Folkhemmet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Folkhemmet (English: the people's home) is an political concept that played an important role in the history of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Swedish welfare state. It is also sometimes used to refer to the long period between 1932-76 when the Social democrats were in power and the concept was put into practice.
The Social Democratic leaders Ernst Wigforss and Per Albin Hansson (1930s) are considered being the main architects of the Folkhemmet, and it was later developed further by the Prime Ministers Tage Erlander (1950s) and Olof Palme (1960s - 1970s). Rudolf Kjellén was a source of inspiration.
[edit] History
Hansson introduced the concept in 1928, saying that Sweden should become more like a "good home". A good home being one marked by equality and mutual understanding. The traditional class society should be replaced by "the people's home" (folkhemmet).
The concept came at a time when nationalization was being questioned and it marked the party's abandonment of the notion of class struggle, a concept which had been a fundamental part of the early Social Democratic movement. Instead they adapted a planned economy and what would be called Funktionssocialism, where the government controlled businesses through laws instead of ownership. The government would also have more control over the individual and could put up restrictions in order to increase the wellbeing of citizens.
During the 1930s Social engineering became an important part of folkhemmet. Alva and Gunnar Myrdal's 1934 book Kris i befolkningsfrågan (Which was partly inspired by malthusianism and Jean Piaget) inspired a radical and progresive policy for how to deal with the growing population. A number of changes took place in this period including expansion of the public sector, Wigforss economic policies, Gustav Möller's reform of the pension system, and Gunnar Myrdal's housing policies.
Alva and Gunnar Myrdal suggested a series of programs designed to help families but also regulations in the form of compulsory sterilization. This was meant primarily to prevent mental illness and disease, and was thus supported by the government, but as in Canada and the US, racial politics also became involved, as there was a strong belief in the connection between race and genetic integrity among leading scientists and those carrying out the sterilizations. In the later decades it was primarily the mentally ill who were forcibly sterilized. The Swedish state subsequently paid out damages to those who were sterilized. Around 62.000 individuals were sterilized over a period of 40 years until 1976.
