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Sweden’s socialist experiment failed with 500% interest rates in 1992

senator Bernie Sanders and many other socialists did not do their homework when they praised European socialism.

“We should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people,” Sanders said in 2015 during the first Democratic presidential primary debate.

Senator Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, speaks during a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 1, 2025. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters)

The problem is that socialist policies in places like Sweden have failed. Government expenditures grew larger than the private economy, and then it all exploded in 1992, when the Riksbank had to raise interest rates to 500% to defend the currency.

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Even the party that brought socialism to Sweden was soured by the experience. Former Swedish Social Democratic Finance Minister Kjell Olof Feldt had to admit: “The whole thing with social democracy was absolutely impossible. It didn’t work. There was no other way but market reform.”

Skyline of Stockholm Sweden.

Skyline view of Stockholm, Sweden. (Istock)

“They had a crisis in the early 1990s, which led to a lot of reforms,” said Thomas Philipson, a Swedish-born economist. “And basically what I’ve seen is that education, health care and pension plans are being dramatically revised to become more privately and publicly driven around the world.”

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Democratic socialism has failed, including in the homeland of our closest ally, England.

“When I left England, the coal industry, water, railways, electricity, some road transport and automobile production were all run and handled by the government,” FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney said. “And of course, they ruined things. But the good thing is that it was so bad that Margaret Thatcher came.”

Margaret Thatcher

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the general election campaign, June 10, 1987. (George D. Curle/Getty Images)

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As Mrs Thatcher famously said: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” It can happen here.

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2025-10-10 14:36:00

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