AshehougAgency

Democratic Capitalism

For many years Francis Sejersted has made important contributions to the writing of Norwegian history. His authorship includes specific studies as well as more comprehensive work, and spans economic history, political history and theoretical-methodological subjects. Many of the author’s seminal texts were originally published as articles. Sejersted has collected the most important of these in Democratic Capitalism where they have been revised to emphasize their interconnections.

Although the articles vary in scope, they may be regarded as elements in a large project, which consists of understanding Norway’s journey from a pre-industrial to a modern industrial society. One of the main theses is that nineteenth century Norwegian institutional structures, which originated in a strong petit-bourgeoisie with its democratic-anarchic norms based on local conditions, have lasted, to a surprising degree, throughout the twentieth century. Seen from this perspective, certain specific features of modern-day Norway become easier to understand.

Democratic Capitalism is important and outstanding reading for all those interested in the theory of modernization. The book’s appeal to a broader, socially oriented public lies in its focus on the growth of central social institutions; not only institutions in a narrow sense, but also norms, values and common perceptions.

Contents: Preface/Introduction/Part I. Democratic Capitalism. Market and Morals. On the Good Society’s Dependence on Morally Suspect Acts/A Theory on the Economic and Technological Development in Norway in the Nineteenth Century/The Road East. A Norwegian Contribution to Economic Imperialism/Strategies for Modernization in Norway 1900-1940/The Norwegian „Sonderweg”/Who Can Save the City? The Vaterland Project 1954-1979/Are We Experiencing a New Industrial Revolution?/Part II. Constitutional Development. On Politics and The Acts of Enablement after 1945/Part III. Theory and Method. Norwegian Historical Research at the Beginning of the 1990s. Settling the Account with Methodological Individualism/Politics and Culture. On the Fall and Rise of Political History/What a Story. On the Relations between Humanists and Social Scientists/Routine and Choice

About the Author: Francis Sejersted is professor in the Department of History at the University of Oslo. He has been the leader of the Centre for Technology and Human Values, and Chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Publisher: Universitetsforlaget AS 1993
ISBN: 82-00-21657-8
407 pp, paperback