CAPITALISM IN TIMES OF CRISIS

This article investigates how Danish industrialists responded to the rise of the modern state in the decades up until the Second World War, a period in which many of the basic principles of liberal capitalism were called into question, and in which the relationship between the state and the economy underwent major changes in all Western societies. It argues that the industrialists remained firm believers in classical liberalism and, on that ground, opposed growing state intervention as a slide towards socialism. The article has an emphasis on their reactions to calls for social policy initiatives, and it shows that the industrialists typically opposed such initiatives, either on pure ideological grounds or as conflicting with the economic competitiveness of Danish firms. When accommodation to selected demands for a stronger state did take place, it was typically in periods of crisis, the most important being the years just after the First World War. The interwar years did, however, see some approbation to increasing state intervention in the economy, and in the 1930s the idea of cooperation with the state entered their rhetoric. Thus, the article argues that the rhetoric and narratives gradually changed, while the ideological core did not.     

IN SEARCH OF COMMUNITY HISTORY

Abstract

This editorial response to the preceding article by Dennis Mills addresses the meaning of community history. Rejecting an over-tight definition, we argue for a methodologically distinct community history, combining a micro-historical approach with a sensitivity to the discursive construction of the term ‘community’. Furthermore the role of family and community historians should be to adapt a critical stance towards contemporary meanings of both past ‘communities’ and past ‘families’, The article concludes that Withington and Shephard’s schema for approaching the history of ‘community’ offers a practical way forward for the family and community historian.     

IN SEARCH FOR THE ROOTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN

Contrary to widespread conception, environmental issues were commonly debated in public already over a hundred years ago. Based on an extensive newspaper study this paper concentrates on water management and animal welfare issues in the local newspapers in the city of Turku, Finland, in 1890–1950. At the time, the role of the newspapers was important in shaping public understanding of environmental issues. Although the amount of environment‐related writing remained scarce in comparison to today's media, the debate was continuous and sometimes even fierce. Both environmental protection and animal welfare received very positive comments in the press and they were considered important aims. The discussion reflected the opinions of the middle‐class and especially the well‐educated professionals and officials, whose views dominated the debate. However, animal protection also gave women a possibility to get their voice heard. Ordinary newspaper‐reading city dwellers must have been well aware of the local environmental problems already in the early 20th century.     

IN SEARCH OF NEW TIMES: TEMPORALITY IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND COUNTER‐ENLIGHTENMENT

Isaiah Berlin and other representatives of historicism have made the Enlightenment and the Counter‐Enlightenment into opposite cultures. The Counter‐Enlightenment is a criticism of the Enlightenment from within, so in many respects they overlap. However, with regard to perceptions of time they contradict each other. The times of the Enlightenment lean heavily toward chronology and can be labeled as “empty,” whereas the time perceptions of the Counter‐Enlightenment can be called “incarnated” and are identical with historical times. As a consequence the differences between the two temporalities lead necessarily to differences in synchronization.