The Social Democrats and the Norwegian Welfare State: Some Perspectives

Abstract

An assertion that occurs in public debate with varying emphasis and at irregular intervals is that the Norwegian welfare state is a product of the policy of the Norwegian Social Democratic Party. Such an assertion has a certain relevance, but it must be considered in the light of the time-span within which one places the establishment and moulding of the welfare state. A perspective of 50 years will lead most people to argue that the Social Democrats indeed had a major influence. If the time-span is prolonged to 100 years, however, the influence will be significantly reduced. And even when using a perspective of 50 years, one would have to view the influence of the party in relation to traditions and institutions already established when it came to power in 1935, which limited the political field of action. Furthermore, the Social Democrats did not play in this field alone. Some of the most important welfare reforms were the result of compromises between the socialist government and the bourgeois opposition, and some were passed under bourgeois government. Furthermore, the wide range of non-political organizations, which have contributed to the shaping of the welfare state and its ideological foundation, must also be taken into consideration. The aim of this article is not to evaluate the total influence of the Norwegian Labour Party on the development of the welfare state. But by looking into the matter of social insurance, municipal welfare and family politics, it is hoped that some light can be thrown on the question in hand. Two periods will be studied independently; 1880–1935, the founding years of the welfare state, and 1935 to the present, which includes the golden age of the welfare state (up until 1978), and the 1980s and 1990s, the challenging years of the welfare state both ideologically and economically. The two chronological periods will make it possible to discuss and distinguish between old and new aspects of Labour Party politics after 1935.