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Swedish employers ask prospective employees seemingly innocuous questions to gauge their values without running afoul of strict Swedish labor regulations that prohibit overly intrusive or personal questions.
It is as follows: Who are your role models outside of your family?
Surprisingly, the interviewee is unable to answer any questions.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg attends a press conference in Kiev, Ukraine, on June 29, 2023. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
They cannot think of anyone they consider to be a role model, with the exception of climate change activist Greta Thunberg, whose name is frequently mentioned.
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From a company’s perspective, the most satisfying answer is to immediately mention individuals whose products or services improve the lives of others, such as Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. It doesn’t matter if the cited role model is not perfect as a person, as long as they are contributing to society.
The management of the Swedish company, which makes luxury products sold around the world, regrets that so many well-trained, well-educated and smart people have so few people to inspire them. thinking.
Why do so many job seekers mention Greta Thunberg’s name? Young people’s overwhelming career aspiration is to be an influencer. In secular Europe, climate action is practically a religion. In other words, according to the Swedish CEO, Thunberg is a modern-day Joan of Arc, combining classic idealism with a modern urge to get likes. Besides, she doesn’t really have to do much, she just bashes the West for destroying the world. She is a great piece if you can get your hands on it.
But that’s it for role models.
How sad.

Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at a rally at the Robert Taylor House in Chicago in the 1960s. (Robert Abbott Sengstack/Getty Images)
It used to be that you could ask a stranger on a plane or in a coffee shop who their role models were and get an instant answer. No one asks strangers for role models, but if you do, you’ll get a name. John F. Kennedy. Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill. Mr. Henry Ford. Or, if you’re really into history, Joan of Arc.
So what happened to the concept of role models?
In the age of social media (yes, start bashing social media), our thinking is ahistorical. We think about what’s popular, not what’s going to last. Our devices inflate our self-esteem far beyond who we really are. my phone. my feed. my Timeline. Me, me, me. It’s all about me, so maybe I need a role model?

President John F. Kennedy delivers his inaugural address in Washington on January 20, 1961. (AP Photo/File)
In an age where we know far too much about celebrities, we balance their achievements and shortcomings in a way that previous generations never did. Yes, JFK was a great president and would never have allowed us to get involved in Vietnam. Had he lived, he would have delayed the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. However, he was not a role model as he was repeatedly unfaithful to Jackie.
MLK? Same argument. Prayer and player in one. How can we honor that?
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On top of that, the world seems too big and its problems too intractable to change. The global climate, the political situation, the social situation…it seems impossible to solve everything. So why bother?

Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stood over Sonny Liston in their second bout in 1965, challenging him to stand up during the title fight. (Getty Images)
Generations ago, people toiling upward at night created breakthroughs that benefit humanity. Marie Curie, Watson, and Crick come to mind. Today, the development of new drugs and scientific breakthroughs are the purview of big pharmaceutical companies or big science. People with inspiration do not need to apply.
What about athletes? Decades ago, when Charles Barkley told us he was no role model, we suddenly understood that athletes are athletes, nothing more. Michael Jordan famously refused to participate in civil rights issues, reminding us that “Republicans buy sneakers.”
Compare and contrast Jim Brown, who spent decades mediating gang wars in Los Angeles after retiring from football, or Muhammad Ali, who gave up his career because of his religious beliefs. (“I’m going to hit them, but I’m not going to kill them.”)

Chief Justice Earl Warren (Getty Images)
Clarence Darrow championed the poor and powerless, those who lacked the resources to fight great state power. Chief Justice Earl Warren rebelled against President Eisenhower, who appointed him, by defending the Constitution and liberties rather than Republican principles. Find a role model judge or lawyer today. wait.
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So much for science, sports, and courts.
Once upon a time, there were politicians and politicians in the world who had a vision for society that went far beyond conducting opinion polls and formulating policies accordingly. Gandhi wanted to drive the British out of India. FDR wanted to save the free world. Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto, Israel’s Golda Meir, and India’s Indira Gandhi all promoted the idea that women are incapable of leadership. Anyone with half a brain today is running screaming from the cesspool that is modern electoral politics.

George Orwell, author of “1984.” (Ulstein Newspaper, via Getty Images)
My role model has been consistent since I was a teenager, and no one asked me to. George Orwell and Alexander Solzhenitsyn bravely wrote about their societies at the risk of disapproval and punishment. Will I be able to get a job in Sweden if I give up their name? perhaps.
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The point is that we all need a star at the helm, not an influencer to envy, not a politician to despise, not a religious leader to scoff at. Instead, it’s time to stop, reflect, and ask yourself who your role models are. Who sets an example for me to grow?
We should be heliotropes, drawn to the warmth of the sun and maximizing our height. And when changing the world seems too difficult, we need to find resonance in Gandhi’s imperative. “What you do is insignificant, but it is essential that you do it.”
Click here to read more from Michael Levin