Class Consciousness and Education in Sweden: A Marxist Analysis of Revolution in a Social Democracy (Routledge Studies in Education, Neoliberalism, and Marxism)

Emerging from a Marxist perspective, this book focuses on the importance of social class and the role of education broadly in relation to the possibility of revolutionary change in Sweden and beyond. Critically tracing the celebrated so-called ‘Swedish model’ from its inception to its current neoliberalisation, Maisuria explores the contours of class as part of social democratic history, culture and education, especially against the alternatives of communism and fascism. Presenting empirical research on class consciousness within a higher education context, Maisuria analyses student testimonies on their perceptions of social democracy and ‘Swedishness’ with ethno-racial dynamics, which is subjected to a Gramscian and Critical Realist derived explanatory critique for social transformation. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface and Foreword 10 Organisation of Book 11 PART 1 Marxism, Sweden, and Two Crises 16 1 Class Consciousness Towards the Possibility of Revolution 18 2 Charting a History of Social Democracy 21 2.1 1917–1970s: Origins and the Golden Years of Traditional Swedish Social Democracy 23 2.2 1970s–1990s: The Emerging Crisis of Swedish Social Democracy 30 2.3 1990s–2000s: Traditional Swedish Social Democracy Reconfigured as the New Swedish Model 34 2.4 Sweden and the Education System 37 2.5 Ethno-‘Racial’, Socio-Cultural, and Political Transitions in Contemporary Sweden 40 2.6 Opening Up the History and Future of Swedish Social Democracy 44 3 Theoretical and Philosophical Marxism as a Social Science 47 3.1 19th and Early 20th-Century Crisis of Marxist Theory for Revolution 48 3.2 Historical Materialism and Critical Realism 66 3.3 Antonio Gramsci’s Historical Materialism and Revolutionary Marxism 75 3.4 Class Struggle in Cultural Forms 78 3.5 The Significance of Hegemony for Class Struggle 83 PART 2 Designing an Empirical Study of Consciousness and Practices of Class 92 4 Research Strategy and Design 94 4.1 Articulating a Problematic for Research 94 4.2 Particulars and Practicalities of a Study Exploring Class in Sweden 99 4.3 Life History Interviews 101 4.4 A Note on (Inter)Subjectivity 104 PART 3 Researching Consciousness and Practices of Class in Sweden 110 5 The Findings of a Case Study on Consciousness and Practices of Class in Sweden 112 5.1 Swedish Life Histories 112 5.2 Finnish Life Histories 142 5.3 Global South Immigrant Life Histories 165 5.4 Summary of Findings 186 6 Aiming for a Greater Understanding of Life in Sweden 189 6.1 Deploying Ethnography 189 6.2 Ethnographic Experience 191 6.3 Hanging Out 192 PART 4 Making Sense of Consciousness and Practices of Social Class in Sweden 196 7 Developing an Explanatory Critique From Accounts of Empirical Reality 198 7.1 Obscuring Inequality and Emerging Equity Perceptions 199 7.2 Elision and Perceptions of Feasibility 203 8 Concluding Remarks, Taking Stock, and Moving On 207 8.1 Reflecting on the Critical Theoretical Framework and Contemporary Sweden 207 8.2 Further Development: Possibilities and Limitations 210 References 214 Appendices 226 Appendix A: Swedish Social Democratic Hegemony 228 Appendix B: Email Exchange With a Swedish Industrial Relations Expert 234 Index 235