Roland Huntford - New Totalitarians (1980).pdf - Sarmatian chomikuj - grzybiczny

The New Totalitarians

This book is a warning. It is a terrifying portrait of an "ideal"

society that has destroyed democracy in the name of "pro-

gress." Roland Huntford demonstrates by fact after shocking

fact how an apparently democratic, prosperous, peaceful

Utopia is totally controlled by a bureaucracy which actively

discourages all signs of individuality.

"Much more than a 'horror file.' It is a study of the 'whys' of

this unopposed bureaucracy. ... Full of valuable insights, it

is an illuminating account of the ideas in whose service the

Swedes have become so compliant!' —Book News

"A landmark work!" —San Francisco Chronicle

"The first detailed critique of the Social Democratic re-

gime." —The New York Times Book Review

"Buy it, borrow it, or rent it — but find time and money to

give this book a thoughtful reading." —Bookmailer News

"It will take more than a single volume to disillusion Ameri-

cans about 'democratic socialism' and the 'free' welfare

state, but if any book can do it, this is it!' —Human Events

Roland Huntford has been Scandinavian correspondent for

one of the world's great newspapers, The Observer. His

other books include The Sea of Darkness and Scott &

Amundsen.

Contents

Introduction to the paperback edition vii

1. The New Totalitarians 7

2. The Historical Background 14

3. Industrial Peace and the Rise of Modern Sweden 49

4. A Planner's Promised Land 68

5. The Corporate State 86

6. Judiciary and Ombudsman 122

7. The Rule of the Apparatchik 135

8. Agitprop and the Perpetuation of the Regime 147

9. Economic Security and Political Servitude 166

10. Welfare as an Instrument of Control 182

11. Education in the Service of Conditioning 204

12. The Environmental Mill 250

13. The Mass Media as Agents of Conformity 285

14. Culture in the Political Armoury 305

15. The Sexual Branch of Social Engineering 325

16. Brave New Sweden 338

Index 349

Introduction

to the

paperback edition

When this book was first published, in 1972, the Social Demo-

crats had ruled Sweden for almost forty years. They seemed

destined to continue doing so for forty years more. Since then,

however, they have lost two elections in a row, and the country

has been governed by the non-socialist parties instead. Remark-

ably little has changed, however. The corporatism which lies at

the heart of the Swedish system, and which was my central

theme, continues on its way. Sweden is run in much the same

way as before. The main difference is that the corporatism of the

left has been replaced by one of the center.

This may be seen as an outcome of the general European

swing to the right. The Swedish Social Democrats, however, had

held office longer than almost any other party outside the dic-

tatorships of Russia and Salazar's Portugal, and forty years of

socialist, or rather corporatist, rule has left its mark. Corporatism

has been implicitly accepted as an article of faith, it transcends

politics and party. The bureaucracy has been the guarantor of

continuity, for prime ministers may come and go, but the bu-

reaucrat endures.

The change of government in Sweden demonstrated the com-

parative unimportance of politicians. The lesson of the Socialist

defeats in the general elections of 1976 and 1979 is that the

functionary is king; the functionary of party, institution, and

state. It is a lesson simplified by weak politicians on the one

hand and strong bureaucrats on the other.

By definition, almost, the functionary prefers a corporatist sys-

tem and collective ethos. Both put institutional loyalty before

vii

The New Totalitarians

that of class, conscience, or anything else. In a complex, indus-

trialized modern society, where the big organization is the desir-

able norm, and the individual a regrettable necessity, this is a

definite advantage. It eliminates most—although not all—major

conflict, and makes the wheels go round.

Industrial relations remain the classic example, as they were

throughout the years of Socialist rule. The trade unions being a

branch of the socialist movement, with the Social Democratic

Party their parliamentary wing, their political allegiance has

always been part of their creed. Nonetheless, they have re-

frained—by and large—from acting politically in conducting

wage negotiations and industrial relations in general. They have

cooperated with the government of the day. Or, to put it differ-

ently, unions and employers, through the functionaries of their

central organizations, have continued to arrange matters to their

mutual satisfaction, while their counterparts in the State hold the

ring. This has meant that Sweden has weathered recent eco-

nomic squalls with less industrial disruption and social strain

than many Western countries.

The sense of little having changed except the faces at the top is

enhanced by economic policy. Keynesian principles still reign

supreme. Sweden remains a country of high government spend-

ing and gargantuan taxation. Taxes account for over half the

Gross National Product, the highest in the Western world by far.

Although its Utopian image may have faded, Sweden remains,

if not a model, at least a political laboratory. If a single issue may

be said to have broken the Social Democratic hold on office, it

was nuclear power.

In 1974, some time before it was of public concern elsewhere,

nuclear energy had become a political question in Sweden. The

dangers of present-day reactors, the various risks of pollution,

became a matter of votes. It was part of a ground swell—also

ahead of its time—of concern for the environment. The so-called

"Green Wave" decided the fate of the government. Eco-politics

had arrived. Since Sweden has been traditionally devoted to the

viii

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