The Swedish Paradox

People say taxing the rich hurts entrepreneurship. The data — and Sweden — disagree.

One of the highest-taxed countries in the world, yet also one of the most entrepreneurial. Home to global companies like Spotify, IKEA, and Klarna.
How? Because Sweden doesn’t rely on a high ceiling, it builds a high floor.

Universal healthcare. Free education. Strong social safety nets. If you fail, you don’t fall far. That security breeds risk-taking. People can afford to try — because failure isn’t ruinous.

So maybe entrepreneurship isn’t driven by the dream of becoming obscenely rich, but by the freedom to experiment without fear.

Taxing the rich doesn’t destroy ambition — it funds the infrastructure that allows more people to dream.