ABSTRACT
Sweden is an example of how rapidly market reforms can transform educational systems, contribute to the deterioration of school results and increase in segregation and inequalities. With the knowledge base, it is highly surprising that no political parties in Sweden have proposed an extreme makeover of the current market-oriented education system. The only issue raised in public debate, to any greater extent, has been the idea that there should be limits to how much profit it should be possible to make on delivering public services, such as education. Set in a broader international context, this is highly surprising. The citizen becomes a customer, who, rather than being provided welfare services, actively choose to ‘buy’ these services, on a quasi-market. In education, this means that the schools become vendors, who market and sells their products. The more students the schools attract, the more money they get.
