Even socialist Sweden has robust private health care and education. Why shouldn’t Canada?

Detailed summary

Sweden’s hybrid system is a compelling case study that has revolutionized the country’s social services

To understand modern Sweden and how the country has transformed, consider Jens Eriksson’s career trajectory.

In his youth, Mr. Eriksson worked at music labels such as Stockholm Records, repping Swedish bands like the Cardigans around the world. Thirty years later, the arts aficionado runs a network of private health care clinics, a job he took after running a network of private schools – all in a high-tax, socialist country.

He admits he was an unlikely candidate for this leap. His own kids went to public school, and he had, too. But Mr. Eriksson’s evolution, like his country’s, was borne out of necessity. And it’s a path that provides Canadians with rather significant insights.

When Mr. Eriksson started working in the music industry in the nineties, profit margins were fat. A few years in, Napster was released, and that made it easy to download (and steal) music for free.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Globe and Mail (Report on Business). To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.