Because you're going to have to. And Norwegian is unlike any other language, except Hungarian. You'll find it pretty hard living there long term without speaking the mother tongue.

@Conrad Y, you might be thinking about Finnish. Norwegian is in fact very similar to Swedish and Norwegian. And they all share a lot in common with German and English.

You'll also find it extremely difficult to come across anyone under the age 60 who doesn't speak excellent English, especially in Sweden. As an Australian (we speak English by the way) now living in Stockholm, I am trying to learn Swedish, but the one of the biggest obstacles to that is that everyone I meet is so willing to speak English and so comfortable doing it.

Louis Bayard flippantly criticises Zuckerman for failing to mention that Scandinavia has "a suicide rate twice that of America".

How about a little fact checking?

The World Health Organisation statistics show the following rates (Suicides per 100,000 people per year):

Denmark 13.6

Sweden 13.2

Norway 11.5

USA 11.0

So how is the Scandinavian rate double that of the US?

It's probably also worth reflecting on the effect on reporting of religious prejudice which deems suicide as a mortal sin...

Congratulations America.

The world is a little bit better today.

The world dodged a bullet with this one.

So having being able to grapple with the truth that the holy book isn't really all it's cracked up to be, have you ever considered taking the next step? To be blunt, have you ever considered that, like other religions, Mormonism isn't just offensive, but actually ridiculous?

All religions have a patchy record on teaching us how to live a moral life. Open your mind to atheism. You may be surprised to find that the world doesn't collapse...

Assuming that Janet is an American, I'd say take the advice all Americans should take (if they can afford it), and visit another continent. Anywhere. It will be good for you, good for America, and good for the world.

Is he like a cougar in that he prowls the shadows, offering falafels to young men?

Maybe the best thing you can hope for is that she will read this article, step outside of herself, and have a moment of clarity.

Here in Sweden, the law provides for 16 months leave, paid at 80% (a cost shared by government and employers) and capped at a reasonable amount. Either parent can take the leave in whatever combination (though, like the English proposal, not at the same time). However, two months of that period can only be taken by the "minority parent". That doesn't necessarily mean the father - gay relationships are recognised and, as of this week, same-sex marriages are legal (with the blessing of the state church).

Oh, and all this is on top of the legally mandated five week's paid annual vacation.

Although mothers do generally take the bulk of the leave, there is no real social (or career) stigma attached to men who step out of their jobs for a while to support their families and bond with their children.

Society does not collapse into chaos. The economic system does not implode. Business still happens. And on just about every measure of human progress, from crime to life expectancy, to health, to education, Sweden sits comfortably in the top five.

I suppose Sweden does not have as many executives getting $10,000,000 bonuses from their collapsing companies, but these are the sacrifices a society must make.

Yes, taxes are high in Sweden. But from what I understand of the US, insurance, health services, childcare, and education don't exactly come cheap. Everything gets paid for one way or the other. So it would seem only sensible to pay for a system that actually works.

Why keep debating ideology when there are ample facts to examine?

This is convenient, I get to recycle a comment I made to Broadsheet this morning:

Here in Sweden, the law provides for 16 months leave, paid at 80% (a cost shared by government and employers) and capped at a reasonable amount. Either parent can take the leave in whatever combination (though, like the English proposal, not at the same time). However, two months of that period can only be taken by the "minority parent". That doesn't necessarily mean the father - gay relationships are recognised and, as of this week, same-sex marriages are legal (with the blessing of the state church).

Oh, and all this is on top of the legally mandated five week's paid annual vacation.

Although mothers do generally take the bulk of the leave, there is no real social (or career) stigma attached to men who step out of their jobs for a while to support their families and bond with their children.

Society does not collapse into chaos. The economic system does not implode. Business still happens. And on just about every measure of human progress, from crime to life expectancy, to health, to education, Sweden sits comfortably in the top five.

I suppose Sweden does not have as many executives getting $10,000,000 bonuses from their collapsing companies, but these are the sacrifices a society must make.

Yes, taxes are high in Sweden. But from what I understand of the US, insurance, health services, childcare, and education don't exactly come cheap. Everything gets paid for one way or the other. So it would seem only sensible to pay for a system that actually works.

Why keep debating ideology when there are ample facts to examine?

But while I'm here, @Yminale, your arguments that European countries can only have social welfare because of American subsidies are quite frankly absurd. And if you want to talk about systems being unsustainable, you might want to look a little closer to home.