Folkhemmet

Folkhemmet ( Swedish for Volksheim ) was an important political metaphor of the Swedish Social Democrats in the 1930s and 1940s, which was sought for the welfare state. The term is now - except in terms of its history - only more rarely used. Instead, one speaks of the " welfare state ".

Origin

The term "people 's home" as a metaphor for a political vision first appears in nationalist and right-wing circles. The political scientist and politician Rudolf Kjellén developed in his book The State as way of life ( 1916), an authoritarian and mystical concept of the state, which defined the state as an organism, and also spoke of a future home of the people. Even Manfred Björkquist, the leader of one of the major revival movements within the Church of Sweden, Ungkyrkorörelsen, and Bauer politicians took over the term.

Socialist metaphor

1928 attacked the party leader of the Social Democratic Workers' Party Per Albin Hansson the concept of "people's home" in a debate in the (then ) second chamber of the Reichstag on to describe the goals of social democratic politics. In his ( in Sweden) famous speech, he said among other things:

" The foundation of the home is common and consent. In good home there is no privileged or disadvantaged, no Hätschelkinder and no stepchildren. There does not see the ones on the others down there, no one is trying to gain at the expense of other benefits and Strong does not suppress the weak and plunders him out. In good home rule equality, Care, Cooperation and helpfulness. When applied to the folk and fellow home would mean the elimination of all social and economic barriers that now divide the citizens into the privileged and the disadvantaged, into rulers and addicts, rich and poor, haves and in Impoverished, in Ausplünderer and plundered. "

The 1932 elections brought the Socialists to the government.. , With employment programs and structural programs, the new government fought successfully the effects of the global economic crisis of 1929 1938 was placed with the agreement of Saltsjöbaden the foundation for the permanent Swedish social partnership: Sweden began building his "people's home" - the welfare state, which has shaped the country to date.

The term "people 's home" quickly evolved into one of the most important political metaphors for the social democratic policies and vision of the next two decades.

The talk of people's home also meant a move away from Marxism and simultaneously recording national feelings - the people 's home was originally a nationalist concept. In many other countries there were such cross-connections, for example, collected and instrumentalized in Germany, the National Socialists the old term " national community ".

Although leading Social Democrats the term is often used in their political speeches, the idea of ​​the Swedish People's Home was never formally incorporated into the party program. The people 's home was more of a metaphor for an ideology as an expression of specific political objectives. The term is now mainly associated with Per Albin Hansson and his time as party leader ( 1925-1946 ). His successor Tage Erlander spoke rather of the "strong society " when he spoke about the objectives of social democracy; later the term was replaced by the word welfare state.

One specific project that would realize the utopia of modern living together as in a people's home, was opened in 1935 in Stockholm collective house.