Disability, rights realisation, and welfare provisioning : what is it about Sweden?

During the National Inquiry into Disability Care and Support, disability advocates often referenced the "Swedish model" as a system of disability care from which Australia could learn. Proponents frequently discussed the significance of the Swedish model for its substantive realisation of disability rights, enabling democratic participation at the institutional (political) level, and the provision of social goods at the individual level. Western Australian disability advocate Erik Leipoldt was particularly astute at identifying this relationship, critically demarcating between "thick" and "thin" claims for disability rights. Leipoldt's conception of "thick" disability rights implied a citizen's right to participate in the production of public policy and services, and thus determine the substantive content of social welfare (Clarke, 1998). In practice, this form of democratic participation requires, in addition to user-led initiatives, a range of "built in" strategies and mechanisms to enable informed decision-making and, where necessary, independent advocates. On the other hand, a "thin" conception of rights implies the right to individual choice and procedural fairness (equal treatment) at the point of service (Clarke, 1998).