Johan Norberg
Johan Norberg (born August 27 1973) is a Swedish writer devoted to promoting economic globalisation and individual liberty. He is the author of the much celebrated In Defense of Global Capitalism. He also presented the British Channel 4 documentary Globalisation is Good, which is based on his book. Since March 15 2007 he is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. During 2006 he was a Senior Fellow with the Brussels-based European think tank Centre for the New Europe.
Politically Norberg describes himself as a "liberal in the classical European tradition".[1] Among other claims, he writes that the welfare state has reduced our collective happiness because it deprives us of the opportunity to take control and responsibility over our lives.
Personal life and education
Johan Norberg was born in Stockholm, the son of former Swedish National Archivist Erik Norberg and his wife Birgitta. He grew up in the suburb of Hässelby. Between 1992 and 1999 Norberg studied at the Stockholm University, where his subjects included philosophy, literature and political science. He received a M.A. in the history of ideas in 1999.
Johan Norberg is married to Sofia Nerbrand, editor of the liberal magazine Neo, with whom he has one son, Alexander, born in January 2007. The wedding was conducted by Per Ahlmark, former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden.
Political activism
Norberg has described his political involvement started in the senior level of compulsory school when he, together with some friends, won the school elections with their own party called "Anarchist Front". He soon abandoned his anarchist views and discovered liberalism which he claims took liberty more seriously. During his time at Stockholm University, Norberg became involved in the libertarian network Frihetsfronten ("The Liberty Front"). He was the editor of its journal Nyliberalen ("The Neo Liberal") from 1993 to 1997.
In 1997 Norberg was contacted by the Swedish think tank Timbro, who invited him to write a book about the Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg. The book sold well and sparked a big Moberg debate. After that he was invited to write another book, on the history of liberalism in Sweden. That book also became a success and in 1999 Norberg joined the permanent staff of Timbro. Initially he served as assistant editor-in-chief of the web magazine Smedjan.com. In November 1999 he started the website Frihandel.nu to put the case for free trade and open economies.
Awards and honors
- Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, for the book In Defense of Global Capitalism (2002). [1]
- Prize of the Sture Lindmark Foundation for Public Debate, for opinion formation for free trade (May 2002).
- Gold medal of the Friedrich August von Hayek Stiftung, shared with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and ECB Chief Economist Ottmar Issing (2003). [2]
- Voted Sweden's best blogger by the readers of the magazine Internetworld (2005).[2]
- Curt Nicolin Memorial Award from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (2006). [3]
Trivia
- Johan Norberg is a devoted Trekkie.
Bibliography
- Motståndsmannen Vilhelm Moberg ("The Resistance Fighter Vilhelm Moberg"), 1997
- Den svenska liberalismens historia ("The History of Swedish Liberalism"), 1998
- Fullständiga rättigheter : ett försvar för de första 21 artiklarna i FN:s deklaration om de mänskliga rättigheterna, 1999 ("Complete rights : A defense for the first 21 articles in the UN's declaration on human rights")
- Stat, individ och marknad : sex skolor i samtida samhällsfilosofi ("State, Individual and Market") (editor), 2000
- Till världskapitalismens försvar (In Defense of Global Capitalism), 2001
- Global rättvisa är möjlig ("Global Justice is Possible") (co-author: America Vera-Zavala), 2001
- Frihetens klassiker ("Classics of Liberty") (editor; co-author: Mattias Bengtsson), 2003
- När människan skapade världen ("When Mankind Created the World"), 2006
- Ett annat Sverige är möjligt ("Another Sweden is Possible") (co-author: America Vera-Zavala), 2006
References
- ^ http://www.johannorberg.net/?page=bio
- ^ Internetworld, "Han har Sveriges bästa blogg", April 21, 2005 (Accessed July 10, 2007) (in Swedish)
External links
- JohanNorberg.net – official website/blog
- Globalisation is Good - Johan Norberg on Globalization