‘What the hell is a high standard?’ The Swedish Employers’ Confederation and the six-hour workday debate in the mid 1970s

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 634-656
Author(s):  
Mikael Ottosson ◽  
Calle Rosengren
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Work Time ◽  
Time Reduction ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Third World

A concept that lies at the heart of political rhetoric is that of ‘workfare’. The issue, however, is what types of arguments have been invoked to assert the value of the concept. During the 1960s and 1970s, extensive criticism emerged towards a working life that was said to hinder women’s emancipation; a working life that wasted resources and had a negative impact on the environment; a working life that sought material consumerism rather than quality of life. The demand for a work time reduction also received much support. In this article, we have studied the use of language that The Swedish Employers’ Confederation used when publicly formulating their stances on the work time issue in 1975. We have chosen to highlight the argument contained in a discussion pamphlet published by Swedish Employers’ Confederation, in a situation where the use of language was determined by the left-wing movement, and solidarity, international aid and daycare places were keywords, rather than growth and consumption. The arguments employed in the discussion pamphlet were based in the idea that non-work entails a lack of solidarity for social development. Those who desired a work time reduction were portrayed by Swedish Employers’ Confederation as environmental villains and opponents to the liberation of both oppressed women and the impoverished of the third world. Swedish Employers’ Confederation’s pamphlet can be regarded as an example on how capitalism may handle major criticism. By reversing the meaning of the core concepts of the criticism, opponents’ arguments were assimilated, which contributed to a new rationalization of the capitalism. One of the major contributions from our study to the research field is an improved understanding of how this process developed.

Chile, Algeria, and the Third World in the 1960s and 1970s

2020 ◽  
pp. 274-300
Author(s):  
Eugenia Palieraki
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Algerian War ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
The Third ◽  
Conditions Of Possibility ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Third World

This chapter focuses on the revolutionary connections between Chile and Algeria during the years 1961-1978. It starts at the beginning of the 1960s when the first extensive references to the Algerian War appear in the Chilean Left-Wing Press and in the reports of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ends with Boumediene’s passing in 1978, which closes the socialist parenthesis in Algeria. It describes the conditions of possibility that underlie the revolutionary connections between Chile and Algeria and thus, the revolutionary cosmopolitanism through the examination of 1° the agents, 2° the places and spaces where those links are created and maintained and 3° the ideas. These three elements are constitutive of a new revolutionary universalism, which allows a political meaning to be given to the diplomatic relations between Chile and Algeria from 1970 onwards.

THE REFORM OF WORKING LIFE IN BRITAIN, 1963–1971

2007 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHARD WHITING
Keyword(s):  
Modern Society ◽  
Working Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Individual Interest ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Managerial Authority ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S

In the 1960s and 1970s both Conservative and Labour governments passed novel laws dealing with the rights of individuals at work. Overshadowed by conflicts over collective labour law, the political significance of this legislation has remained unexplored. This article suggests that the legislation struck a balance between recognizing the complexity of work in a modern society, and preserving managerial authority. It also argues that the reforms served a Conservative agenda in rooting an individual interest in work in a legal process. This was part of a pivotal challenge to the system of voluntary collective bargaining that had traditionally benefited the labour movement.

Origins of the present crisis?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rory Scothorne ◽  
Ewan Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Development ◽  
World Systems ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Current State ◽  
National Question ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Soviet Invasion ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Political Economic

The current state of the radical left and, more broadly, politics in Scotland has its roots in the unique set of political, economic and intellectual conditions found in the 1960s and 1970s. Where mainstream accounts of the origins and development of Scottish nationalism - and its increasing popularity on the left - emphasise political and economic origins in these decades, this chapter emphasises the equally crucial intellectual developments of the period. Khruschev’s ‘secret speech’, ‘de-Stalinization’ and the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 engendered a growing plurality of perspectives on the European left, and it was under these new conditions that the British left increasingly questioned Stalinist orthodoxies, and established critiques of labourism and the ‘British Road to Socialism’. The search for alternatives to the classical Marxist, social democratic and Soviet canons led to a new theoretical heterodoxy, bringing Gramscian and world-systems theories to the fore along with a more politically ambiguous conception of the ‘national question’. This chapter integrates an analysis of the intellectual development of left-wing Scottish nationalism with a consideration of the growth of its influence within the labour movement during the 1960s and 1970s.

Soviet Perspectives and Policies toward Reactionary Regimes in the Developing World

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-263
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Surovell
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
The State ◽  
State Sector ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
The Third ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Third World

In their assessments during the 1960s and 1970s of the state of affairs of Third World “revolutionary democracies” and nations that had taken the “non-capitalist road to development,” the Soviets employed a mode of analysis based on the “correlation of forces.” Given the seeming successes of these “revolutionary democracies” and the appearance of new ones, Moscow was clearly heartened by the apparent tilt in favor of the Soviets and of “progressive” humanity more generally. These apparently positive trends were reflected in Soviet perspectives and policies on the Third World, which focused confidently on such “progressive” regimes. Nonetheless, so-called “reactionary” regimes continued to be a thorn in the side of Soviet policy makers. This study offers a fresh examination of the Soviet analyses of, and policies towards three “reactionary” Third-World regimes: the military dictatorship in Brazil, the Pinochet dictatorship of Chile, and Iran during the reign of the Shah. The article reveals that Soviet decision makers and analysts identified the state sector as the central factor in the “progressive” development of the Third World. Hence the state sector became the focal point for their analyses and the touchstone for Soviet policies; the promotion of the state sector was regarded as a key to the Soviet objective of promoting the “genuine independence” of Third World countries from imperialist domination.

The case for reinvigorating quality of working life research

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gudela Grote ◽  
David Guest
Keyword(s):  
Working Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Advocacy ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Quality Of Working Life ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S

The quality of working life became an important topic in the 1960s and 1970s, helping to stimulate an early approach to evidence-based policy advocacy drawing on interdisciplinary research by social scientists. Over the years it fell out of the limelight but much relevant, albeit fragmented, research has continued. We present a case for rekindling an integrated and normative approach to quality of working life research as one means of promoting workers’ well-being and emancipation. We outline an updated classification of the characteristics of quality of working life and a related analytic framework. We illustrate how research and practice will benefit from following this renewed quality of working life framework, using work design as an example. Concluding, we aim to stimulate debate on the necessity and benefits of rebuilding a quality of working life agenda for marrying academic rigour and practical relevance in order to support interventions aimed at fostering worker emancipation and well-being.

Memories of a U.S. Political Prisoner

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
David Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
World History ◽  
Political Prisoner ◽  
History Of ◽  
Revolutionary Movements ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Che Guevara ◽  
The U.S

"We will fight from one generation to the next." In the 1960s and 1970s we anti-imperialists in the U.S. were inspired not only by that slogan from Vietnam but even more by how they lived it with their 2000-year history of defeating a series of mighty invaders. At the same time we felt that we just might be on the cusp of world revolution in our lifetimes. Vietnam's ability to stand up to and eventually defeat the most lethal military machine in world history was the spearhead. Dozens of revolutionary national liberation struggles were sweeping what was then called the "Third World," today referred to as the "global South." There was a strategy to win, as articulated by Che Guevara: to overextend and defeat the powerful imperial beast by creating "two, three, many Vietnams." A range of radical and even revolutionary movements erupted within the U.S. and also in Europe and Japan.… Tragically, the revolutionary potential that felt so palpable then has not been realized.… Today, fighting from one generation to the next takes on new relevance and intense urgency.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Middlemen in Third-World Corruption: Implications of an Indian Case

1987 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Oldenburg
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
The Third ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Made In

Corruption—like the weather—is a phenomenon people in the third world talk about a great deal, and, it would seem, do little about. Scholars of political change in the third world share this interest, but—although they are usually not expected to deal with corruption itself —they should move beyond the recounting of vivid anecdotes to a more systematic analysis of the problem. Steps in this direction were made in the 1960s and 1970s, but surprisingly little more work has been done since.

scholarly journals Terrorens poetik: Revolutionen skrives med småt

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (107) ◽  
pp. 52-73
Author(s):  
Susanne Stoltz ◽  
Anders Tønnesen
Keyword(s):  
Literary History ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Situationist International ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Red Army ◽  
The Spectator ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Aesthetic

The Poetics of Terror: The Manifestoes of the RAF:This paper points to a ‘forgotten’ literary history of the Red Army Fraction (RAF) in order to contest a common misconception. The RAF is often perceived solely as a political phenomenon and its justification of terrorism as a political discourse. Thereby many scholars bluntly fail to pinpoint the attractiveness of the left-wing terrorism of the 1960s and 1970s. The paper argues that the writings of the first generation of the RAF also convey a ‘poetics’ of terrorism. It points to a somewhat overlooked strategy of justification in the writings, which can be formulated as follows: Both the act of terrorism and the utterance of its defence are justified as aesthetic experiences. Furthermore, this was constructed under heavy influence from groups of avant-garde artists in the tradition of the Situationist International (SI). The paper analyses the strategy of justification found in the first few RAF-statements. Beneath the political jargon of left-wing radicalism and the »credo of immediate action«, the paper locates another strategy of justification that carries the sign of avant-garde thought. According to the manifestoes of the RAF, the aesthetic experience of a terrorist act could liberate the spectator. The study concludes that the writings of RAF unveil a ‘poetics’ of terrorism. The act of terrorism is a radical transgression of reality. Hence, the terrorist act destroys the ‘mechanical’ system of cognitive oppression because it shows the possibility of another world. That is why the RAF views terror as a model of spiritual liberation. In addition to this the statements communicate a parallel concept to the ‘poetics’ of the terror act. The RAF constructed a concept of revolutionary language, ‘the armed propaganda’, which claimed to break down the barriers of ‘domination’ in the consciousness of the recipient. In doing so the statements perform what they preach; they are themselves acts of terror. The RAF’s concept of terrorism comprises both word and deed. The writings are acts and the acts are utterances. Accordingly, RAF’s ‘poetics’ of terrorism can be described as the transgression of reality in the word or deed of terror that leads to spiritual liberation.

Third Docufictions

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Krstić
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
Film History ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Film Culture ◽  
The Third ◽  
First Case ◽  
World Cinema ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Third World

This chapter discusses the international film culture of the 1960s and 1970s against the backdrop of the massive urbanisation of what used to be called the ‘Third World’. During these decades not only did world cinema modernise itself in the form of numerous, highly politicised and predominantly leftist, ‘new waves’, but so, too, did many (mega)cities of the global South. The chapter’s first case example, Moi, un noir (Rouch 1958), depicts how rural migrants, full of hopes for and dreams of a better future, flocked to these cities in search of jobs. The intersections between social and film history on a global scale, hence, between the emergence of a politically engaged international film culture and the massive urbanisation of the ‘Third World’, are, as the author argues, not coincidental, and neither is the rise of docufictional forms. Whether theorised as ethnofiction, docudrama, cinéma vérité or Impefect Cinema, these hybrid forms share their historical links with earlier movements (neorealism and the Grierosonian documentary, in particular), as this chapter’s second main example illustrates: De Cierta Manera (Gómez 1974), an essayistic docudrama that investigates the Cuban government’s slum removal policies in a Havana neighbourhood.

The Turkish army at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s: from left-wing conspiracy to right-wing coup

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-221
Author(s):  
Malika Sh. Tovsultanova ◽  
Rustam A. Tovsultanov ◽  
Lilia N. Galimova
Keyword(s):  
Military Coup ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Socialist System ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Military ◽  
Turkish Society

This is the first paper in Russian historiography dedicated to the struggle of left and right groups in the Turkish army on the eve of a military coup on March 12, 1971. By 1970, an alliance of leftist intellectuals and officers was formed, led by the editor of the Devrim newspaper, Dogan Avjioglu and one of the organizers of the 1960 coup, a retired lieutenant general Jemal Madanoglu, received the conditional name of the organization of national revolutionaries. The members of the organization sought to approve the socialist system of the bassist type in the country and outlined the number of military coups March 9, 1971. However, the death of one and the opportunist position of two other leaders of the military wing led to the failure of the attempt of a leftist coup. On the contrary, on March 12, 1971, a right-wing military coup took place in Turkey. In the course of subsequent repressions, a powerful blow was dealt to the left groups in the army and in Turkish society as a whole. In an effort to end the repression and achieve consensus in society, moderately leftist forces led by B. Ejevit entered into a coalition with their opponents religious conservatives led by N. Erbakan.

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