Social scientists have, since the 1990s, shown an increasing interest in the role of business actors in welfare state development, and these debates provide many opportunities for historians of the Nordic countries to contribute with their insights and findings. This special issue brings together six historical studies on the role of business in the development of the welfare states in the Nordic countries, including the role of firms as providers of company welfare as well as the activities of firms and of business interest groups to influence policies and public opinion. Two observations stand out. First, the contributions draw a picture of a gradual shift in this period from that of fundamental opposition, which often dominated up to the mid-20th century, to a more pragmatic approach of cooperation. Cooperation in policy-making co-existed with confrontation in public debate, in which business interest groups promoted alternatives to ‘big government’. Second, these studies underline the value of paying attention to what Reinhart Koselleck called ‘horizons of expectations’. These historical studies show how the vocabulary of the actors changed in this period, and how business interest groups not only influenced political decisions but also adapted their expectations to changes in the political context.

中文翻译：

---

商业与北欧福利国家，1890-1970：特刊简介

自 1990 年代以来，社会科学家对商业参与者在福利国家发展中的作用表现出越来越大的兴趣，这些辩论为北欧国家的历史学家提供了许多机会，以贡献他们的见解和发现。本期特刊汇集了关于商业在北欧国家福利国家发展中的作用的六项历史研究，包括公司作为公司福利提供者的作用以及公司和商业利益集团影响政策的活动和舆论。有两个观察结果很突出。首先，这些贡献描绘了这一时期从基本反对派逐渐转变到更务实的合作方式的图景，这种反对通常在 20 世纪中期占据主导地位。政策制定中的合作与公共辩论中的对抗并存，商业利益集团在其中提倡“大政府”的替代方案。其次，这些研究强调了关注莱因哈特·科塞莱克所说的“期望范围”的价值。这些历史研究显示了这一时期行动者的词汇是如何变化的，以及商业利益集团如何不仅影响政治决策，而且还使他们的期望适应政治背景的变化。