The main purpose of this thesis is to analyze the political thought of Hinke Bergegren (1861-1936), Gustaf Henriksson-Holmberg (1864-1929) and Einar Håkansson (1883-1907), by focusing particularly on their articulation of anarchist ideas. The disseration follows these three Swedish left-wing thinkers closely, while specifically tracing ideological patterns in their published material, public discussions, speeches and other political activities. The study attempts to combine the perspective of intellectual biography with a contextualising approach on ideological analysis. Bergegren, Henriksson-Holmberg and Håkansson stand as illuminating examples of how anarchist ideas could take form at the advent of the twentieth century in Sweden. They were all connected to the working class movement, and participated actively in the public debate about anarchism and its various aspects. This larger political and cultural context is also presented, and put in relation to Bergegren's, Henriksson-Holmberg's and Håkanssons' actions and ideas. Thereby, the study examines certain lines of thought connected to the anarchist ideology, and at the same time find traits in the history of libertarian socialism in Sweden, as reflected in the ideas embraced by the three aforementioned historical actors. From the start Henrik "Hinke" Bergegren - the agitator, writer and journalist who is the principal character in the dissertations first major part - was highly controversial within the social democratic movement. From the early 1890's and up to his final exclusion from the Social Democratic Party in 1908, he was constantly being accused of leading and informal anarchist subdivision, which recommended acts of terror and strived for a social revolution. However, this study confronts and modifies that notion. It concludes that Hinke Bergegren's ideological position during the 1890's cannot be equaled to a clear anarchist conviction; rather, he criticized the party's strong focus on parliamentary tactics from a revolutionary socialist viewpoint. Einar Håkansson, on the other hand, based his critique of authorities, military power, parliamentary governance and private property upon anarchist principles. In several poems and short stories, Håkansson stated his anti-authoritarianism. He was also an early advocate for anarcho-syndicalism. Gustaf Henriksson-Holmberg, the anarchist theoretician, was always anxious to emphasize the importance of avoiding all forms of large-scale political and economical solutions. This position, along with a deep-rooted individualism and a willingness to integrate social theory and political propaganda, characterized Holmberg's political thought from the 1890's and onward. His antipathy against brutal revolutionary tendencies was as solid as his critique of ideological dogmatism. In conclusion, the anarchist lines of thought articulated by the three principal characters in the thesis intersects at several points. They all agreed that private property and capitalism must be abolished and replaced by voluntary forms of cooperation. Furthermore, they expressed a similar disbelief in parliamentary tactics, the military and party bureaucracy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-1365 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Lång, Henrik |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Historiska studier, Umeå : Institutionen för historiska studier, Umeå universitet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral thesis, monograph, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Skrifter från institutionen för historiska studier, 1651-0046 ; 18 |
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