences.Democracy, Parliament and the elected representative are the new trinity. Through our member of parliament we will be saved. The kingdom of parliament will come upon earth. Democracy will come upon us and we will be whole again. Opium of the suburban masses. Enemy of the people. Living without God has failed, the priests insist. Return to the fold. Increase our market share.
But who has been living without God? Democracy is the God. We have been living with this God for nigh on two hundred years. Every age has its gods. But it is the task of a future Age to recognize the nature of the gods of a former age.
In Sweden, the Christian God failed to topple the old gods. These live on in the folk memory and will return. Meanwhile this Democracy God has laid claim upon the land. Every three years, there is a great religious festival in Sweden culminating in The General Election. On the appointed day, the devout Swedish citizen presents herself at the altar of Democracy and makes the sign of a cross upon the ballot paper.
Sweden believes in elections and nearly everybody attends church. Here are the attendance figures for two of the more recent communions with the Democracy God in Stockholm’s City Region.
Figure 7: Voter Turn-out in Stockholm Election Stockholm City Stockholm County 1982 90.0% 92.1% 1985 87.2% 90.5% Are we witnessing a weakening of the Faith? Perhaps. Then the hour is ripe for the cynical exploitation of the powerful influence of these new gods over the hearts of those who see nothing of the good but want only to destroy the bad. Why turn a green lady into a blue meanie when avarice, greed and sloth can better serve your purpose?
In Stockholm, your Money for Old Votes Party goes to work in Farsta and Södermalm offering The Megamachine a significantly higher Return on Credit by paying voters to stay on their sofas and not attend communion. There it all is in Appendix E of the Business Plan. A study of the Differential Returns on Bribery (ROB) in the Swedish Electorate. Election rigging strategy on non-voting targeted at male voters in Södermalm, Farsta, Tensta, Rinkeby, Fittja, Gottsunda and Hamberg. Returns on Bribery 72.36% higher than with propaganda broadcasting on Radio Gotland. Business is Business. Your first responsibility is to your shareholders. The quality of the parliament is of no more concern to you, from a business point of view, than the quality of water is to a water and sewage business. Pay attention to the bottom line.
Unlikely? Improbable? Never heard of such a thing? Then you have not attended Board Meetings and digested Consultant Reports. There is a lot of money riding on Stockholm with its sixty seven seats and one fifth of the Swedish Parliament. Sew up Stockholm properly and you are already half way home. Let us now look at a full set of figures for Stockholm County.
Figure 8: % of the vote in Stockholm County by Party 1982-1988 M C Fp S Vpk Mp Kds 1982 33.8 10.2 5.9 39.9 6.6 2.2 1.1 1985 30.7 4.3 17.2 38.3 5.9 1.6 1.5 1988 27.6 6.4 16.1 35.8 6.4 6.0 1.8
Figure 9: Seats allocated to Stockholm County by Party 1982-1988 Election M C Fp S Vpk Mp Kds Total 1982 12 3 2 14 3 - - 34 1985 11 2 6 14 3 - - 36 1988 10 2 6 13 3 3 - 37 And the democratic punch for the Stockholm City Region in the Swedish Parliament then looks like this:
Figure10: Seats allocated to the Stockholm City Region 1982-1988 Election M C Fp S Vpk Mp Kds Total 1982 23 5 4 26 7 - - 65 1985 20 3 11 25 6 - - 65 1988 18 3 11 23 7 5 - 67