The social democratic image of society: a study of the achievements and origins of scandinavian soci

This book constitutes a genuinely comparative study of the world's only truly successful democratic socialist parties: the Social Democratic Parties of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The measure of achievement is not merely political success, the fact that in Scandinavia the Social Democrats have become 'natural parties of government', for just as importantly, the author shows that a political success grounded on the symbiotic relationship between party and trade union movement has been the foundation for a higher level of welfare state provision and egalitarian striving than in virtually any other advanced Western nations. Nor is The Social Democratic Image of Society merely a description of political differences, for it also locates the singularity of Scandinavian politics and society in the structural and historical conditions of political development. The central theme of this study is germane to the continuing debate on the future of moderate Socialism in Western Europe. It attacks commentators of the Left for their blindness to the great variations amongst capitalist countries in their fulfilment of working-class goals, and it takes the reformists to task for a political naivety which makes them see the recipe for electoral success as 'piling on the welfare and avoiding nationalisation like the plague'. It is a book for friends and foes of democratic socialism alike; for the former to provide an understanding of the tasks ahead and for the latter to know the enemy better.