The Voice of Business in Denmark’s Neoliberal Turn

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many historians have argued that the Nordic welfare societies underwent a major transformation in the later decades of the 20th century, and neoliberalism has been identified as a key driver of this transformation. This article contributes to this field of contemporary history as it addresses the rhetoric and role of organized business in Denmark’s neoliberal turn, focusing especially on the Confederation of Danish Industry. Using conceptual historical methodology, the article identifies a rhetoric of competitiveness in the communication of organized business and traces how this rhetoric changed from 1970s to 2010s. This leads to the identification of two discontinuities. First, the article shows how the 1980s saw a transformation in which the industrialists increasingly called for state engagement to further competitiveness in the private sector, especially in relation to research and innovation. Second, the article shows how the 2010s saw a transformation in which the rhetoric of competitiveness adopted ideas about sustainability. What emerges from this analysis is a rather pragmatic version of neoliberalism that was born out of business interests and which since the late 1980s was developed as an integrated part of a consensus in the Danish policy elite.