ABSTRACT
The foundations for the Swedish welfare state were established when the SAP took office in 1932. Major social programmes to alleviate unemployment and provide financial support to families led Marquis Childs to describe Sweden as ‘The Middle Way’, by which he meant that the country had successfully combined the better features of both capitalism and socialism (Childs, 1936). Two years after Child’s book appeared, the Swedish federation of manual workers’ trade unions (LO), was reaching a basic agreement about pay levels for the coming year with the employers’ association (SAP). This historic compromise
coupled with another, support by the Agrarian Party (now known as the Centre Party) for the social democrats, provided a firm basis for economic growth and the expansion of social programmes for many years to come. Neutrality in World War II meant that the economy was not only protected from devastation but thrived on opportunities for exporting to those nations engaged in combat. Impressive growth rates continued into the 1940s and 1950s and the government began to establish major national programmes for health, pensions and housing. By the 1960s, Sweden was becoming the world leader in state welfare not only in the cost, range and quantity of its programmes but also in their quality and resourcefulness. Few visitors to the country came back with anything but praise for the way the impressive wealth of the economy was helping to create not only private affluence but public affluence as well. Tomasson described Sweden as the prototype for a modern society-a model for others to follow (Tomasson, 1970). It was organised, clean, efficient. Poverty did not seem to exist. It was difficult to find fault with the way in which the People’s Home was being run.
