MACMILLAN Democracy and the Economy in Finland and Sweden since 1960: A Nordic Perspective on Neoliberalism (Palgrave Studies in Political History)

This book explores the relationship between democracy and the economy in contemporary political thought and policy-making. Using the concepts of economic, industrial and enterprise democracy, the author focuses on the history of Finland and Sweden during the latter part of the twentieth century. The three concepts are discussed in relation to various political groups, such as social democrats, conservatives and liberals, and the reforms that they were associated with, painting a picture of changing economic thought in the Nordic countries, and the West more generally. Arguing that the concept of democracy has evolved from representative parliamentary democracy towards ‘participation’ in civil society, this book demonstrates how the ideal of individual freedom and choice has surpassed collective decision-making. These shared characteristics between Finland, Sweden and other Western countries challenge the view that the Nordic countries have been exceptional in resisting neoliberalism. In fact, as this book shows, neoliberalism has been influential to the Nordics since the 1970s. Offering an innovative and conceptual perspective on European political history, this book will appeal to scholars interested in Nordic political history and modern European history more generally. Review “A fascinating work of conceptual history, which analyses the contested political objective of economic democracy to show how the market mechanism has won out as a principle of social organization in the Nordic countries since the 1960s. Kärrylä’s meticulous, nuanced and authoritative account sheds new light on the neoliberalization of western societies and is highly relevant for current debates about the relation between democracy and the economy.”   ― Niklas Olsen, Professor of History, University of Copenhagen, Denmark and author of The Sovereign Consumer: A New Intellectual History of Neoliberalism " Democracy and the Economy is a well-written, concise account of economic democracy debates in Sweden and Finland from the wage earner funds debates to the neoliberal era. It explains the importance of the wage earner funds idea, of enduring relevance to political economic debates today." ―Jenny Andersson, Professor, Department of the History of Ideas and Science, Uppsala University, Sweden From the Back Cover This book explores the relationship between democracy and the economy in contemporary political thought and policy-making. Using the concepts of economic, industrial and enterprise democracy, the author focuses on the history of Finland and Sweden during the latter part of the twentieth century. The three concepts are discussed in relation to various political groups, such as social democrats, conservatives and liberals, and the reforms that they were associated with, painting a picture of changing economic thought in the Nordic countries, and the West more generally. Arguing that the concept of democracy has evolved from representative parliamentary democracy towards ‘participation’ in civil society, this book demonstrates how the ideal of individual freedom and choice has surpassed collective decision-making. These shared characteristics between Finland, Sweden and other Western countries challenge the view that the Nordic countries have been exceptional in resisting neoliberalism. In fact, as this book shows, neoliberalism has been influential to the Nordics since the 1970s. Offering an innovative and conceptual perspective on European political history, this book will appeal to scholars interested in Nordic political history and modern European history more generally. Ilkka Kärrylä is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland. He received his doctorate in Political History from the University of Helsinki in 2020. He specializes in the political and intellectual history of Europe and the Nordic countries, especially the history of econ