The Social Class of Finnish Civil Servants before World War II

Abstract

Those State employees in Finland who had no qualifications and performed manual labour had from 1850 onwards a social status very close to that of industrial workers, the 'traditional' working class. What distinguished State employees was the fact that they enjoyed greater job security. Upper grade white-collar civil servants, on the other hand, had a very different status from that of industrial workers: greater job security and better standard of living. From the end of the 19th century onwards, the social status of State employees and industrial workers converged. The trend accelerated immediately after World War II, which constituted the moment when the position of State employees underwent the greatest structural change. The changes that took place then were even reinforced between the two World Wars. The convergence with industrial workers was most marked in the case of upper grade white-collar State employees.

A clear distinction must also be drawn between the ruling class and wage- earners employed by the State Whereas there were differences between State employees and other wage-earners, the social status of State employees as wage-earners meant that they had little in common with the ruling class. We may therefore say that in Finland before World War II, State employees constituted a wage-earning grouping, an intermediate class within capitalist society.