Ernst Wigforss
Ernst Johannes Wigforss ( born January 24, 1881 in Halmstad, † 2 January 1977 Stora Hult, Båstad Municipality ) was a Swedish linguist and politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Sweden (SAP). In several election periods he was Swedish Minister of Finance.
Wigforss was born in Halmstad on the Swedish west coast. His father was a craftsman. After he had gained the baccalaureate in Halmstad on public high school, Wigforss began in 1899 to study at the University of Lund and was built in 1913 with a work that was part of the larger work on the vernacular of Halland later, a doctorate. Wigforss developed in a modern understanding of language as fundamental and constitutive for culture.
Way to the political theorist
During his studies, his interest in social processes and politics was awakened. In addition, he freed himself from the increasingly influenced by the parents religiosity. Wigforss was a member of a political association of students in Lund, which was close to radicalism. 1907 Wigforss chairman of the group. Quick Wigforss began to occupy themselves with the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In 1908 he brought out the book materialistic conception of history and class struggle. Throughout his life, however, held Wigforss a critical distance from Marx and especially to those who canonized whose writings. Above all, Marx's theory of surplus value not convinced Wigforss, but probably he was also later intensively with the problems of value.
Wigforss quickly became dedicated debaters and programmatic thought leaders in the Swedish social democracy. Early on Wigforss sparked by a presentation of the " great men " as propulsive subjects of history, pointing to the importance of the economic needs of larger groups - that clung to the concept of class.
With the thought of the provisional utopias Wigforss created significant contributions to the theory debate. In this work he grappled with the meaning of utopias for political action. So utopias should always adapt to the changing new conditions.
Political career
1919 Wigforss was elected as member of the Socialist Gothenburg in the then -existing first chamber of the Swedish Parliament. Under the Social Democratic Prime Minister Rickard Sandler Wigforss 1925 was first appointed as Minister of Finance, only temporarily in place of the diseased incumbent Fredrik Thorsson and after his death as a regular minister until the resignation of the Government on June 7, 1926. Among Per Albin Hansson was Wigforss 1932-1936 Finance Minister again, as in the following governments until 1949.
Wigforss played a prominent role in the development of the Swedish welfare state and an economic policy that is characterized by high taxes. Significant influence on Wigforss ' political action had the economist John Maynard Keynes. Even after the end of his career Wigforss Minister was extra-parliamentary political activity. He became involved in the anti -nuclear movement and campaigned for an end to the Swedish nuclear weapons research program.
Works (selection)
- Södra Halland folkmal, Stockholm 1913 (Dissertation)
- Nej! Till svenska atomvapen, Stockholm 1959