
The Swedish Loneliness - mwidell
https://micaelwidell.com/the-swedish-loneliness/
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randcraw
I wonder, why do Swedes feel the need for independence? Is it a need for
security? Or difficulty sharing life with others?

And why does this problem seem to get worse as people gain wealth? Why does
increasing affluence seem to always engender greater separation, especially if
it makes us less happy?

I don't think this is unique to Swedes. Other north european peoples seem to
suffer comparably, like Norgewians. And I think it's common in America too,
and seems to arise in communities of all ethnic origin. Wealthy americans of
all regional and ethnic extractions seem to follow the same trajectory, I
think, with essentially the same outcome.

Wealth seems to breed isolation, and unhappiness. Yet few with wealth ever
choose to let go of Xanadu and return to Rosebud.

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jack9
> why do Swedes feel the need for independence

I suspect it's due to a happy lifestyle. I don't "suffer" from it in my own
words. I'm happy and very solitary. It's how I've always been (being the
smartest, fearless, capable and most interesting person I know). Now, being
that the concept of friendship having different levels of intimacy, you can do
the math (see Proverbs 18:24 via Luke Cage S01E09). At a certain point, your
learn to shed unreliable friends and real friends die off or move away or
change...suffice to say it's rare that you're going to follow alongside their
life path _when you have means_. I've been _perfectly_ satisfied with my life
about 8 times and most of those were when I was alone. I will probably die
very much alone and as close to perfectly happy as I can manage. I just don't
see it as a problem, but as a coping mechanism for lower income communities.
It's probably true that I could be happy with other people, but I just can't
stand most of them outside of work (I can limit relationships to working
toward a common goal).

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illo
In case anybody wants to hear a different bell, I am probably as wealthy as
jack9 and equally happy about my lifestyle, but I love people and I've never
lived alone in all my life. My opinion is that it's more a matter of having
different social needs and sensitivity, than being economically independent.
Or maybe it's what you think of yourself -- I know for a fact that there are
always smarter and more interesting and different people out there and I'd
love to know them and experience life with them. It's a basic need I feel that
doesn't depend on whether I'm able to support myself or not.

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dba7dba
How sad.

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pattisapu
subsidized hikikomori

