The Morality of Quality. Assimilating Material Mass Culture in Twentieth-Century Sweden

Abstract

The Morality of Quality. Assimilating Material Mass Culture in Twentieth-Century Sweden

This article discusses perceptions of material mass culture in twentieth-century Sweden through the lens of the concept of «quality». It aims to shed light on how the concept of quality emerged in connection with mass culture and mass consumerism in Swedish public debates and writings, and how it was used, defined and redefined between the seemingly opposite poles of feelings / subjectivity and reason / objectivity. By analysing the ways in which quality was positioned historically within the complex web of relations woven between the individual, society and the commodity, I will show how and why it should be seen as a key term in the attempts at shaping mass consumerism within the framework of the emerging Swedish welfare state. During this process, the concepts of quality and quantity were repeatedly reconciled in different ways. This is exemplified by two mass-media debates on material mass culture in the 1930s and in the 1960s.