The Swedish Model and the Bureaucratic Problem of Social Reforms - Assignment Example

The Social Democratic The Swedish Model and the Bureaucratic Problem of Social Reforms (Pitt Series in Policy and al Studies) By: Bo Rothstein About the Author Bo Rothstein is a well-known economic analyst who is fond of writing about the different communities and countries making up the world today. It could be observed that his understanding about the history and how the said situations of the past naturally affects the present situations of the said nations. In his book “The Social Democratic State”, he notes the developments that Sweden had been under during the past decades of worldwide economic revolution. It could be noted that what he wrote actually gives a better chance for readers of today to understand how situations in the past actually gives a great effect on the procedures by which the government officials at present try to face the different challenges that affects their national status in the face of international trade and interconnections. Summary and Content SWEDEN had enjoyed a long era of industrial peace. American political analyst Marquis Childs attributed this to Sweden’s so-called “middle way” policy. This is a way of life between the extremes of socialism and capitalism. It is a way that combines private enterprise with a government that greatly influences the development of the economy. Recently, however, this way in Sweden has been faltering. In the past, conflicts between the country’s trade unions and employers’ associations were settled by wage negotiations. Laws provide for collective-agreement periods during which strikes by employees and lockouts by employers are forbidden. But now such laws are proving ineffective. The spark setting off the troubles occurred at the end of 1969. It came in the form of a wildcat strike in the iron-ore mines in northern Sweden. Although the government, as well as the miners’ own union, opposed their action, some 4,800 miners employed by the government-owned mining concern of Loussavaara-Kiirunavaara (LKAB) walked off their jobs. Opinion polls revealed that the great majority of workers in Sweden supported the miners. The strike lasted for fifty-seven working days before a temporary agreement was reached. But more of the same followed. There were 127 similar strikes in Sweden during 1970, with 22,900 workers involved and 155,700 lost working days! Conditions did not improve in the early part of 1971; they became worse. The country was staggered by widespread strikes. Among those on strike were physicians, veterinarians, pilots, meteorologists, officials in county government offices, even workers in Parliament and its committees, and chief dispatchers at the railways. This brought to a standstill the whole railway network, which, in turn, resulted in layoff notices for thousands of workers in industries dependent on railway transportation! In a more recent action, 25,000 schoolteachers were locked out of their jobs. Thus over 700,000 students were left without teacher supervision. This raised the question of whether students could continue studying in school or at home without being considered as taking sides in the conflict. But this was not the most noted crisis. The Government Board for Collective Bargaining threatened to lock out about 3,500 members of the Commissioned Military Officers League if the offer made through the appointed mediators was not accepted before a certain date. Such action was unheard of. Never before had a government locked out the commanding officers of its own armed forces! The news spread quickly throughout Europe. Correspondents from newspapers in at least ten foreign nations called the military headquarters in Stockholm. They wanted to know when and where they could interview and photograph the officers who were to be locked out of their offices or barracks. Negotiations to settle the many disagreements were unsuccessful. In fact, conflicts were reported to be unparalleled. One draft settlement after another was rejected. The mediation commissions seemed unable to find a solution to the various problems. The situation has shaken Sweden, as evidenced by newspaper reports. The Stockholm Svenska Dagbladet, February 25, 1971, carried this observation regarding the situation: “It is a citizens’ revolt against a social utopia. The Government and Unions leagues are going to need a large amount of discretion if the Swedish social pattern is not to be converted into a Nordic frightful image.” Something had to be done. The increasing number of strikers and locked-out ones was threatening to cripple the nation. So in a drastic move a law was proposed forbidding all strikes and lockouts for a period of six weeks, beginning March 13. During this time the former agreement on wages and other matters was to continue valid. The idea was that within a six-week period the various parties would be able to reach an agreement. The law was hurried through Parliament and passed with an almost overwhelming majority. However, by the end of the six-week period the parties involved had not come to any agreement. It was not until the middle of June that the some 400,000 government employees made peace with their employer, the Government Board for Collective Bargaining. But in the so-called private sector, involving some 800,000 workers, a settlement still was not reached. The situation worsened. June 24, 1971, was set as the date that the National Federation of Labor Unions would start a series of selective strikes if a settlement was not reached by then. The strikes would involve some 90,000 members in key positions. The aim was to paralyze the nation’s industry and commerce. But, at the same time, the Swedish Employers’ Confederation threatened workers with a complete lockout. Finally, on June 22, after more than seven months of negotiations, the parties came to an agreement. They signed the settlement offered by the Mediation Commission. The settlement granted workers a 27.5-percent wage increase over a three-year period. It also provided them increased social benefits, including a lowering of the retirement age from sixty-seven to sixty-five years, and an increase of pension and sickness benefits. The settlement will cost some six thousand million kronor or $1,160,000,000. Overall Critique of the Reading However, before signing the settlement the Employers’ Confederation obtained a revision of the price-freeze regulation, allowing for considerable price increases. Thus, while workers will be receiving more money, prices and taxes also will rise. This will offset most of the benefits of the wage increases. One estimate is that the actual gain for the workers will be only about 2 percent. Despite the settlements, there are voices of dissatisfaction. This causes one to wonder whether the parties will abide by their agreements. Will the peace last? Many may speculate. But only time will tell. In the book written by Rothstein, it could not be denied that history plays a great role on how national governments fare today so as to be able to survive the challenges of international trade systems. It is undeniable that the challenges of globalization becomes even much harder to handle for many nations today. Not only that, with the impending financial problems today, understanding how the past administrative generations of the different nations today tried to survive the challenges of financial and economic contraction. Being able to remain within the global competition of international trade for Sweden is then given a careful identification as to how the said matter could still be further met successfully by the Swedish generation today. Certainly, the implicative researches of Rothtein about the situation has naturally made this read a real great deal of concentration especially for those who aim to know more than just the history of Sweden, but would like to understand how a present strong economic entity in the world today has tried to survive different social issues in the past successfully. Social change is the termed used to describe a concept or an issue that affects the general society or the group of individuals sharing the same culture or values. Social change is often viewed in two aspects namely, its significant effect to the mentality and social concept and the range of the society it affects implying its sort of measurement nature. The application and actual nature of this term is variable determined by the characteristics of the change it promotes in the society namely whether beneficial or detrimental to the condition and state of the social group. In the actual perspective, social change are varies in nature where manifesting as an act of advocacy, a sort of event or action, a social behavior, and others which all promote a change in the present or the normative state of the social condition. In the history of the development of the society, several social changes have already transformed the development of the social structure and their development course. In the past, some examples of social changes in the past are the use of contraception particularly birth control pills as related to the population and marital realm in the society, the electoral system development incorporating women as the result of the female suffragist’s action for equality, and the acceptance of the concept of homosexuality in the social structure. These social changes have caused the development of the present social community to their contemporary state in the modern period. In the present, several social change issues are still influence the social behavior of the population namely the information technology structure which it now integrating their influence in the respective lives of the people. This in turn, has caused their presence to become a significant factor in the present state of modernity of the present social culture transforming the present society to become dependent upon the technology for their daily needs and activities. Yes, more than economy, there are still other things of development that all nations around the world should consider to ensure their progress in the face of industrial development towards the future. This particular fact is strongly suggested through the reading written by Rothstein. Reference: Rothstein, Bo. The Social Democratic State: The Swedish Model and the Bureaucratic Problem of Social Reforms (Pitt Series in Policy and Institutional Studies). (1995). University of Pittsburgh Press. Read More