Swedish voluntary associations, folkrörelser have been honoredwith a gilt-edged history, a chronicle in need of criticalnuance. Those mass movements which at the time of thebreakthrough of democracy and the welfare society were bearers ofcivic ideals and visions have changed in character and metcompetition from other organizations. Over the years theorganizational sphere as well as its enviroment have evolved intosomething of a completely different nature.The purpose of this study is to reconstruct the communityfunctions of voluntary associations; and to identify theconditions under which voluntary associations are able to promotedifferent political cultures.The analyses prove that voluntary associations in the welfaresociety occupy community functions located between the extremesof a service and a pressure function. Extrapolated to themacro-level they are on the way to a privatist and pluralistsociety, respectively. Few, if any, organizations maintain forcesthat point in the direction of a civil or state society.Organizations push society onto a path leading towards pluralismand individualism, but what does this imply for the developmentof the whole social formation? A variety of forces maycounterbalance the aspirations of voluntary associations. In thewelfare society key emphasis must be placed on what happens whenorganizations meet the challenge imposed by the volumnious growthof the public sector.The capacity of organizations to change the enviroment isdependent on the scale and thoroughness of public intervention:the more extensive government interventionism, the harder it isfor organizations to leave their imprint on the making of apolitical culture. If, however, the integration of the economic,social, and political arenas was to disintegrate or the arenaswere to become softer in their contours, organization potentialswould grow stronger. Voluntary associations are more reactivethan active in political conditions characterized by integratedarenas and government interventionism; reducing publicintervention is a prerequisite for organizations to be able toreshape the political culture. / digitalisering@umu

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [266]-278).

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Charity Organization Society of Indianapolis experienced founding, maturing, and corporate phases between 1879 and 1922. Indianapolis provided the ideal setting for the organized charity movement to flourish. Men and women innovated to act on their civic ideal to make Indianapolis a desirable city. As charity leaders applied the new techniques of scientific philanthropy, they assembled data one case at a time and based solutions to social problems on reforming individuals. The COS enjoyed its peak influence and legitimacy between 1891 and 1911. The organization continually learned from its work and advised other charities in Indianapolis and the U.S. The connected men and women engaged in organized charity learned that it was not enough to reform every individual who came to them for help. Industrialization created new socioeconomic strata and new forms of dependence. As the COS evolved, it implemented more systemic solutions to combat illness, unemployment, and poverty. After 1911 the COS stagnated while Indianapolis diversified economically, culturally, ethnically, and socially. The COS failed to adapt to its rapidly changing environment; it could not withstand competition, internal upheaval, specialization, and professionalization. Its general mission, to aid anyone in need, became lost in the shadow of child saving. Mid-level businessmen, corporate entities, professional social workers, service club members, and ethnic and racial minorities all participated in philanthropy. The powerful cache of social capital enervated and the civic ideal took on different dimensions. In 1922 the COS merged with other agencies to form the Family Welfare Society. This dissertation contributes to the scholarship of charity organization societies and social welfare policy. The scientific philanthropy movement did not represent an enormous leap from neighborhood benevolence. COSs represented neither a sinister agenda nor the best system to eradicate poverty. Organized charity did not create a single response to poverty, but a series of incremental responses that evolved over more than four decades. The women of Indianapolis exhibited more agency in their charitable work than is commonly understood. Charitable actors worked to harness giving and volunteering, bring an end to misery, and make Indianapolis an ideal city.