Corporatism and the Danish Welfare State

Abstract

The starting point is the three structure concepts of societal distribution, interest formation and organization formation. Corporatism is defined as a combination of all three, where (a) the primary distribution structure is still capitalist; (b) interest and organization formation do not take place in relation to the primary oppositions of capitalism, but instead are blocked and transformed to concern other divisions; the primary effect is a disorganization of the classes. The article examines whether such corporatist disorganization was produced by Danish state interventions in the 1960s and 1970s within health and social policy, policies for the redistribution of incomes and the labour market policy. The corporative effects of the interventions are discussed on the basis of the Danish class structure with weight on its interest and strength position.