Tough times never last, tough people do - on why I am a optimist

 Working as a social historian I mostly deal with struggle and suffering one way or the other. I have written on the inhumane treatment of refugees, on how politicians came to cut public spending on integration even though they knew it was wrong and on anti-abortion politics that caused severe suffering for women in the early 20th century. Yet I remain a strong optimist when it comes to humanity, perhaps as a psychological response or perhaps just because I know that sometimes - even during the most dark times - there are people who aim to change the world and often suceed.

In my dissertation on immigration politics I wrote alot on a local social democratic politician who was a municipal leader during the 1970's and 1980's. During the latter half of this period, Sweden went through a rise in xenophobic ideas, which for decades to come have shaped the political landscape. It was during this time Keep Sweden Swedish were formed, which eventually would evolve into todays right wing party the Sweden democrats. Despite these tensions, the councilman kept his line of progressive politics, eventually leading to a integration plan being launched in the late 1990's. From a modern perspective, this plan is highly problematic. But for the time it was written, it was actually rather progressive in that it viewed immigrants as not a threat or a resource, but as citizens and human beings. 

In my other project I have written about a Malmö-based sexual reformer. When sexual education came to Malmö he was already in his 30's and had a successful career. He had no skin in the game, but came to fight both for contraceptives and the right to abortion. Whilst it took some time, some of his visions became true in his lifetime and in 1974 a modern abortion-legislation was launched. Perhaps this would have happened anyway, despite the educators struggle. But what is important is that he knew that it was right, and therefore stood up for it. 

The Europe I am currently living in is highly problematic. It is marked by the terrors of war in Ukraine and the global repressive migration regime. But all over Europe I am also seeing progressive forces, who dares to dream about something else. And if we look at the bigger picture, the world is slowly turning towards the better. Literacy have increased, world poverty is declining and the great Empires who through force exploited the global south have fallen. 

World literacy 1820–1920. Data from https://ourworldindata.org/literacy


This is all rather abstract. But lets look at something concrete: in 1972 Peter Mills died. He was born in 1861, as a slave. This means that many people still living today have shared part of their lifetime with a former slave, a system which 140 years ago was formed as unable to be abolished. Whilst slavery is still a issue on the global scene, few states today keep the practice. This would not have been possible without the struggle of people like you and me - which I why I am not only a historian, but also a rather optimistic one.

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