%0 Journal Article
%T ¡®What the hell is a high standard?¡¯ The Swedish Employers¡¯ Confederation and the six
%A Calle Rosengren
%A Mikael Ottosson
%J Time & Society
%@ 1461-7463
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0961463X16638230
%X A concept that lies at the heart of political rhetoric is that of ¡®workfare¡¯. The issue, however, is what types of arguments have been invoked to assert the value of the concept. During the 1960s and 1970s, extensive criticism emerged towards a working life that was said to hinder women¡¯s emancipation; a working life that wasted resources and had a negative impact on the environment; a working life that sought material consumerism rather than quality of life. The demand for a work time reduction also received much support. In this article, we have studied the use of language that The Swedish Employers¡¯ Confederation used when publicly formulating their stances on the work time issue in 1975. We have chosen to highlight the argument contained in a discussion pamphlet published by Swedish Employers¡¯ Confederation, in a situation where the use of language was determined by the left-wing movement, and solidarity, international aid and daycare places were keywords, rather than growth and consumption. The arguments employed in the discussion pamphlet were based in the idea that non-work entails a lack of solidarity for social development. Those who desired a work time reduction were portrayed by Swedish Employers¡¯ Confederation as environmental villains and opponents to the liberation of both oppressed women and the impoverished of the third world. Swedish Employers¡¯ Confederation¡¯s pamphlet can be regarded as an example on how capitalism may handle major criticism. By reversing the meaning of the core concepts of the criticism, opponents¡¯ arguments were assimilated, which contributed to a new rationalization of the capitalism. One of the major contributions from our study to the research field is an improved understanding of how this process developed
%K Industrial relations
%K labour history
%K work ethics
%K justification
%K work time reduction
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0961463X16638230