ABSTRACT
Nordic post-war bureaucratic structures and institutions were designed in such a way that the positions of individuals and the motives of their actions were defined from above the characteristics, functions and purposes of the organisation in question. Nordic collectivism has evolved. After the World Wars, collectivism contributed to a widened understanding of the position of the individual in society a position where socio-economic background no longer played a decisive role. Thus, the collectivism inherent in the post-war organisation of Nordic societies was initially associated with emancipating societal development. Collectivist bureaucracy was not limited to the public sector alone but was an organisational feature of post-war private sector businesses as well. Boltanski and Chiapello have studied the management literature of both the 1960s and the 1990s, literature both before and after the renegotiation of the post-war collectivist order. Boltanski's and Chapel's study concerns mainly France, but many of their observations are no doubt shared by all Western countries.
