På spaning efter den svenska modellen : Bortom strid och samförstånd

The aim of this thesis is to examine the Swedish model with attention to core values over time, as well as, explain recent changes. It examines changes of the social insurance system, with focus on political reforms in the unemployment insurance, health insurance and family policy, during the last two decades. The thesis is empirical but although a discourse amount political theories and normative conceptions. Conclusions are that the normative basis in the Swedish model contains general equally and uni-versally designed rights and consensus on growth and development as well as a strict focus on an employment oriented society. Important values have also been dialogue between actors as well as accountability, even if these facts appear to have declined in recent years. Relating to three leading theories in political philosophy - utilitarianism, Rawlsian communitarian-ism - explores the directions in later year political reforms. The results show that later years changes seem to go in relative strongly utilitarian direction. The policy has become more a ques-tion of utility maximization, generating partly with signs of the Rational-choice theories, than a question of trust between citizens and common interests in society. Considerably fewer reforms today, than earlier, rest on components as accountability and co-operation. One exception is the family policy, which rather shows a mixture of different values, found in each of the three studied political theories. Freedom to choose among childcare alternatives is here fighting with more conservative values