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Johan Strang , October 20th, 2011

In defence of politics Critical perspectives on cultural and philosophical explanations for the Nordic Welfare State. Johan Strang , October 20th, 2011. Centre for Nordic Studies, University of Helsinki. About the brilliant lecturer Johan Strang.

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Johan Strang , October 20th, 2011

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  1. In defence of politicsCritical perspectives on cultural and philosophical explanations for the Nordic Welfare State Johan Strang, October 20th, 2011 Centre for Nordic Studies, University of Helsinki

  2. About the brilliant lecturer Johan Strang • Post-doc researcher at the Centre for Nordic Studies • Originally trained as a philosopher • Research interests: The political and intellectual history of the Nordic countries • Logical empiricism in the Nordic countries • PhD-thesis: History, Transfer, Politics – Five Studies on the Legacy of Uppsala Philosophy (2010) • Available through ethesis.helsinki.fi (search ‘Strang’) Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  3. The philosophical foundations of the Nordic Welfare State, part I • John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971) • Distribute justice • The system anyone would choose behind the ”veil of ignorance” • Right, but what is the connection between Rawls and the Nordic welfare states? Name of Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  4. The philosophical foundations of the Nordic Welfare State, part II • Axel Hägerström (1868-1939) and Uppsala philosophy • Value nihilism • Scandinavian Legal Realism • The law is a tool by which politicians can change society Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  5. There are no philosophical foundations of the Nordic Welfare State • The philosophers are neither kings nor servants of politics • They are actors in political life as anyone else • Neither Rawls or Hägerström was thinking about the Nordic Welfare States • Rawls was part of a Cold War discussion on liberalism in the United States • Hägerström was part of the Scandinavian tradition of cultural radicalism • Rawls and Hägerström can of course be used as an argument in favour of the Nordic welfare states • But they can be used politically in many different ways. Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  6. Who created the Nordic welfare state? Part I: the Social Democrats • The main party in the Nordic countries throughout the 20th century • The 1930s as a starting point • Nordic democracy in an age of totalitarianism • Nationalism and modernism Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  7. Social Democracy and nationalism • Per Albin Hansson (1886-1946) • The people’s home (folkhemmet) • From class rhetoric to cultural nationalism • The Völkishlink Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  8. Modernism and optimism • Countercyclical politics • The Stockholm School • Social planning or social engineering • Alva and Gunnar Myrdal, Kris i befolkningsfrågan(1935) • Prophylactic social politics • The quality of the people Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  9. Who created the Nordic welfare state? Part II: Not only the Social Democrats • Peter Baldwin, “The Scandinavian Origins of the Social Interpretation of the Welfare State”, Comparative Studies in Society and History, 1989 • The welfare state has been created by quite unanimous parliaments • Many features of the Welfare State precede the Social Democratic hegemony Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  10. Who created the Nordic welfare state? Part III: The long historical roots • The free Nordic peasant • The Nordic democratic heritage • The Nordic peasants have not been subjected to feudalistic rule • Liberalism came to the North through the peasants • The Welfare State as secularised Lutheranism • Reformation from above • The moral, civic and legal norms are the same Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  11. Who created the Nordic welfare state? Part IV: Nordic culture • The Nordic Welfare State as an expression of Nordic culture or way of life • Lars Trägårdh, Statist individualism – on the culturality of the Nordic Welfare State, in Sørensen & Stråth (eds), The Cultural Construction of Norden (1997) • A Swedish theory of love • Love as independence • Statist individualism Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  12. Statist individualism (Lars Trägårdh) Individual State Family / civil society Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  13. Statist individualism (Lars Trägårdh) Individual Family / civil society State Germany Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  14. Statist individualism (Lars Trägårdh) Individual USA Family / civil society State Germany Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  15. Statist individualism (Lars Trägårdh) Individual Sweden USA Family / civil society State Germany Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

  16. Who created the Nordic welfare state? Part V: In defence of politics • The Nordic welfare state is created all the time • It is a contingent result of political negotiations and struggles • But history, philosophy and culture can be used as arguments for politics • In this sense the Social Democrats were highly successful during the 20th century • But they are awful at it now • In defence of politics – the future is ours to make Johan Strang, Centre for Nordic Studies

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