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A Sustainable Future Our Ideas Make a Difference

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A Sustainable Future Our Ideas Make a Difference A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE OUR IDEAS MAKE A DIFFERENCE THE CENTRE PARTY IDEOLOGICAL VISION MARCH 2013, UPPLANDS VÄSBY, SWEDEN The sustainable choice THE CENTRE PARTY Contents A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE 3 THE STATE AND SOCIETY 24 Our roots 4 Equal access to social services 25 Major challenges now and in the future 5 A society built from the bottom up 26 SUSTAINABLE IDEAS 7 Personal privacy 26 Freedom 8 Equal opportunities 8 WELFARE 28 Fundamental security 9 Healthcare and social care 29 Decentralisation 9 Education 30 Private ownership 10 Social safety net 31 Ecocycle approach 10 Openness 10 MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION 33 Gender equality 11 Migration enriches 34 Today’s challenges 34 SUSTAINABLE POLITICS 12 Environment and green growth 13 A FREE AND PEACEFUL WORLD 36 Climate threats 13 A democratic Europe 37 Renewable energy 14 The global community 38 Animals and nature 15 Whole country contributes to a sustainable society 15 AN ENTREPRENEUR-DRIVEN ECONOMY 17 Market economy and free trade 18 Jobs first 18 Taxes 19 Competition and cartels 19 The green industries 20 A better definition of prosperity 20 CIVIL SOCIETY AND CULTURAL LIFE 21 Culture 22 A digital civil society 23 A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE The policies of the Centre Party are founded on the equal rights and va- lue of every individual. We believe in every person’s right and ability to shape their own future. This is why we want the power to reside as close to the people as possible. 3 This is why we defend everyone’s free- OUR ROOTS dom from the paternalism and enforced Our ideas are the result of many people’s collectivism. This is why we believe in a long-standing drive for a fairer, freer and shared responsibility to give all people opp- greener society. ortunities to actualise their own lives and dreams and to challenge the injustices that The Centre Party has its roots in the fight inheritance and background have created. by the rural population and freeholder This is why we want to protect our planet farmers for liberty and justice in Sweden, and ecosystem, as the long-term foundation a struggle that spanned several centuries. for freedom and welfare. This is why we These farmers formed the popular base believe in the right of people to build a fu- for the freedom revolution that took place ture wherever they want to live in Sweden, in the mid-19th century. In collaboration wherever they feel at home. with other progressive forces, the farmers demanded and achieved democracy, free- The Centre Party’s liberalism is social, dom of expression, free enterprise, free decentralist and green. It is down to earth trade and an end to privilege and punis- and libertarian. It is based on fairness and hing taxation. The farmers stood in oppo- sustainability. It sees society as bigger than sition not only to the king, the nobility and just the state, being a community where the priests, who lived off the taxes collec- everyone is needed. When many people ted, but also to the townsfolk, who were are allowed to get involved and take re- defending the guild system. sponsibility for security and solidarity, They also played a crucial role in the in- this builds a welfare system that is much troduction of public education and the first stronger than anything the state alone can universal public elementary schools. The achieve. We are an open movement that rural liberal movement combined a drive welcomes everyone who shares our vision for greater economic freedom with a de- of a freer and better world. Based on li- sire to improve the life chances of the very vely debate and free exchange of views, poorest in society. These reforms formed we create a social climate where people the foundation of Sweden’s rapid march can make their voices heard and influence towards democracy and prosperity. their everyday lives. The Centre Party is committed to being Sweden’s most open Following on from this tradition as a po- political party. pular movement, Centre Party members are the backbone of cooperatives, parishes, Our policies are based on reforms that are charities, aid organisations, adult educa- sustainable in the long term – which is tion and business networks wherever you why our ideological vision bears the title “A sustainable future” 4 go in Sweden. Our commitment to en- tury, Centre Party members have taken vironmental issues also follows from the practical action to build up solidarity from Centre Party’s roots in the farmers’ move- South Africa to Eastern Europe. Based on ment. The Centre Party has been shaped its belief in the equal rights and value of by people who have lived off the land and every individual, the Centre Party took a its resources, which is why we know that much clearer stance than any other party humanity will not survive without looking against the talk of ‘social tourism’ and after nature. ‘transitional restrictions’, and successfully lobbied for free movement to also apply to The Centre Party was founded just over the new Member States of the EU in Cen- 100 years ago to defend the rights of ordi- tral and Eastern Europe. nary people against the ruling class. The emphasis at the time was on equal terms The Centre Party is a values-driven party for everyone, no matter where you came that takes on the challenges that exist from or what background you had, but across Sweden, both in urban and rural also on the right and freedom of the in- areas. Our political debate draws energy dividuals to shape their own futures. The and inspiration from the living conditions modern Centre Party gained its name in of people everywhere in Sweden. We conjunction with the pension reforms con- tackle all social issues, we represent many flict and party manifesto of 1959, which different perspectives from many different focused more sharply on individual choice, locations and we are buoyed up by our the environment and decentralisation. shared values. Our party was also an early promoter of MAJOR CHALLENGES NOW AND women’s rights in society. For a long time IN THE FUTURE now, the Centre Party has been a force for We live in an age of globalisation and change when it comes to key gender equa- rapid change. Technology and economics lity reforms. link people from far-flung places ever more closely together, while accelerating Many women in leading political posts in urbanisation draws humanity into even Sweden have been Centre Party members. larger cities. The first female party leader and Foreign Minister in Sweden was from the Centre At their heart, the forces of globalisation Party. are a fantastic opportunity. All around the world, there is now a real chance, with The Centre Party is made up of people the help of reforms, to eradicate hunger, with strong international involvement, in disease, poverty and need. Innovations are a tradition of global justice and democra- spreading quickly and benefiting many tisation. Since the middle of the last cen- 5 people. The engagement with the rest between people. Proactive and strategic of the world has made both Sweden and decisions are required to boost the attracti- other countries many times richer. veness of rural areas and their importance in building a sustainable society. But there are also challenges. Unsustai- nable exploitation of the ecosystem is in We now have an opportunity to create a the process of dramatically worsening life society that offers freedom and develop- chances and exhausting irreplaceable na- ment opportunities for all. Technology, tural assets for future generations, bring- globalisation and our increasing demand ing with it the risk of natural disaster and for quality and proximity in experiences famine. In many countries with increased and consumption all create fertile ground prosperity, the birth rate is dropping and for entrepreneurship in many locations the population is ageing, at the same time across our country. Innovation has the po- as demands for quality of welfare are tential to provide solutions for the switch rising. The economic crises that shook the to ecological sustainability that can then world in the early 2000s show how vulne- be spread globally. It ought to be possible, rable and dependent we are on each other. in our time, to live well and enjoy growth More and more pressure is being placed everywhere in Sweden, and to do it in har- on the competitiveness of Swedish enter- mony with the natural ecocycle. prises and their capacity for innovation in this changing world. Over many decades to come, Sweden will therefore be in major need of reforms, If politics is unable to keep up with deve- built on solid, sustainable principles, that lopments, those who are most vulnerable improve people’s opportunities to build and have the least room for manoeuvre their own future. Reforms so sustainable financially will be hit hardest. For deca- that they are able to accommodate interna- des, Sweden has lived with widespread tional pressure for change, so sustainable exclusion. Short-term advocacy has raised that they give everyone an opportunity to obstacles for people who wish to work enjoy increased prosperity, and so sustai- and to contribute, particularly those in the nable that they support the transition to a weakest financial position. An increasingly climate-smart, ecocycle-based society. globalised world and a changing Sweden require a more flexible and inclusive la- bour market. People are particularly vulnerable in pla- ces that have ended up in a negative spi- ral of depopulation, an increasing lack of social services and weakened networks 6 SUSTAINABLE IDEAS For over 100 years, the Centre Party’s ideas have helped shape progress in society.
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