The Age of Social Democracy

by Sejersted, Francis; Daly, Richard; Adams, Madeleine B.

• ISBN13: 9780691147741
• ISBN10: 0691147744
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-01-31
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

This is the history of how two countries on the northern edge of Europe built societies in the twentieth century that became objects of inspiration and envy around the world. Francis Sejersted, one of Scandinavia's leading historians, tells how Norway and Sweden achieved a rare feat by realizing grand visions of societies that combine stability, prosperity, and social welfare. It is a history that holds many valuable lessons today, at a time of renewed interest in the Scandinavian model. The book tells the story of social democracy from the separation of Norway and Sweden in 1905 through the end of the century, tracing its development from revolutionary beginnings through postwar triumph, as it became a hegemonic social order that left its stamp on every sector of society, the economy, welfare, culture, education, and family. The book also tells how in the 1980s, partly in reaction to the strong state, a freedom and rights revolution led to a partial erosion of social democracy. Yet despite the fracturing of consensus and the many economic and social challenges facing Norway and Sweden today, the achievement of their welfare states remains largely intact.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Many Faces of Modernization
The Scandinavian Solution
Three Phases
National Characteristics
Overview of the Book
Dreaming the Land of the Future	p. 15
Norsk Hydro
Science and Modernization
Industrialization, a Natural Process for Sweden
Norway Follows Hesitantly
Emigration and Industrialization
The Norrland Debate
The Norwegian Concession Laws
Electricity, the Basis for Technological Modernization
War and Structural Problems
Thrust for Socialization
Consolidation of Two Different Structures
Rationalization
Technocracy
Dreaming the Land of die Future
National Integration and Democracy	p. 50
The Question of Political Democracy in the Period around 1905
Mobilizing the Public
Training for Democracy
Toward an Integrated School System in Norway
Contrasting the Two Countries
Karl Staaff and the Question of Suffrage in Sweden
Arvid Lindman and the Question of Universal Suffrage
The Difficult Road to Parliamentarianism
Gunnar Knudsen and State Capitalism
Currents of Antiparliamentarianism
The Farmers and Modernization
Farmers on the Offensive: Norway
Farmers on the Offensive: Sweden
Crisis Settlement in Both Countries
Women and Civil and Political Rights
The Integration of Minorities: The Sami
The Integration of Minorities: Refugees from Germany
National Integration and Democracy
Assistance for Self-Help	p. 99
The Conceptual Basis for Social Policy
A Great Preventive Project
Health Insurance
National Pension Plans
Unemployment Insurance
Population Crisis?
The Politics of Sterilization
Assistance for Self-Help
Revolution or Reform	p. 122
The Last Great Popular Movement
Working-Class Culture
Marxist Rhetoric and Reformist Practice
An Indistinct Policy
From One's Own Home to the People's Home: The Labor Movement and the Land Question
Hjalmar Branting
The Big Strike of 1909
The Party Is Split
Martin Tranmæl
Worker Scandinavianism
How Radical?
ôA Peculiar Legalization Activityö
The Level of Conflict Escalates
The Solidarity Game Is Established
Per Albin Hansson and the ôPeoples Homeö
Johan Nygaardsvold and the People's Party
The Expansionism of the Crisis Policy as Ideology
Revolution or Reform
Distance and Proximity	p. 173
Distance
Proximity
World War I
An Expanded Home Market?
A Nordic Defense Alliance?
1940-1970: The Golden Age of Social Democracy
Cooperation in a Menacing World	p. 185
Not the Same War
The Cold War-Still Not the Same War?
The Internal Danger and Surveillance
A New Drive for a Nordic Customs Union
SAS: A Success Story
Despite Everything, a Flourishing Collaboration
Cooperation in a Menacing World
ôThe Most Dynamic Force for Social Developmentö	p. 205
Class Society in Transformation I
Class Society in Transformation II
ôThe Most Dynamic Force for Social Developmentö
The Vision of the Atomic Age
Sweden: A Winner Nation
The Wallenberg System
Swedish Labor Market Policy
The Norwegian State and the Labor Market
Focusing on Natural Conditions
To ôPlay Wallenbergö in Norway
An Attempt to Create a Norwegian Knowledge Industry
Successful Industrial Policy?
The Social Democratic Urban Landscape
The Suburban Towns
Who Can Save the City?
The Triumph of Reason
The Crowning Glory	p. 241
Technocracy and the Welfare State
Children and the Family
The Radicalism of the Myrdals
The Era of the Nuclear Family
The Housewife Contract under Pressure
The Struggle over the Compulsory General Supplementary Pension (ATP)
Agreement on Social Security
Why Standard Security?
The ôEvangianö Health Policy
Swedish Health Policy
Good Family Housing
Social Democracy's Happy Moment
What Kind of People Do We Need?	p. 267
Sweden and Norway, One School-Nation
A Break with the Past?
What Kind of Equality?
Integration and Normality
Several Dilemmas under the Surface
An Unsuccessful Integration Drive
Marginalized Universities
Swedish University Reform
Norwegian University Reform
The Social Democratic People's Church
Church and Morals
Which Is More Important-Health or Salvation?
What Kind of Human Being?
Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy	p. 289
Tage Erlander and Einar Gerhardsen
The Struggle over the Planned Economy in Sweden
The Struggle over the Planned Economy in Norway
A Social Democratic Constitution
Corporatism and Economic Democracy
The New Administrative Corporatism
How Democratic?
The Double Strategy of Business and Industry
An Ideological Counterthrust
Social Democracy as a Consumer Society
Taxation Socialism
Capitalism without Capitalists?
Credit Socialism or Indicative Planning?
An Order in Its Own Right
1970-2000: A Richer Reality
A Difficult Modernity	p. 333
A Decade of Conflict
The Social Democrats Reply
The Risk Society
Sweden and Nuclear Power
Norway and Natural Gas Energy
The Nordic Energy Market
Norway Becomes an Oil Nation
Heavy-Handed Discrimination
Sweden Loses Its Leading Position
New Policy: A Turnabout?
Successful Policy?
A Difficult Modernity
What Happened to Economic Democracy?	p. 361
Corporatism under Pressure
Nevertheless, a Change of Model?
Industrial Democracy
Self-determination
Wage Earner Funds-a Radical Move
Weakened Administrative Corporatism
Labor Power for a Better Competitive Edge
Social Democracy in a Globalized Economy
A Weak Milieu of Private Ownership
State Ownership
An Ambiguous Development
From Equality to Freedom	p. 388
The Welfare State under Pressure
The Changing Character of Social Policy
The Hunt for the Lost Sense of Community
The Jewel Is Removed from the Crown
Does Norway Follow Suit?
From an Emigration Society to an Immigration Society
The Establishment of an Immigration Policy
A Political Minefield
The Policy Is Revised
Toward the Two-Income Family
The Great Dispute over the Cash Benefit Plan
Gender Equality Lite
A School for the Weakest
Gudmund Hernes-a Parenthesis
Toward the Dissolution of the Comprehensive School
The Universities and Market Logic
From Equality to Freedom
The Return of Politics	p. 431
Two Perspectives
Is Democratic Power Disintegrating?
A Weakened Party System
New Forms of Participation
Social Democracy's Media System
The Great Release
Threats to Independence
The Media-Biased Society
The Decay of the General Public?
The Youth Rebellion
Feminism
Marxism-Leninism
Constitutionalism Rediscovered
The Return of the Values Debate
Jesus-a Social Democrat?
The Common Good
A Showdown with the Past
The Return of Politics
The Last ôSoviet Statesö?	p. 468
A Large-Scale Cooperative Effort
The Volvo Agreement: Another Unsuccessful Campaign
Toward a Nordic Economic Region?
Europe
Why Did Sweden Reverse Its Policy on Europe?
The Last ôSoviet Statesö?
After Social Democracy: Toward New Social Structures?	p. 484
A Success-but Not Exclusively So
Social Democracy's Liberal Inheritance
The Institutional Structures under Pressure
The Freedom and Rights Revolution
What Kind of Freedom?
High Score
Toward New Structures?
Politics Matter
Bibliography	p. 503
Index	p. 533
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