The Swedish concept (of equality - AN) is closer to the French *egalite *, with emphasis on equal positions in a hierarchical system. To the extent that a distinction between ‘the political’ and ‘the cultural’ is valid, the Swedish concept of equality is a specifically political concept rather than a more general, cultural one, and it relates to an ideology that may be more firmly rooted in a political élite than in popular traditions. It is also closely related to self-conceptions of Sweden as, above all, a (or even) modern nation, a modernity that is, paradoxically, founded on durable feudal structures
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:45:43 +0000