Moderaternas ideologiska grundsyn

En uppföljning av debatten under det sena 1900-talet

Abstract

Aims Three doctoral theses by Aronson (1990), Hylén (1991) and Ljunggren (1992) drew different conclusions regarding the ideological development of the Swedish Conservative (Moderate) party during the 20th century until the 1980s. This study investigates the party programs from 1904 to 2011/2013 with regard to the party’s most fundamental perception of reality in terms of a collectivistic versus individualistic view of society and a pessimistic versus optimistic view of man. Results Two important leaps on the pathway from an initially clearly conservative collectivistic and pessimistic towards a liberal individualistic and optimistic standpoint were observed. The two leaps occurred in the programs of 1969 and 2011/2013. The 2011/2013 program is exclusively liberal in this basic sense. Conclusions This study strengthens Hylén’s conclusion in 1991 that the party had moved in a liberal direction over a long time period already in the 1980s, and suggests that this process continued after Hylén defended his thesis.