This dissertation provides a substantive study of the faith-based Mondragón Cooperative Movement in Spain and the Indra’s Net Life Community in Korea, analyzing and critically comparing the ethical values of Catholic Social Teaching and Socially Engaged Asian Buddhism. By evaluating the extent of their success in dealing with socioecological concerns, the importance of religio-ethical values and principles to the disciplines of social and environmental ethics is stressed, offering a new, religiously sensitive approach to ecological wellbeing. As this dissertation argues, the thought and work of Mondragón and Indra’s Net offer important resources for conceptualizing ecological ethics and social justice in and among human communities. This comparison considers two questions: First, what alternative economic system might engage, in context, socioecological religious values and be implemented as an alternative to neoclassical economics? Second, what socioecological ethical principles provide effective intellectual resources to critically assess today’s global economic and ecological crises, and suggest a way to resolve them? These questions are addressed by a study of the ethical and social implications of modern economic systems, as compared to a worker-owned cooperative movement and a socially engaged Asian Buddhist liberation movement, both of which offer an alternative to current economic configurations. Inspired by the communitarian personalist thought of Mondragón’s priest-founder, José María Arizmendiarrieta, and the ecological thought of the Venerable Tobŏp, based on Huayan Buddhism’s philosophy of "interdependent co-arising" (pratītyasamupāda), these grassroots socio-ecological movements provide relevant, religion-based social and ecological teachings that present concrete proposals for economic and social practice. Social Catholicism and socially engaged Buddhism, as evidenced by these two movements, apply a dynamic social-spiritual ideology consonant with their traditions' developing social-ecological consciousness, thereby striving to promote the wellbeing of Earth, humanity, and all life.

The research investigates the praxis of companies going collective in Italy. Since the 1950s, scholars have debated the whys and hows of labour-manged firms around the globe. Such a debate articulates around the central question of this research domain: Why are labour-manged firms rare compared to traditional, investor-owned companies? To offer possible explanations for such a scarcity, this research analyses mechanisms, rationales and resources underneath the emergence of worker takeovers, namely labour-managed firms. Empirical evidence on the emergence of labour-managed firms and, specifically, worker takeovers is limited. At the scholarly level, there is little evidence on the praxis of creating labour-manged firms and turning companies collective in the form of worker takeovers. Little is known about who leads and guides worker takeover operations, little is known about which resources are employed, which pieces of legislation are leveraged and who is co-opted in the governance of novel labour-manged firms. This research offers exploratory insights into the whys, hows, who and when of going collective in Italy. Specifically, it delves into the norms, steps, procedures, resources and stakeholders of takeover operations in the country. Via critical approaches and a mix of methodologies, this research aims at unfolding the functioning of takeover strategies, and the relationship of workers with institutional investors, banks and trade unions, among many different stakeholders.

This study examines the development gap that has emerged between the co-operative sectors of the Canadian provinces of Québec and Saskatchewan since 1980. It harnesses historical research, textual analysis, and semi-structured interviews to better understand how some movements are able to regenerate their movements in the face of crisis. The study finds that the regeneration of the Québec movement reflects the concertation (concerted action) of social movement, sector, and state actors. Deeply rooted in a collectivist tradition of cultural nationalism and state corporatism, this democratic partnership supported the renovation and expansion of the co-operative development system in a virtuous spiral of movement agency, innovation, and regeneration. Concertation of social movement and state actors created momentum for escalating orders of joint-action, institution-building, and policy and program development. By contrast, the degeneration of the Saskatchewan movement reflects the decline of the agrarian economy and movement and a failure to effectively coordinate the efforts of emerging social movements and the state for development action. This has yielded a vicious spiral of movement inertia, under-development, and decline. Although green shoots are in evidence, regeneration efforts in Saskatchewan lag Québecs progress in rebuilding the foundations for effective democratic partnership. The study concludes with a detailed comparison of these diverging movements, offering conclusions and recommendations for the repair of the Saskatchewan development system and the regeneration of its co-operative movement.

This study examines the development gap that has emerged between the co-operative sectors of the Canadian provinces of Québec and Saskatchewan since 1980. It harnesses historical research, textual analysis, and semi-structured interviews to better understand how some movements are able to regenerate their movements in the face of crisis. The study finds that the regeneration of the Québec movement reflects the concertation (concerted action) of social movement, sector, and state actors. Deeply rooted in a collectivist tradition of cultural nationalism and state corporatism, this democratic partnership supported the renovation and expansion of the co-operative development system in a virtuous spiral of movement agency, innovation, and regeneration. Concertation of social movement and state actors created momentum for escalating orders of joint-action, institution-building, and policy and program development. By contrast, the degeneration of the Saskatchewan movement reflects the decline of the agrarian economy and movement and a failure to effectively coordinate the efforts of emerging social movements and the state for development action. This has yielded a vicious spiral of movement inertia, under-development, and decline. Although green shoots are in evidence, regeneration efforts in Saskatchewan lag Québecs progress in rebuilding the foundations for effective democratic partnership. The study concludes with a detailed comparison of these diverging movements, offering conclusions and recommendations for the repair of the Saskatchewan development system and the regeneration of its co-operative movement.

PAIVA, Victoria Régia Arrais de. Dilemas e perspectivas de institucionalização das finanças solidárias: a experiência dos bancos comunitários no Ceará. 2015. 339f. –Tese (Doutorado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa Programa de Pós-graduação em Sociologia, Fortaleza (CE), 2015. / Submitted by Gustavo Daher (gdaherufc@hotmail.com) on 2017-10-18T18:56:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_vrapaiva.pdf: 5717247 bytes, checksum: 1ab3c2d140cec37a49915cac64c31e79 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-10-18T19:16:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_vrapaiva.pdf: 5717247 bytes, checksum: 1ab3c2d140cec37a49915cac64c31e79 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-18T19:16:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_vrapaiva.pdf: 5717247 bytes, checksum: 1ab3c2d140cec37a49915cac64c31e79 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / The process of institucionalization of the experiences about solidary finances focalizing the communitarian banks happened due the public financing of the Federal Government since 2013. It intends to understand the singularity, the dynamics and the reach of these practices in the context of the financial mundialization. It emphasizes the combative strategies to the poverty. These strategies are based on the financial inclusion by the microcredit. The main question of this thesis is to analyse the aspects of the process of the constitution of the political and institutional organization of these experiences. I asked as they caused a complex net of social relations involving the State, the Market and the society, striking again on the public policies. It was based on the difused model by Palmas Bank, since 1998, and more recently, by Palms Institute. The communitarian, joinly with solidary credit and the rotative, and solidary founds configurate a set of practices and social representations designated the therm solidary finances. The supervisiors principles of this work are based on solidary economy. The field work was based on the communitarian banks placed in low IDH territories. These banks were managed by linked entities and communitarian associations, syndicates and women groups, young and familiar agricultores. These banks are the Dendê sol Bank (Fortaleza), Paju Bank (Maracanau) and the Quinamuiu one (Tauá). The field inversion counts with the presence in the headquarters of the Palmas bank and Institute (Fortaleza). I Also participated in events and I realized readings of vast and especialized bibliografy. According to a multidisciplinar approach involving Political Sociology, Antropology and the analysis of public policies, I explored the research investigations according to the references of the study of case method described for Gluckman (2010) and situational analysis from Van Velsen (2010). The results indicated that the institucionalization process of the communitarian banks created mutual relations among government organizations and the civil society joinning diferent logics of action. This fact create dilemmas and different perspectives of instituciolnalization mainly, in the bounds and cleavages between the financial inclusion and the economic democracy, social, politic and cultural aspects in the analysed experiences in order to invent alternatives to the financial mundialization. / O processo de institucionalização das experiências em finanças solidárias com foco em bancos comunitários desencadeado pelo fomento público do Governo Federal brasileiro desde 2003 é o tema desta tese que visa compreender a singularidade, a dinâmica e o alcance destas práticas num contexto de mundialização financeira, notadamente marcado por estratégias de combate à pobreza baseadas na inclusão financeira pela via do microcrédito. A questão central da tese é analisar os meandros do processo de constituição e organização político-institucional dessas experiências, indagando como elas originaram uma complexa rede de relações sociais envolvendo o Estado, o mercado e a sociedade, com rebatimento nas políticas públicas. Fundamentados num modelo difundido pelo Banco Palmas, desde 1998 e, mais recentemente, pelo Instituto Palmas, os bancos comunitários, juntamente com as cooperativas de crédito solidário e os fundos rotativos solidários configuram um conjunto de práticas e representações sociais designado pelo termo finanças solidárias, cujos princípios orientadores baseiam-se na economia solidária. O trabalho de campo se deu em três bancos comunitários localizados em territórios de baixo IDH, geridos por entidades vinculadas a associações comunitárias, sindicatos e grupos de mulheres, jovens e agricultores familiares. São eles: o Banco DendêSol (Fortaleza), o Banco Paju (Maracanaú) e o Banco Quinamuiú (Tauá). A imersão em campo contou ainda com a minha presença em diversos momentos na sede do Banco e Instituto Palmas (Fortaleza) para a realização de entrevistas, além da participação em eventos e leitura de ampla bibliografia especializada. Por meio de uma abordagem multidisciplinar, envolvendo a sociologia política, a antropologia e a análise de políticas públicas, exploro os achados da pesquisa segundo os referenciais do método do estudo de caso detalhado segundo Gluckman (2010) e a análise situacional de acordo com Van Velsen, (2010). Os resultados indicam que o processo de institucionalização dos bancos comunitários gerou laços de reciprocidade entre organizações governamentais e da sociedade civil, conjugando diferentes lógicas de atuação, fato que acarreta dilemas e distintas perspectivas de institucionalização, fundamentalmente, nas fronteiras e clivagens entre a inclusão financeira e a democracia econômica, reposicionando as tensões entre os aspectos econômicos, sociais, políticos e culturais nas experiências analisadas, com vistas a inventar alternativas à mundialização financeira.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:33:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Montenegro de Menezes.pdf: 1238020 bytes, checksum: 94bdbcbdfe470a2c2fd667dc6ed0e66b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The relationship between democracy and economy is essential to understand the current world economic order, marked by the intensive integration processes for the national economies, wide move of capital stock and expansion of the foreign exchange system. The democracy does not achieve the desirable effect without an economic organization that promotes it. In such environment, the economic democracy arises as a new perspective to assure the free and equal participation of all the economic agents in the market environment. The decentralized economic model of market and the existence of an economic constitution, which assures the conformance to the principles based in a democratic economy, and the exercise of the economic and social rights, as well as the State intervention in the economy and its relationship with the private entity, they all assume an important role to defend a possible economic democracy. The 1988 Brazilian economic constitution, foreseeing the fundamental principles that rule the national economic order, the economic regulation and the mechanisms to combat the abuse of economic power, propitiates the development of an economy based on democracy. Making the principles of an economic democracy compatible with the competitive environment, as dictated by the global market, is the new task of the emerging markets in the beginning of this 21st century. / A relação entre democracia e economia é essencial para a compreensão da atual ordem econômica mundial, marcada por processos de integração intensiva das economias nacionais, profunda movimentação de capitais e ampliação do sistema internacional de trocas: a democracia não alcança o êxito desejável sem uma organização econômica que lhe seja propícia. Neste ambiente, a democracia econômica surge como perspectiva da garantia de participação livre e igualitária de todos os agentes econômicos no ambiente de mercado. O modelo econômico descentralizado de mercado e a existência de uma Constituição econômica que garanta a conformação de princípios fundados em uma economia democrática e o exercício dos direitos econômicos e sociais, bem como a atuação do Estado na economia e sua relação com o ente privado, assumem importante papel em defesa de uma democracia econômica possível. A Constituição econômica brasileira de 1988, ao prever os princípios balizadores que regem a ordem econômica nacional, a regulação econômica e mecanismos de combate ao abuso do poder econômico, constitui terreno fértil para o desenvolvimento de uma economia apoiada na democracia. Compatibilizar os preceitos de uma democracia econômica com o ambiente competitivo ditado pelo mercado global é tarefa dos novos mercados que emergem neste início do século XXI.

This thesis examines how individuals and households of Kao and Liqhobong villages in Lesotho responded to economic challenges resulting from, amongst other factors, the implementation of structural adjustment policies; a decline in work opportunities for Basotho migrants in South Africa; the wider collapse of the regional mining complex, and; continued failure in developing agricultural production. More specifically, the study focuses on individuals and households implicated in unrecognised and unlicensed artisanal diamond mining and who use such mining, in the midst of these economic challenges, as a supplementary means of income or livelihood diversification. Artisanal diamond mining in Lesotho is a livelihood for rural households that is masked by the dominant representation of Lesotho as a labour reserve. Making use of the 'moral economy' and 'human economy' approaches, the thesis explores how artisanal miners in Lesotho engage in diamond digging and selling. It also investigates the constraints they face in a sector that was heavily regulated historically and remains so in post-independence Lesotho, a state which is itself constrained by a regional and global context that makes it difficult to raise the living standards of its citizens. In order to understand the responses of individuals and households in the implicated villages, the thesis combines an historical with an ethnographic approach. As such it examines the conditions artisanal diamond miners have operated under from the 1950s to 2014 when fieldwork for this thesis was conducted. It looks at how artisanal miners and artisanal mining collectives with their own moral economies negotiated the contestation over natural resources with the Lesotho state and international commercial mining companies. In doing so it investigates how the artisanal miners positioned themselves in relation to the law; claims to ownership over land; the international market for diamonds; and society. As an economic activity artisanal diamond mining is viewed in relation to the larger social processes in which it is embedded and from which it derives meaning. As such this thesis tells a story of conflict, violence and resistance; a story that remains pertinent, given the current debates about economic democracy in contexts of natural resource wealth. In my analysis, I pay particular attention to the role of women in ASM in Lesotho. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Anthropology and Archaeology / PhD / Unrestricted

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / O processo de institucionalizaÃÃo das experiÃncias em finanÃas solidÃrias com foco em bancos comunitÃrios desencadeado pelo fomento pÃblico do Governo Federal brasileiro desde 2003 à o tema desta tese que visa compreender a singularidade, a dinÃmica e o alcance destas prÃticas num contexto de mundializaÃÃo financeira, notadamente marcado por estratÃgias de combate à pobreza baseadas na inclusÃo financeira pela via do microcrÃdito. A questÃo central da tese à analisar os meandros do processo de constituiÃÃo e organizaÃÃo polÃtico-institucional dessas experiÃncias, indagando como elas originaram uma complexa rede de relaÃÃes sociais envolvendo o Estado, o mercado e a sociedade, com rebatimento nas polÃticas pÃblicas. Fundamentados num modelo difundido pelo Banco Palmas, desde 1998 e, mais recentemente, pelo Instituto Palmas, os bancos comunitÃrios, juntamente com as cooperativas de crÃdito solidÃrio e os fundos rotativos solidÃrios configuram um conjunto de prÃticas e representaÃÃes sociais designado pelo termo finanÃas solidÃrias, cujos princÃpios orientadores baseiam-se na economia solidÃria. O trabalho de campo se deu em trÃs bancos comunitÃrios localizados em territÃrios de baixo IDH, geridos por entidades vinculadas a associaÃÃes comunitÃrias, sindicatos e grupos de mulheres, jovens e agricultores familiares. SÃo eles: o Banco DendÃSol (Fortaleza), o Banco Paju (MaracanaÃ) e o Banco Quinamuià (TauÃ). A imersÃo em campo contou ainda com a minha presenÃa em diversos momentos na sede do Banco e Instituto Palmas (Fortaleza) para a realizaÃÃo de entrevistas, alÃm da participaÃÃo em eventos e leitura de ampla bibliografia especializada. Por meio de uma abordagem multidisciplinar, envolvendo a sociologia polÃtica, a antropologia e a anÃlise de polÃticas pÃblicas, exploro os achados da pesquisa segundo os referenciais do mÃtodo do estudo de caso detalhado segundo Gluckman (2010) e a anÃlise situacional de acordo com Van Velsen, (2010). Os resultados indicam que o processo de institucionalizaÃÃo dos bancos comunitÃrios gerou laÃos de reciprocidade entre organizaÃÃes governamentais e da sociedade civil, conjugando diferentes lÃgicas de atuaÃÃo, fato que acarreta dilemas e distintas perspectivas de institucionalizaÃÃo, fundamentalmente, nas fronteiras e clivagens entre a inclusÃo financeira e a democracia econÃmica, reposicionando as tensÃes entre os aspectos econÃmicos, sociais, polÃticos e cultura / O processo de institucionalizaÃÃo das experiÃncias em finanÃas solidÃrias com foco em bancos comunitÃrios desencadeado pelo fomento pÃblico do Governo Federal brasileiro desde 2003 à o tema desta tese que visa compreender a singularidade, a dinÃmica e o alcance destas prÃticas num contexto de mundializaÃÃo financeira, notadamente marcado por estratÃgias de combate à pobreza baseadas na inclusÃo financeira pela via do microcrÃdito. A questÃo central da tese à analisar os meandros do processo de constituiÃÃo e organizaÃÃo polÃtico-institucional dessas experiÃncias, indagando como elas originaram uma complexa rede de relaÃÃes sociais envolvendo o Estado, o mercado e a sociedade, com rebatimento nas polÃticas pÃblicas. Fundamentados num modelo difundido pelo Banco Palmas, desde 1998 e, mais recentemente, pelo Instituto Palmas, os bancos comunitÃrios, juntamente com as cooperativas de crÃdito solidÃrio e os fundos rotativos solidÃrios configuram um conjunto de prÃticas e representaÃÃes sociais designado pelo termo finanÃas solidÃrias, cujos princÃpios orientadores baseiam-se na economia solidÃria. O trabalho de campo se deu em trÃs bancos comunitÃrios localizados em territÃrios de baixo IDH, geridos por entidades vinculadas a associaÃÃes comunitÃrias, sindicatos e grupos de mulheres, jovens e agricultores familiares. SÃo eles: o Banco DendÃSol (Fortaleza), o Banco Paju (MaracanaÃ) e o Banco Quinamuià (TauÃ). A imersÃo em campo contou ainda com a minha presenÃa em diversos momentos na sede do Banco e Instituto Palmas (Fortaleza) para a realizaÃÃo de entrevistas, alÃm da participaÃÃo em eventos e leitura de ampla bibliografia especializada. Por meio de uma abordagem multidisciplinar, envolvendo a sociologia polÃtica, a antropologia e a anÃlise de polÃticas pÃblicas, exploro os achados da pesquisa segundo os referenciais do mÃtodo do estudo de caso detalhado segundo Gluckman (2010) e a anÃlise situacional de acordo com Van Velsen, (2010). Os resultados indicam que o processo de institucionalizaÃÃo dos bancos comunitÃrios gerou laÃos de reciprocidade entre organizaÃÃes governamentais e da sociedade civil, conjugando diferentes lÃgicas de atuaÃÃo, fato que acarreta dilemas e distintas perspectivas de institucionalizaÃÃo, fundamentalmente, nas fronteiras e clivagens entre a inclusÃo financeira e a democracia econÃmica, reposicionando as tensÃes entre os aspectos econÃmicos, sociais, polÃticos e cultura / The process of institucionalization of the experiences about solidary finances focalizing the communitarian banks happened due the public financing of the Federal Government since 2013. It intends to understand the singularity, the dynamics and the reach of these practices in the context of the financial mundialization. It emphasizes the combative strategies to the poverty. These strategies are based on the financial inclusion by the microcredit. The main question of this thesis is to analyse the aspects of the process of the constitution of the political and institutional organization of these experiences. I asked as they caused a complex net of social relations involving the State, the Market and the society, striking again on the public policies. It was based on the difused model by Palmas Bank, since 1998, and more recently, by Palms Institute. The communitarian, joinly with solidary credit and the rotative, and solidary founds configurate a set of practices and social representations designated the therm solidary finances. The supervisiors principles of this work are based on solidary economy. The field work was based on the communitarian banks placed in low IDH territories. These banks were managed by linked entities and communitarian associations, syndicates and women groups, young and familiar agricultores. These banks are the Dendà sol Bank (Fortaleza), Paju Bank (Maracanau) and the Quinamuiu one (TauÃ). The field inversion counts with the presence in the headquarters of the Palmas bank and Institute (Fortaleza). I Also participated in events and I realized readings of vast and especialized bibliografy. According to a multidisciplinar approach involving Political Sociology, Antropology and the analysis of public policies, I explored the research investigations according to the references of the study of case method described for Gluckman (2010) and situational analysis from Van Velsen (2010). The results indicated that the institucionalization process of the communitarian banks created mutual relations among government organizations and the civil society joinning diferent logics of action. This fact create dilemmas and different perspectives of instituciolnalization mainly, in the bounds and cleavages between the financial inclusion and the economic democracy, social, politic and cultural aspects in the / The process of institucionalization of the experiences about solidary finances focalizing the communitarian banks happened due the public financing of the Federal Government since 2013. It intends to understand the singularity, the dynamics and the reach of these practices in the context of the financial mundialization. It emphasizes the combative strategies to the poverty. These strategies are based on the financial inclusion by the microcredit. The main question of this thesis is to analyse the aspects of the process of the constitution of the political and institutional organization of these experiences. I asked as they caused a complex net of social relations involving the State, the Market and the society, striking again on the public policies. It was based on the difused model by Palmas Bank, since 1998, and more recently, by Palms Institute. The communitarian, joinly with solidary credit and the rotative, and solidary founds configurate a set of practices and social representations designated the therm solidary finances. The supervisiors principles of this work are based on solidary economy. The field work was based on the communitarian banks placed in low IDH territories. These banks were managed by linked entities and communitarian associations, syndicates and women groups, young and familiar agricultores. These banks are the Dendà sol Bank (Fortaleza), Paju Bank (Maracanau) and the Quinamuiu one (TauÃ). The field inversion counts with the presence in the headquarters of the Palmas bank and Institute (Fortaleza). I Also participated in events and I realized readings of vast and especialized bibliografy. According to a multidisciplinar approach involving Political Sociology, Antropology and the analysis of public policies, I explored the research investigations according to the references of the study of case method described for Gluckman (2010) and situational analysis from Van Velsen (2010). The results indicated that the institucionalization process of the communitarian banks created mutual relations among government organizations and the civil society joinning diferent logics of action. This fact create dilemmas and different perspectives of instituciolnalization mainly, in the bounds and cleavages between the financial inclusion and the economic democracy, social, politic and cultural aspects in the

The globally dominant form of business organisation, the Investor-Owned Firm or the Corporation, has been challenged in both academic settings and the wide world for falling short on ensuring environmental and social justice and sustainability. Alternative business models like co-operatives, with a rich though somewhat less known history and presence around the world, might prove a better fit for a thriving world and a sustainable future. This study investigates ways in which worker co-operatives can contribute to a more sustainable world, using the theoretical lens of Doughnut Economics (DE) to place enterprises, as a supporting pillar of our economies, at the intersection between meeting social needs and operating within planetary boundaries. A descriptive multiple case study of six worker co-operatives in the UK indicates that this model can contribute to sustainability primarily by embodying a core purpose of fulfilling the needs of workers and their communities, rather than aiming for financial gains. The research suggests worker co-operatives are enterprises with highly generative design traits, distributive of the wealth they generate, and to some degree regenerative by design. Where challenges occur, either internally or wider in their industry or the co-operative movement, the co-operatives appear willing and interested to work on improving themselves by learning from their peers, experimenting and welcoming change. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on sustainability in worker co-operatives, employing DE as a holistic framework which so far has been seldom used in business research.

One of the most controversial debates in contemporary Swedish history centred on a proposal to create “wage-earner” funds. The main institutional actors of Swedish society were involved in this debate during the 1970s and 1980s. The aim of this thesis is to analyze how the most important institutional actors in Sweden, namely LO, the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) and the Swedish Employer Confederation (SAF), participated in and defined themselves in the wage-earner funds debate, against the background of the crisis of the Swedish Fordism, i.e. the mass production society. Chapter 2 consists of an analysis of those inherent features of Swedish Fordism that potentially could imply dissolution of the Fordist society in Sweden after the 1960s. Chapter 3 investigates debates about wage solidarity policy and the concentration of power and ownership in the Swedish economy that resulted in the LO wage-earner funds proposal from 1975. Chapter 4 discusses the opinions of active members in LO regarding the wage-earner funds proposals from 1975 and 1978. Chapter 5 investigates the Social Democratic Party's relationship to wage-earner funds. The chapter surmises that SAP leaders took a pragmatic attitude towards funds. This pragmatism differed from the opinion expressed by the radical activists in the party. Chapter 6 deals with the reaction of the Swedish Employer Confederation to the wage-earner funds proposal. The SAF anti-fund campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s are investigated in detail in the context of a neoliberal ideological offensive in Sweden. The chapter argues that the decision to abandon the centralized wage bargaining model influenced SAF's strategy in the debate over wage-earner funds. The dissertation’s main conclusion is that the radical wings of LO and SAP as well as the SAP leaders and the Swedish employers all used the mobilization around wage-earner funds for their own political purposes to solve problems resulting from the crisis of Swedish Fordism.