“First We Build the Factory, Then We Add the Institution”

Prison, Work and Welfare State in Sweden c.1930–1970

Bibliographic Data

ID23696252
AuthorsRoddy Nilsson (University of Gothenburg, corresponding author)
Year2017
Pages35-56
Publication date2017-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueScandinavian Penal History, Culture and Prison Practice (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan UK (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/978-1-137-58529-5_2
OpenAlexW2740897054
ISBN9781137585295
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited13

Labour in different forms has been a central tenet in most carceral systems from the early modern houses of correction and up until today. At the same time, the central feature of the welfare state that developed during the post-Second World War decades was labour or, to quote one of Sweden’s most well-known political economists, “work has been the cement of the Swedish welfare state. In the following I will discuss the connection between labour and the Swedish prisons in the post-Second World War decades. More precisely, I will argue that the real character of the much-talked-about Swedish prison reforms in this period cannot be understood unless one takes into account the central role given to labour. Furthermore, a closer look at the role given to labour will also contribute to a more general discussion about whether we can talk about a special Swedish (or Scandinavian) model for penal reform.

Economics · Institution · Labour economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Prison · Sociology · State (computer science) · Welfare · Welfare state · Welfare system · Work (physics) · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Engineering · Law