Educating through Social Policy: Compensation for Blindness in Sweden – An Example of Creating Norms and Identities

Abstract

Swedish industrialization at the turn of the century 1900 severely hit the trades, which were the traditional source of income for blind people. The public debate caused by the new conditions led to a political decision in 1934 that provided for state-financed compensation for blindness. This decision reveals that politicians, experts and blind people themselves agreed to view “the blind” as a group of disabled persons that was particularly dependent on public support. This article focuses on underlying norms and identities present in this debate. The instruments for the study are adapted from the historian Anders Berge and the sociologists Zygmunt Bauman and Richard Jenkins. Berge argues that social policy a century ago combined the ambition to create some security and to provide moral education. Bauman and Jenkins have developed theories concerning the process of identity creation based upon a “we-and-them” perspective.

This article is a result of the research project “From public welfare to integration: changes of norms in Swedish disability policy”. The project was financially supported by Magn. Bergvall Foundation and the Memorial Fund of Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg. I am thankful for constructive criticism from Björn Horgby, professor of history, Department of Humanities, Örebro University, and from my colleague, lecturer in history, Lasse Kvarnström. I am also thankful for a valuable scrutiny of my English made by my colleague, Professor of Social History, Marie Clark Nelson and for assistance in reading parliamentary papers by Vibeke Specht.

Notes

1. All quotations in this article are translated from Swedish by the author.

2. Biographical information concerning the Swedish parliamentarians is collected from Norberg, Tjerneld & Asker (1985–1992).