Circle Study Sweden Sreferencia

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Study Circles and Democracy in Sweden

Contribution to the symposium "Between labour andcitizenship: The life-long education in France, Germanyand Sweden" the 8th 9th June 2001 at the Centre Nationalde la Recherche Scientifique building in Paris1.

A short version is published: Larsson, S. (2001) Sevenaspects of democracy as related to study circles.International Journal of Lifelong Education. Vol. 20. No 3,pp 199 - 217.Also in French:Larsson, S. (2001) Les cercles detude et lademocratie en Sude. Education Permanente. No 149/2001-4. Pp.231 255

Farsi:Larsson, S. (2002) Study circles as a Democratic Utopia.Organon, A Quarterly Journal of Philosophy, Literature and the

Humanities. No 20, Summer 2002.Russian: Larsson, S. (2007) Seven aspects of democracy asrelated to study circles. Aductar, No 1 (11) pp. 8 20.

Staffan Larsson, Linkpings universitet

Sweden was referred to as a "study circle democracy" by the latePrime minister Palme (1969). As with most rhetorical phrases it does

not capture the whole truth. What Palme probably wanted tocapture with the expression "study circle democracy" is a notion of democracy that is situated in everyday life and a vigorous civilsociety. The phrase was used as a rhetorical device that pointed at autopia, but on the same time it referred to a reality - the studycircles. The Study circle tradition is a prominent feature of Swedisheveryday life. It is estimated that between 1,2 - 1,6 million people inSweden take part in a study circle during a year. In relation to

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Other and shorter versions of this text is accepted for publication in the International Journal forLifelong Education during 2001 and a collection: Bron (ed.) Civil Society, Citizenship and Learning(working title) Vol. 2. Bochum Studies in International Adult Education during 2001


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contemporary discussions about learning and democracy in thehigh-, late- or post-modern society, the study circle seems to beexciting - in spite of its deep roots in the modern era (Johnston, 1999,Larsson, 1998).

The main theme in this text is to give some answers to thequestion: In what ways are study circles contributing to democracy?Study circles can be described from many angles, for instance, aslearning sites or educational institutions. Democracy is one of several possible descriptions, and in relation to contemporaryconcepts of democracy it seems to have a potential as a fruitfulperspective. The basis for answering the main question is recentempirical research about Swedish study circles. The interpretationaltool is seven different aspects of democracy. Since it is obvious thatthe theoretical discourse on the concept of democracy contains

many meanings, I have tried to solve that problem by using severalnotions or perspectives that give access to different possibilities totalk about democracy in relation to contemporary Swedish studycircles.

In order to communicate the context for the discussion aboutdemocracy I will try to give a relatively elaborated presentation of the study circles and their history.

What is a study circle?The identity of the popular adult education tradition (folkbildningin Swedish) is debated in contemporary Sweden, since changes insociety and in the political agenda are challenging fundamentals of the tradition.Study circles are very complex and therefore it is necessary topresent the study circle tradition in different ways and fromdifferent angels. We think that it is a rather unique educationalinstitution in relation to civil society. The study circle tradition wasdeveloped outside of the state - by social movements, that in thestart were in conflict with the dominant culture and powerstructures2. It was developed and governed by democraticorganisations, that was in opposition to the elites.

It is obvious that very few educational institutions are so closelylinked to what could be a reasonable definition of a civil society. In a

2Arvidsson, L. (1985)


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global scale, it could be looked upon as a grand scale longitudinalexperiment during almost 100 years in a small section of the world.There have even been suggestions that study circles may beconsidered more fit to the challenges of the emerging society - latemodern or post-modern - than could be expected by a tradition thatwas developed and firmly footed in traditional popular movementsfrom the early 19003.

A normal way of defining phenomena is to do as they do inencyclopaedias - by an abstract sentence that is catching themeaning in a neutral way. In relation to the phenomena of studycircles, this way of solving the task is problematic, to say the least.

In fact, the meaning of a study circle has been the object of conflictsmany times during its history. It has even been looked upon as animpossible or false problem. The first leader of the WorkersEducational Association, Richard Sandler, wrote:

If someone tells you: This is exactly the way a study circle should lookand this is the way it should work - You must answer him right in the face: you are a humbug, sir, a genuine humbug, sir!4

However, I want to pursuit the project in spite of this strong advice.His context and purpose was different from mine. I have to definethe phenomena in order to present it to an audience that have not alot of experience of study circles, while Sandler was involved in adebate about decision-making for the future. The aim here is topresent a description that is rich in meaning,5 grounded6 andthick.7 I will start indicating the meaning of study circles bypointing out some general traits on form, content and quantity.Then I present two "portraits" of the phenomenon, in order to give aglimpse of their "flesh and blood".

3 Larsson, 19984Sandler (1937) Authors translation from Swedish: Om det kommer ngon och sger er: just s hrska en cirkel se ut, och just s skall den arbeta - svara honom d mitt i ansiktet: you are a humbug, s ir.En riktig kta humbug, herre!5In a phenomenologist tradition the description of concepts is the kernal and it must be done throughconsidering the complete variation of possible instances of a phenomenon.6Glaser & Strauss (1967) uses the term grounded about theories that are formulated from the bases of

everyday contexts.7 The social antropologist Geertz (1993) writes about thick descriptions where he argues thatunderstanding of a culture must be based on concrete pictures of everyday life.


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Often people understand it as a form of pedagogy - with an idealform8. However, it is also referred to as the activities that areorganised through the study association. The latter definition is based on the fact that the study circles in the Swedish context areinstitutionalised, with administration, state funding as well as aninstitutional history. In this text, study circles are discussed withthis latter institutional definition. Study circles will therefore bethe activities that are organised through the 11 study associations,that exist and which main task is to organise study circles.

The study circle grammar

If we take an institutional perspective one can notice certaincommon traits - a common grammar, different from what is thenorm in ordinary schools. Tyack & Tobin have described suchgeneral traits of ordinary schools as "grammar of schooling"9. If a"study circle grammar" should be expressed in the same manner thefollowing "rules" would indicate dominating features10: 1. There areno examinations or merits to be gained. 2. Participation is"voluntary. 3. One operates with the expectation of a limitednumber of persons in a circle, normally somewhere between 5 - 10persons. 4. Time is often treated in a different way from ordinaryschools - often study circles will meet for 3 hours once a week with a break in the middle. A study circle will often contain 10 to 15 suchmeetings. 5. A circle will have a leader, who does not have to be anexpert - it can be one of the participants. On the other hand, thereare often experts acting as leaders.

There are exceptions from this pattern, but it indicates a normality,that differs from the "grammar of schooling". Thus, even if there isno distinct pedagogy, there are certain characteristics, i.e., a studycircle grammar that is different from the grammar of schooling.

The content in study circles

Study circles have no national curriculum and no other stateregulations about the choice of content. Content is also very diverse.

8Larsson, 1995, on the language game of folkbildning, here translated to the expression free and

volutary popular education and sometimes popular adult education9Tyack & Tobin, 1994.10 Larsson, 1995


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An illustration to this diversity can be the names of some of thestudy circles, that participants in an interview study took part in(Andersson et al. 1996). The circles had names such as: Englishlanguage, Music, Interpreting the Bible, Building a musicalinstrument, Weaving, Fishing, On the way to the future, Computers,Circle for relatives to persons with dementia, Writing, Baby-swimming, Summer in the fields, Japanese sewing, My farm inEuropean Union, Minerals in Sweden, "Sing, Swedish people1",Gardening, Cooking, "Bergsmansgrdens Lina" - a literature circle,Medieval songs and dances, Your dog, Healthier sports, English for beginners, Referee - circle (soccer), Singing in a choir, Ceramics,Circle for dementia people at a service-home, Weaving ribbons,German language, The community and the environment, By yourown strength, Matters of influence for the retired, Water colours,

Rock-music and, finally, Conversations about life. Judging from these assorted names, it is obvious that content is verydiverse. It even creates an anarchistic impression, which is notcompletely wrong. There are statistics that classify content into sixcontent areas (unfortunately very crude). From that we can learnthat some areas are more dominant than others. In 1998, 49% wereclassified as aesthetic, 19 % social science/information, 8 %languages, 8 % human/behavioural science and 6 % asmaths/natural science (Folkbildningsrdet, 1999c).

Study circles as a mass-phenomenon in Sweden.

The first study association, created in 1912, was the ABF,linked to the workers movement. 57 study circles were registeredthe first year (Arvidsson, 1996:41). Over the years new associationshave been created, all linked to popular movements or otherorganisations in the civil society. Thus, study associations werestarted to serve the temperance movement, free-church movement,

and movements linked to farmers as well as white-collar workers.Also liberal and conservative forces formed study associations, andthere is a study association linked to the university extensionmovement. The last association that was created is related to sports.One can note that these 11 study associations cover a broad range of sectors in the civil society. Another side of the study circle's positionin the society is participation. Between 1992 and 1998 the number of study circles has fluctuated between 316 000 to 336 000 and with between 2,7 and 2,9 million participants (Folkbildningsrdet,1999b). The total number of study hours has increased steadily inthe 1990's, in spite of decreasing public financial support. In 1998there were, on average, about 37 study hours in each study circle.


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Since many people participate in several circles during a year, someare counted twice or several times. Several estimates have therefore been made concerning the number of people who have beeninvolved, i. e. has participated one or more times during a year. Theestimated numbers have varied between 1,2 to 1,6 million, out of apopulation of close to 9 million, which is a considerable share(Johnsson & Ghler, 1995: 13, Svensson, 1996: 95). These figures arealmost ten times as high as the figures in the middle of this century,when there were less than 31 000 study circles with some 315 000participants (Johansson, 1954: 239).

Another figure from a relatively recent survey (Johnsson & Ghler,1995) is that 75 % of the adult population has participated at leastonce in a study circle. For 10% of the population it is a regular part

of their life and it is reported that for half of them study circleparticipation is a life style.

The international picture indicates more or less a disappearance of adult education related to the civil society (Korsgaard, 1997). Adulteducation has in stead, during the last decades, been subordinatedto local needs to compete for the attraction from the global capital by skilled labour for a cheap prise, i. e. the market (Jackson, 1997,Wellton, 1997, Walters, 1999). In contrast it seems that study circleparticipation is a mass phenomenon in contemporary Sweden,especially for women who constitute 2/3 of the participants.However, also in Sweden there is a constant struggle about themeaning of education, not least in relation to the dominance of economistic views of education during the last decade (Oftedal-Thelhaug, 1990, Larsson, 1997b). Financial support to study circlesfrom the state and the municipalities are contested - conservativesare critical and are cutting such support in municipalities were theyare in power.

Portrait of a study circle: Bjrkvik

In order to create some link to the lived experience of the reader,concrete pictures and narratives will contribute to theunderstanding. It will give a basis for the readers conception of thereally existing study circles. The chosen case is picked from a text byHartman. His description is based on participant observation11:

11Hartman (1996) pp 30 - 31. Translation by Staffan Larsson


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The study circle was organised by the local history association ina rural community. Hartman finds the participants in the locallibrary:

In the circle this evening there are 8 participants, including the leader.They have all lived in Bjrkvik for a long time and are from the middle- tothe old-aged. The members have been the same the last years. There is anopen and informal structure where participants own initiatives andpropositions plays an important role. Since 1988 they have written a diaryand this time they start with reading aloud the text from last meeting.From this one could understand that they have focussed on the dairy in

Bjrkvik the last years. One of the female participants started with showinga new newspaper article about a project for unemployed. This project wasrelated to a railway that was created to transport timber from Bjrkvik tothe coast, in the beginning of this century. The aim was to save timber from the attacks of a butterfly. Today there is only part of the old bank fromthe railway left. In the informal conversation, that was typical for the waythe circle was operating, they discussed the possibility to use the remainingpart of the bank for tourists. A sketch for a trail for bikes starting or ending

in Bjrkvik was made as a way of leading the stream of tourists to Bjrkvik.Another spontaneous input was a finding from one of the participants farm. It was a page from the local telephone directory from the 30 ies. Anumber of images from the inter-war period was presented. One of theparticipants told that he had a directory from the time of the last war athome. He promised to fetch it in the break he had to transport his son fromhis sport activities. Eventually the circle returned to the theme of the localdairies. With the help of lexicons from the library they found out about theorigin of the concept dairy and its way into the Swedish language. Therewas a break for drinking the coffee that was brought by the participants.Finally the local play about the old times interrogations by the church wasdiscussed. This play was going to be a part of the arrangements thissummer on the yearly returnees day, when old inhabitants meet in theirold community. The participants knowledge of each other was a prominentpart of work in the circle. This means that participants were aware of eachother's special interest and special knowledge. The "specialist" often

answered questions - the other just turned towards her or him. The leader


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of the circle kept a low profile and did not speak a lot. The informality inthe operation of the circle was obvious. At 9.30 it is time for breaking up.

This quotation shows just one circle, with its idiosyncrasies, but itgives us some idea about what it could be. It becomes clear that inthis case it is different from many classroom activities.

The Bjrkvik case and the civil society.

It is obvious that the participants form the curriculum of the circle.In that sense they are autonomous and not subordinated to any

hierarchies. It is a direct and participatory democracy. There is oneindication of a possible strategic action in a Habermasian sense - theidea that they could lead the stream of tourists to Bjrkvik with thehelp of the railway bank. However, there are no clear indicationabout what kind of consequences this would lead to - if it is strategicin relation to the economic system or if it is part of theircommitment to the local community. Another side is that thispossible influence of the economic system is not central for the

events as a whole. Generally, the conversation is focussed on theparticipant's interest in history and knowing more about the specificlocal history. The content of the conversation is very contextual inthe sense that their own lives, local events and plans areinterwoven.

There is little evidence that the minds of the participants are in thecontrol of a limited discourse that is set by media. However, thecontent is very traditional, the purpose is not to change society inany clear way - it is a harmless activity in civil society. This is faraway from the aspirations of the social movements. On the otherhand, one can argue that the circle constitutes an agora - ameeting-place where deliberations about how to form the societyare a potentiality12. We can see how they touches on other activitiesthat have been formed by local initiatives - often as a struggleagainst the slow decline that many rural areas have experienced.

12Compare Waldn (1994), Andersson et al. (1996)


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The global economy does not interfere with the circle, but thecontent as such is very much touched by it - the dairies and the rail-way that disappeared. The circle is not changing this, but ratherthey are reflecting on it. They did not have any aim to change theseprocesses.

On the personal side, it seems as if the participants had a ratherequal relation. There are signs of participants that are introducingnew themes - there are no real clear signs of a hierarchic control.Neither do they seek to legitimate their decisions - they seem to actas a self-governed group.

The general impression is that the circle seems to have a complexrelation to what can be called the civil society. It is also obvious thatthe civil society can be a trivial thing and something that is not verychallenging to the state and corporate interests or the economic andpolitical system. In our case it seem to be a side-activity. It has signsof a deliberative democracy, but without a clear cause or a realproblem that is pressing to be solved.

Portrait of a participantA portrait of a participant can give another insight. In this case it is based on an interview and was presented in a governmental report"The Study Circle Society".13 In this case it is a handicraft-circle - theyare making canteles, an instrument that is linked to a Finnishculture.

The participant that is portrayed here is a Finnish immigrant - we can callhim Juhani14. He came, as so many of his countrymen, to Sweden in thebeginning of the 70ies. The family moved directly to Gothenburg and got a flat in Hammarkullen, one of the newly built suburbs in the northern partof the city. The area was not even completed when they moved in. Thestandard was high in the flats and the area was friendly for the childrenwith nice nature surrounding.

13 Andersson et al, 1996, pp 47 - 50. Translation by Staffan Larsson14 The description is based on Andersson, Laginder, Larsson & Sundgren (1996) pp 47 - 50


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It was a new suburb and there were lots of available flats, and in the70ies there were plenty of jobs also, so it was natural that I choose anenvironment close to nature. At that time I had four small kids and itmeant a lot that it was close to nature and easy to reach the school. Theydid not have to cross motorways and such. Everything was in the area, if you say so.

Last year Juhani and his family moved to Grdsten - another area ratherclose to Hammarkullen. It had been too noisy - Juhani here refers toimmigrants moving in.

Juhani is now an unemployed carpenter in his 50ies. He spends his free

time with the Finnish cultural club Finngoths. His interest in clubs hebrought from Finland: There he was engaged as a couch in a soccer club.The Finngoths was started in 1971. Juhani was a participant from thestart and the first thing they did was to build a sauna. We had a lot of members when we told them we had a sauna Juhani tells. Almost everynight the club occupies him, either with the activities as such or withdifferent responsible post he has had in the club through the years. It isprimarily in the motor and in the music sections he is active. Except the

sauna but that is not an interest it is natural, a way of life.In the motor section Juhani is working with car racing and the sons arealso interested and have licences for racing. At some occasions he has beenstudy circle leader for training functionaries. Right now one is workingwith organising a racecourse and to organise an elite-race this autumn.But the interest in music is as important as in cars, Juhani tells. He hasparticipated in several study-circles in music, on one hand about classicalmusic and on the other hand in learning to play the mandolin. He is alsosinging in the choir and has together with it sung at several musical festivals around the country. The choir is also organised as a study circle.

Now Juhani participates in a handicraft circle where they made acantele, which is a traditional instrument from Carelia. The circle isarranged by Finngoths in co-operation with ABF (WEA). There are 10participants, as well women as men, who meet once a week. Juhani hasseveral different instruments at home and this is not the first time he builds

a cantele in a circle. Earlier he built an instrument with 5 strings. Now he


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builds a 10-stringed cantele. I wanted to show the Finns that ordinarycarpenters can do this kind of very delicate carpenting. And I did that in fact, I did one such small instrument during two evenings and that is very fast he says. It is the fine carpenting the soft wood and the unusual waysto put the pieces together that is the challenge, he explains.

I am a carpenter constructing housing. There is a bit of a difference in fact.You seldom use that soft and nice material. And all the material comes from Finland. One learns to work with those soft materials as for instancespruce. It is so soft that you cannot put the nail on your fingers at it - itwill go through at once. So you have to be very careful. And also, if I will glue something at my work I will put a screw or a nail into it after having

glued. But here you must glue as careful as it will hold. (...) It is exiting; itis always when one starts to build. One is not clear about if it is possible toplay on or not, until it is complete. If there will be only a small mistake, asmall hole somewhere or some air somewhere, you have to throw it away.

But it is not only for the sake of the challenge and the excitement that Juhani participates in study circles. What he more than anything else willremember is the comradeship in the club. The friendship in the club, that

will be in my memory he says. Yes, that is important, at least in theFinnish club, that we stick together. It is a way to be together. TheFinngoths are a large club. It is different persons in different study circles,but Juhani does not mind that the persons vary. In fact he does not mindworking by himself. I am a loner, I prefer to work alone.

A couple of years ago the construction company where Juhani workedsuddenly went bankrupt, and Juhani become unemployed after havingworked all his life. I started as 10 years old and earned enough to buy my first bike he says. Unemployment was a terrible experience. A lot of timewas spent before the Tele. It was almost the whole life, when I wasunemployed. I only looked at the Tele The risk to fall outside of society isbig when you dont have a job, he thinks. Especially for Finns, he thinks, itis their culture, as it were.The Finns have a rather bad habit. If we are unemployed or get a lot of free time, then you get...One can see when you walk in the square how itends.


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are also helped with space. The participants pay their own material to theirinstruments. They pay 600 crowns for participation in the circle. Thenthey get as well the drawing as material. Juhani thinks it is value for themoney. Yes it is all right. If you do something very nice it can also costsome.

One obvious conclusion is that there is no single motive forparticipating. Juhanis study circle participation could rather beconceived of as a piece in his life-context, with complex connectionto different aspects of his life history and life-situation. This wasalso the conclusion in the report about the main pattern - studycircles had a multitude of significances or meanings, even in theindividual case15.

The study circles, the civil society and the state

The history of the study circles provides an interesting case of thecomplicated relations between the civil society and especially thestate.

Study circles and the emerging democracy

Study circles are considered to belong to what was, and to someextent still is, called the "free and voluntary" popular education. It isobvious that the quality "free and voluntary" indicated activitiesthat were part of the civil society. Here I operate with a definition of the civil society that differentiates between state, market and thecivil society (Cohen & Arato, 1995). Through the concept "civilsociety" we have a link to democracy.The "free and voluntary" popular education was only partiallydeveloped within the context of popular movements. Popularlibraries were created, especially in the temperance movement andthe workers' movement. The early study circles were often focusedon the reading of books from the library that were discussed in themeetings (Arvidsson, 1996:31). Outside of the popular movements,folk high schools and lecture associations aimed at enlightening the broad public. Folk high schools were only gradually linked topopular movements and not in any significant degree until after theFirst World War.

Today those institutions still exist, although they havechanged; the popular libraries have been taken over by the

15 Larsson et al, 1997


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municipalities, and the study associations that organise study circlesare less linked to popular movements. There are also more folk highschools than ever before - 147 in 1999 (Folkbildningsrdet, 1999: 3).They are, to a greater extent than ever, linked to organisations,movements and churches. Their objectives have changed, not least because of their role as an alternative to the ordinary school system(Berntsson, 1999). This role often mirrors the tension betweenwanting to be different and, in effect, being similar to the ordinaryschools.

It is obvious that the establishment of a formal democracy wasa cornerstone that had great implications for the rule of the country.In Sweden a full and equal vote was gained in 1918 (Ehnmark,1994). However, another side of the establishment of a democraticsociety was the emergence of a democratic civil society. This civil

society developed before the breakthrough of formal democracy. If the existence of associations and free and voluntary movements, aswell as some possibility to debate and form opinions, are pivotalaspects of a civil society, it is obvious that the end of the 19thcentury experienced the foundation of a civil society in Sweden. Itwas the time for creating a great number of associations, with allkinds of objectives. It was also the time for the establishment of popular movements. Linked to this was a more and more opendebate in newspapers and through public meetings. Not least was ademocratic culture - a "culture of meetings" established throughnew structures as popular movements and other associations thatwere growing rapidly at the turn of the century. The movements became arenas for learning of democratic decision-making (learningconceived as participating in collective action is stressed by somecontemporary theories on learning - (Lave & Wenger, 1991, Larsson1997a, Kilgore, 1999). The study circles were part and parcel of thisdevelopment.

In the movements at the turn of the century, activities wereaimed at changing the society fundamentally, in conflict with the

established power and cultural elite (Arvidsson, 1989). Themovements as well as other democratically ruled associationsconstituted a democratic civil society before structures like the stateand local governments were put under a formal democratic rulethrough the equal vote. Studies organised by the movementssupported mobilisation and preparation for the political power of the masses in a fully developed democracy.

Oscar Olsson considered as the father of the study circleslaunched the concept "self-education". The essence of the conceptwas that the participants as a collective commanded their owneducation (Arvidsson, 1996:10). Since the activities in the studyassociations basically were controlled by the movements - decisions


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about the form and content of the studies were made democraticallywithin the movements - it was possible to study what was relevantfor political work as well as other interests within the movements.Dewey expressed the intellectual significance of this: Until thedemocratic criterion of the intrinsic significance of every growingexperience is recognised, we shall be intellectually confused by thedemand for adaptation to external aims (Dewey, 1966:109).

There is reason to believe that participation in popularmovements and study circles was a better preparation for theexecution of power in a democratic state than was the educationalinstitution that the elite went through, i.e., the authoritariangrammar school.

Even though there was a strong tendency to celebratescientific knowledge, study circles gave in fact space for diverse

worldviews. In that sense pluralism in worldviews was in factsupported by the organisational structure of independent studyassociations with different ideological connections.

Diversity was also expressed by the fact that membershipduring at least the first part of the 20th century often was in theform of a membership in one of a number of movements that eachoffered a context for many human needs. Since they covered such a broad spectrum of needs one can talk about life forms, which alsoexpressed pronounced identities. To be part of the workersmovement often meant some kind of involvement in a conglomerateof organisations and their activities: political participation, unionactivities, study circles, youth clubs, consumers co-operatives aswell as entertainment such as theatre and ball-room dancing(Ambjrnsson, 1988). The material bases for the activities wereoften People's Houses and People's Parks, and a number of journalswere part of the memberships in different organisations. The samepattern existed within the farmers movement - with youth clubs, banks, producers co-operatives, study circles and party activities aswell as all kinds of entertainment in special houses. With some

differences in the kind of activities that took place, free churchesand the temperance movements also offered their distinctive lifeforms and identities. Within each there were common interests,values and convictions. Thus, participation in study circles duringthe first half of the century was often part of a relatively strong,sometimes class based, relation to a specific movement.

An influential civil societyIn the first part of the 20th century the popular movements

and the popular education that was linked to them seem to have been in the centre of a civil society. The institutions that form the


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basis of a civil society are families, associations and free andvoluntary movements, as well as different structures for publicdiscourse (Cohen & Arato, 1995). The movement activities involvedfamilies in a fundamental way as members; movements wereconglomerates of associations and they had strong voices in thepublic discourse through the press and public speeches. They werein sharp relief to the state and the market. As Arvidsson (1985) haspointed out, there was in the early period a fundamental conflict between the movements and the values in the state and the market.However, eventually they had a very strong influence on the stateand the market. Not least when democracy put the state in thehands of those who were the elite of the movements and thepopular education. The market was not only influenced throughpolitical bodies but also through the effects of strong unions as well

as consumers and producers co-operatives. The movements andpopular education aimed at changing the society in line withUtopia, which had normative foundations. They strove for equality,the betterment of their own living conditions or for a better lifethrough a sober society, or they acted because of their faith. In thatway, the study circle activities and the resulting knowledge becamepivotal in the civil society as well as in relation to the power of thatsociety. The civil society was therefore not isolated, but a potentforce with an impact on the state and the market in forming thesociety.

During the latter part of the 20th century the movementshave weakened, the involvement of the members has become lessdeep. In fact, already in the 1950s there was talk about a crisis in thepopular movements. Johansson (1954) draws the conclusion thatone has to foresee a decreasing number of active members in themovements. He considers this to be a democratic problem; there is arisk that the movements become instruments for a small minority of citizens. Frazer (1999) points out that this talk about a crisis has beenpart of the discourse in the UK during the last half century, which

also seems to be the case in Sweden.Another change has been the gradual dissolution of the strongrelation between movements and study circles, not formally, but inthe minds of the participants, not least because of the breakdown of the movement cultures as life forms and as identities. We can seethe results today; the participants in ABF (the workers' studyassociation) do not differ from those in other study associations, and28 % of the participants do not know which study associationorganised the circle they last participated in (Johnsson & Ghler,1995). The ideology of the study association organising the studies isof little importance to many. Another side of the coin is that thestudy circles have not experienced the same activity crises as the


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popular movements did. They are still involving large numbers of the population. How should that be interpreted? One argument,often put forward, is that the collective orientation of the earlierperiod is not prevalent in the same way today. People do not studyfor the sake of struggling for a sober society or for emancipation of their class; they do not take pride in being an informed citizen inspite of being a worker or a farmer without formal schooling. Itseems as if the expansion in numbers has happened in areas linkedto individual interests not related to societal change or any otheractivity that could be seen as a contribution to the civil society.Thus, there is evidence of a trend towards more individualisticmotives for joining a study circle. On the other hand, this does notnecessarily mean that studies related to activities in associations orunions necessarily have decreased in absolute numbers. One survey

study in 1992 indicates that 5% had such purposes for theirparticipation (Svensson, 1996: 62). Translated into absolute numbers5% in 1992 is equivalent to 55% in 1950/51. People who were activein associations were over-represented among the participants ingeneral, in 1992. The conclusion will be that there is still a link, onthe level of participants, between associations and unions and thestudy circles. The collective orientation has not disappeared, but thenumber with explicit motives indicating that kind of a collectivisticpurpose is small in relation to the total number of participants.

The conclusion will be that the relation to movements,associations and unions is still there, but other motives andactivities have overshadowed it.

It is not the study associations or the study circles that are in astate of crisis, but rather the popular movements, especially thosethat were most vigorous in the early period. In a recent reportwritten by political scientists the crises among parties and popularmovements are highlighted. The number of active members isdecreasing. The same pattern has been reported in many countries(Frazer, 1999: 6). However, we should be open to the possibilities

that study circles contribute to democracy in other ways than thetraditional. New patterns of influence and new views on democracyput the spotlight on the possibility that other aspects of study circleparticipation seem to be potentials for a discourse on democracy.This will be shown later in this text.

Study circles and the state.

The description of the sharp division between the free andvoluntary popular education and the state was valid in the beginning of the 20th century. In spite of this the state was veryearly part of the development as a financial supporter. As a matter


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of fact, I think this case is very interesting, since it challenges somenotions about the relation between the state and the civil society.One can even pose the question: Has the state support been vital forthe survival of the study circles and the development into a grandscale phenomenon?

In 1912 the first study association was created. The acutereason for this was the prospect of getting financial support fromthe state. Throughout the history of the study circles it is reasonableto suppose that the continuing state support has been fundamentalto the size of participation as well as the development of a studycircle institution with a strong administration. As can be expected,it has also constituted the basis for state interference in the free andvoluntary popular education. A number of regulations for the use of the state subsidy have been introduced during the course of the

century - each influencing the activities in some way.However, the general impression is that this interference hasnot in a substantial way changed the heart of the matter - that thestudy circles are voluntary and subordinated to the interests of participants and organisations within the civil society. The studyassociations have always been and are still independent from thestate and the study associations and folk high schools, in fact, electthe body that distributes the state subsidy among them. Theinfluence of the state is more indirect, i.e., through the possibilitiesthat are offered in relation to the subsidy and the rules for achievingit. The most remarkable aspect of the independence of the studyassociations is their independence from the state when it comes tothe content in the study circles. There have always been very wideframes for what is possible to study or do in a study circle;nowadays there are almost no restrictions, as could be understood by the names of the circles that were presented earlier. It seemsreasonable to assume that very few educational institutions areproducing such a wide variety of contents. That it is happening in

an institution heavily supported by the state may be unexpected.In our case, the effect seems to be the opposite. One canassume that the broad variation of content is promoted through thestate subsidy, since lack of support would reduce the whole sector.Without state support study associations would probably have torely on customers with money, like employers or differenteducational projects from the state - they would thus be moresubordinated under other institutions and organisations. Thatwould probably reduce the possibility for content that is not linkedto the educational policies of the state or considered as aninvestment for future gains within working life. Studies related tothe life-world of the participants would probably be reduced,


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especially those less affluent. However, it is possible to use a marketmetaphor. As an effect of the relative autonomy in relation to thepopular movements and other organisations, there is a tendency todo what there is a demand for, without much normative evaluation(Assarsson & Larsson, 1996). However, this market metaphor has alimited use in several ways. First, the market is basically not amarket of money, but of participants. One cannot exchange manyparticipants who pay little for a few who pay a lot. Secondly, thereis a restriction as regards commercial activities, i. e., to offereducation on the market, where the buyers are companies and soon, is prohibited. There are signs that this state interference has puta check on some of the study associations' interest in working with acommercial incentive. In that sense the "anti-commercial"regulations have had some effect. The other side is that

organisations in the civil society still have access to and use theirstudy associations as a way of training and educating theirmembers and functionaries. It is obvious that the study associationsserve organisations that have a normative base, but there are alsosigns that many functionaries operate on a normative basis, as theytry to form the content or promote content that contributes to a civilsociety (Lindgren 1996). Thus, a complicated pattern emerges. Theresult is anyway, that study circles provide the civil society withgreat opportunities. The sharp line between state and civil societyseems here to be somewhat softened.

The lack of regulations on content, which seems to be theoverall situation, also means a flexibility to create circles with newcontent in a very uncomplicated way. This gives the civil society anopportunity to culture studies in line with the issues that are atstake at a particular time. Nuclear power, European union, waterpollution, workers health, inequalities, civil disobedience - all arepossible to study, if there are enough participants to make itworthwhile for a study association to initiate a circle. Study circlescan be initiated from different sources. The study association often

does it, nationally or locally. Often different organisations - NGOs -which are linked to the study associations, take the initiative and,finally, it may be a group of would-be participants who suggest acircle to a study association.I hope that this relatively long introduction has contributed tocreating some notions about the history, contexts and contents of the study circles. The next step will be to focus on democracy inrelation to the actually existing study circles in our time.

Seven aspects of democracy in study circles


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The significance of the study circles for democracy must berelated to the broader context of the state of the civil society as awhole - i.e., in what condition democracy is. It is to be expected that

there is no unequivocal meaning in a concept that has such a centralposition on the political arena as democracy has. There are manymeanings of the concept, and the theoretical discourse is complex.In this text different conceptions of democracy are used asinterpretational tools to make sense of the study circles as they arepresented in empirical studies. It seems as if different theorieshighlight different aspects of democracy. One can note that thoseaspects are not necessarily excluding each other, but rathercomplementary in throwing light on different sides of the studycircles. My aim is to create a multifaceted picture of the question weare trying to address. The investigation is organised in subtitleswhere each is related to different notions of democracy. Finally,there is a discussion on the question whether study circlescontribute to the authority of the citizens. It is our conviction thatdemocracy in the end must be about the power of ordinary citizens,i.e., the people. Even if many theoretical constructions are used, theelitist view, that democracy is about competition for the votes between elites, is not used in this text as an aspect (Cohen & Arato,1995).

EqualityWhen the idea of popular education grew strong during the

19th century, it was a challenge to the view that education was aprivilege for the elite. In fact, it was considered as a contradiction inthe meaning of the term - one talked about the educated class. Howcould this be accommodated with a view where the lower classesshould be educated? The same contrast can be linked to democracy -it is the opposite of an elite rule: The idea of democracy is that allcitizens shall have the same importance when it comes to decisions

about the common future (Peterson et al, 1998). Equality is in theheart of the matter of democracy. In contrast to other kinds of rules -theocracy, aristocracy, oligarchy, monarchy, or plutocracy -democracy is based on a conception of a rule that was not in thehands of an elite. In both popular education and democracy equalityis fundamental. Fundamental to democratic rule is, of course,general and equal vote, as well as freedom of speech, organisationalfreedom, and competition about the power of government in freeelections. Many countries do not meet these requirements in ourtime, and the people become powerless against the ruling elite.What is sometimes called a formal democracy is very important as acontrolling instance. However, more could be expected from


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democracy - a more ambitious democracy could be depicted.Lindgren (1996) writes about a deeper democracy, where there isalso a focus on equal conditions for influence in the society. Thenotion of a participatory democracy operates with the same view(Pateman, 1970)

This view has a stronghold among those formulating the "self-understanding" within the free and voluntary popular education aswell as in texts from the government. In the last governmental billon popular adult education it is expressed very distinctly: The statesubsidy to popular adult education shall: ...make it possible forpeople to influence their life situation and form a commitment totake part in the developments of the society by for instance political,cultural and union work (Prop. 1997/98: 115). It is followed by apassage stating that priorities should be in line with an equality

principle; i. e., there is a compensatory logic behind, where thosewith a weak position should be given priority. In this perspectivepopular adult education, of which the study circles are a part, isgiven a central role for contributing to conditions, where people canget increased influence over the society, which, in turn, leads to amore equal distribution of power.

If many actors in the "arena of formulation", where policycreation is the task, have expressed such an equality perspective,one may ask about the realities: Who are the participants? Isparticipation in line with an equality perspective? One may pose thequestion even more strongly, as follows: A recent study abouteffective political participation in Sweden indicated depressingresults in relation to equality (Pettersson et al., 1998). Large andincreasing differences between immigrants and natives were notedand there were large differences between the unemployed and thosewith a job. They also found large class differences and that higherofficials dominated the public discourse as well as the publicdecision-making. On the positive side, gender differences andregional differences were small. This reality will constitute the

background for the question: Are study circles working as acounter-force to the inequalities in political power?It is possible to give a relatively clear answer to the questions,

since participation patterns have been described in severalinvestigations. It becomes obvious that study circles are not equal interms of participation. The same kind of pattern that was describedin relation to political power is generally found in study circleparticipation. Higher social classes have a higher degree of activity,and there are more people who have participated at least once, thanin the lower social classes (Johnsson & Ghler, 1995). Workers areunderrepresented among the highly active as well as among thosethat have participated at least once.


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An aberration from the general pattern is that farmers have thehighest level of highly active participants and that businessmen arethe ones with the lowest level. The unemployeds have the lowestlevel among the highly active. Jonsson & Ghler (1995: 57) point atthe differences between immigrants from countries outside of theNordic countries and natives as being especially large - theparticipation of those immigrants are only 40% of that of the nativeSwedes.

The conclusion will be that study circle participation isunequal. On the other hand, it is more equal than other forms of adult education. Differences in participation between persons withdifferent educational backgrounds are small (Johnsson & Ghler,1995: 23); in other words, inequalities seem to be more related toclass than to educational background. Another conclusion is that

study circles do not constitute a counter-force against the tendenciesof marginalisation or exclusion of unemployed and immigrants inthe Swedish society. The counter-force hypothesis seems to be falseand the correlation hypothesis seems to be supported. Study circlesdo not belong to the people as opposed to the elite, but rather seemsto contain the same kind of inequalities that are found in society ingeneral - they have been part of the normality in that sense.

However, the most prominent difference from this kind of normality is the fact that almost two thirds of the participants arewomen (Svensson, 1996:58), as an oppressed group - with less payand with very little part in the power elite, especially when it comesto the corporate sector. In that sense, study circles seem to have thepotential as a counter-force. However, according to theinvestigation of political activities they do not have less power thanmen do. It seems as if that conclusion presupposes a limitation of the scope of political influence on the formal political structures andan exclusion of other power structures, where it is obvious thatthere is a gender difference.

Another theme, less acknowledged, is the generation or age

aspect. Study circles have participants from all age groups. There is,in fact, a slight over-representation of the age group 55 - 74 years, inrelation to their share of the population, but on the wholeparticipation mirrors the demography of the population. This is insharp contrast to other educational institutions, other forms of adulteducation included. One can even draw the conclusion that studycircles are the most important, and sometimes the only educationalinstitution which is realistically available to half of the population of adults, i. e., those who are more than 50 years old. It is difficult to judge if this group is less powerful - they are more active in politicalparties and in elections, but they take less initiatives, have lesscontacts with other people and less self-confidence (Pettersson,


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1998:83). It seems as if the younger generation is better equipped toinfluence in individualistic ways, while older persons are moreactive in formal and collective types of influence.

So, the final conclusion will be that study circles probably willhave a counter-force potential in relation to gendered power andalso in relation to strengthening the older half of the adultpopulation. In relation to class, and especially when it comes tomarginalisation of unemployed and non-Nordic immigrants theydo not operate as a counter-force. It is obvious, too, that the lattergroups are underprivileged in education, housing and health, aswell as in income, i.e., other aspects than those of political power.

RelationsWe now leave the question of participation per se and look

into the consequences of taking part - the process. Is it possible thatinteraction itself within the circle can make any impact ondemocracy? Several contributions to democratic theory haveunderlined the importance for democracy of the interaction and thecreation of relations between citizens.

The philosopher Dewey presented in 1916 such a view in hismain work, "Democracy and Education". He argues thatovercoming the isolation of individuals and the lack of interest inwhat is common, is the heart of the matter in democracy. Hecontends, first, that this has to do with constructing commoninterests and that citizens, to an increasing degree, count oncommon interests as central for the social order (Dewey, 1966:86,87).Secondly, he states, that democracy is a matter of habits that resultin the mutual adaptation of social groups to each other when theymeet in different situations:

a democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily amode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. Theextension in space of the number of individuals who participate in an

interest, so that each has to refer his own action to that of others, andconsider the action of others to give point and direction to his own, isequivalent to the breaking down of those barriers of class, race andnational territory which kept men from perceiving the full import of their

activity. These more numerous and more varied points of contactdenote a greater diversity of stimuli to which an individual has torespond; they consequently put a premium on variation in his action.They secure a liberation of powers which remain suppressed as long asthe incitations to action are partial, as they must be in a group whichin its exclusiveness shuts out many interests."

(Dewey, 1966: 87).


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This view, with roots in pragmatism, gives democracy ameaning that is far from the formal democracy linked to thepeoples control of political power. Rather, he seems to focus on thesmall scale, everyday opinions and decision-making, and thefostering of a collectivist attitude.

The political scientist Putnam (1993) argues along the samelines based on an investigation of political efficiency in differentregions of Italy. According to him, citizens must develop horizontalrelations to build social capital (Field, 1998). Horizontal relationsare based on equality rather than hierarchy. Co-operation throughhierarchies is denoted as vertical relations. Horizontal relationscreate foundations for a commitment from the citizens, which hasan impact on the efficiency of governance. The base for this spiritamong the citizens is argued to be the mutual thrust which is

formed when people co-operate - in choirs, soccer teams and otherassociations - and that there is a habit of mutual aid within andoutside of the family. How can the study circles be connected to thelandscape that Dewey and Putnam have painted?

It is obvious that the study circles are meeting-places, wherepeople do things together. Therein lies a potential. If the studycircles are non-authoritarian, which is always claimed, they shouldfurthermore constitute a potential for building horizontal relations.What is the empirical evidence? In several studies it has beenhighlighted that togetherness is a very strong theme in the mindsof the participants. In the interviews in a qualitative investigation of the meaning of participating, The Study Circle Society,togetherness was one of six main categories and one that wasexpressed by all those who were interviewed (Andersson et al,1996). In Svenssons (1996) survey 33% indicate that their motive forparticipating was to meet others, togetherness - here respondentswere forced to choose only one answer. This should mean that onethird seem to see relations as the main reason to participate.

That is obviously in line with Deweys view stressing that the

individuals isolation should be overcome. Women choose the"togetherness" motive to a greater extent than men do (Svensson,1996:62). Considering that the overwhelming majority of participants are women, there should be some support for theconclusion that the study circle plays a special role for them as aplace to interact and thus create relations, that we can assume arehorizontal. For the 10% of the population, who are regularparticipants, this becomes even more obvious. More than half of theparticipants who are handicapped see togetherness as their primarymotive (Svensson, 1996:63). It is easy to draw the conclusion that thepreference of the togetherness theme in some instances is related toisolation and to overcoming it. However, as is shown by the fact


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that study circle participants are more active in associations than theaverage citizen, they have access to other arenas, with opportunitiesto engage in co-operation through horizontal relations.

Based on their experiences of study circles the authors of TheStudy Circle Society analyse and discuss the kind of relation thatcould be expected. It is characterised as task-oriented and with acontrolled intimacy (Andersson et al. 1996:185 - 191). Being part of a study circle normally does not involve any expectations of relations outside of the circle - it is a delimited relation. Anothertrait is that one meets new people in study circles - people whosometimes represent other backgrounds and values than do thoseone normally interacts with. One is reminded of the Deweyan viewthat meetings between social groups will result in new habits basedon mutual adaptation.

A fundamental condition for the relations in study circles isthat there is no coercion - participation is voluntary. Furthermore,no tests or other evaluations or exams, that may create a verticalrelation between the judge and the judged, are normally part of thestudies. This constitutes the basis for assuming that relations on thewhole are horizontal. However, the pedagogy is varying to a greatextent and there are obviously a lot of study circles where the leaderdominates. The conclusion will therefore be only a partial supportfor the assumption that relations are horizontal. However, if wereverse this proposition we will also draw the conclusion that studycircles are very bad places for developing vertical relations of domination as patrons - clients. There is no power base that can bethe foundation for someone to create a hierarchy, exceptcommunicative power, and that is not often appreciated, unless it istask-oriented.

If there is something to the citizen-spirit, that Putnam isoperating with, one can assume that study circles, as well asassociations and other informal arenas for horizontal relations,contribute by fostering such citizen virtues that support the

effectiveness of a democratic rule. Compared to other educationalarrangements there is reason to believe that study circles create verygood conditions for building equal and co-operative relations. Aswe are talking about a mass phenomenon, this should be asignificant contribution, even though not all relations are horizontal.However, since participation is not equal this effect is reduced andlimited to mainly those who are not in the deepest shadow of thesociety.

Deliberations

In contemporary thinking on democracy there has been anemphasis on the communication between citizens. Several terms


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indicate this - deliberative, discourse- or discussion-democracy(Habermas, 1991 Peterson, 1998). Even communicative democracyhas been used (Andersson et al., 1996:226). The term "deliberations"seems to refer to what is aimed at, i. e., that citizens engage incommunication, where they are able to explore arguments andevaluate them. In this way they should be better prepared to take astandpoint on different issues. This kind of thinking is not new. Alf Ahlberg, principal of one of the workers' movement folk highschools and the incarnation of a popular education intellectual,expressed the same thought in one of his books in the 1930s: "A realdiscussion should be a co-operation", where one can hope for aninvestigation and an illumination of a question, that should make one better equipped to take a position on a warranted basis. (Ahlberg,1935:174, this author's translation). In a governmental investigation

of Swedish popular adult education, initiated in 1944, there was asimilar view of democracy, namely, that it presupposed apermanent debate about issues of public concern and that thecitizen has an opportunity to form an opinion independently(Lindgren, 1996:33).

One can understand those old formulations in the light of anew democracy that is challenged by totalitarian views, wheredebate and conclusions based on warranted arguments were notasked for, but rather despised. In our time, arguments fordeliberations could also be viewed from the background of a mediaindustry, where opinions are created by powers that certainly arenot democratically elected, but rather based on trans-nationalcapital that is invested in the media. Together with the lobbyism it isobvious that standpoints become commodities that can be bought by those who can afford it. The aim is not the common good, butrather the exploitation of the common resources. It has also beenpointed out that certain worldviews become hegemonic andovershadow other views - a recent example is the economism thathas dominated the last decade, when it seems as if economic

arguments are the only valid ones in the political debate. Thediscourse gives a limited space for the deliberations (Foucault,1993). Some have pointed out that this is based on a struggle aboutwho has the power to set the agenda for the debate (Petersson et al,1998: 96).

Habermas (1991) describes how the civil society is colonised by the thinking that is adapted to the forces of systems like theeconomy, where strategic thinking and action becomes the norm. Inthat way, people lose their sense of thinking and acting for the sakeof the common good. Action is no longer governed by what is fairand decent, and such ethical standpoints, but instead by what isprofitable, even if it means oppression or that everyone will lose in


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the end. Notions like solidarity lose their meaning. Against thispeople could defend themselves by participating in communication,where they can reflect upon what is the right thing to think or do.

The study circle seems to be the perfect form for learningwhere deliberations are in focus: a deliberative democracy couldalso be called a study circle democracy. The problem is that thepattern of interaction in study circles is not unequivocal. Andersson(1998) has done an investigation, where study circle leaders have been interviewed and where a survey was done on a large sampleand subsequently analysed by an exploratory factor analysis. Thepreliminary analysis, based on both qualitative interpretations andfactor analysis, gave important information about the form of work that the leaders reported. Three kinds of circles could bedistinguished: teaching circles, discussion circles and handicraft

circles. Varying degrees of possibilities for deliberations could beassumed within these different forms of interaction.If we do not consider what is happening during breaks, it

seems as if the teaching circle gives least possibilities fordeliberations. According to Andersson, in the teaching circles thesubject or content is the focus together with prepared teachingmaterial. The leader has a role that is close to a traditional teacher,as a conductor and someone that will give answers.

In the discussion circle, on the other hand, we can seesomething that comes close to a deliberation, free of coercion. Thediscussion is the heart of the matter and the leader is basically achairperson who is organising the discussion. The responsibility forthe content seems to be in the hands of the participants, eventhough they in most cases rely on study material. This must be thekind of study circle that would represent the study circledemocracy.

The third type, the handicraft circle, seems to focus onsomething other than talk - in this case practical activities. Thismeans that the tempo is individualised, and the leader, often an

expert, takes the role of a resource-person rather than a conductor.In the handicraft circle there is no focus on communication anddeliberations are thus peripheral to the main activity.

If we base our conclusions on data about the main activitiesthe conclusion will be that deliberative democracy could be a usefulconcept to relate to those circles that are discussion circles, but notto other variants.

Now, there is in fact evidence that this conclusion ispremature. In a project with several studies of so-called textilecircles there was evidence that those handicraft circles functionedas communicative arenas for the participants, in this case women(Waldn, 1994). Based on participant observation, the findings point


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at communication being a parallel activity to the handicraft. It wasreported that the handicraft took first priority, after that family andhome activities, and in the third place, comments about society. Thetalk was not political in a narrow sense. However, it was rooted inexperiences of everyday contexts - the participants' own life history,the unemployment allowance, the cost of housing, the quality of thehealth-care system, or the mismanagement of the municipality.They seem to have talked about almost all important issues in thepolitical discourse, but with a focus on matters directly related tolocal problems or their own experiences. One is reminded of Habermas' notion of a rationality that is grounded in the life-world(Waldn, 1994:111). However, there were clearly also constructions,which came from the mass media.

The importance of these findings is obvious, because they

undermine hasty conclusions. They are not least interesting, sincethey make us aware of the multitude of expressions thatdeliberations with a political potential can have. If one should becritical there is an open question, whether the communication isdeliberation, i. e., aninvestigation and an illumination of a question,that should make him better equipped to take a position on awarranted basis, if we use Ahlbergs formulation. That will alsomean that it is not clear whether they search for standpoints that areaimed at the common good. There is no clear evidence that couldanswer those questions and that would give a direct link to thetheories of deliberative democracy.In other types of circles one can assume from the content thatthe communication should have such a link, as circles that are run inthe context of associations, or, at least, have a clear link in content topolitical issues. Those that are classified as social science circlesshould have such a potential, for instance. The problem with thiskind of assumptions is the poor quality of data; they are based ontitles or other such very crude criteria. However, more substancecan be found in the book The Study Circle Society, where a

number of participants are portrayed (Andersson et al, 1996). Herewe find examples of how standpoints have been created. Mia, whohas followed a circle through the union, underlines the importanceof an open discussion with representatives from parts of the society,other than her own. Nevertheless, in the interviews that wereconducted, there are not many indications of something that can belinked to a deliberative democracy. Democracy seems to be a silenttheme in the participants' expressed thoughts about the implicationsof taking part in a study circle.

Hartman (in "Studies in association", 1996) reports aninvestigation of four study circles, that are part of the activities inassociations. This report offers us a closer look at cases where we


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would expect deliberations. Apart from one case, however, there areno indications of a clear link to deliberations that are focused onforming standpoints or action. The exceptional case, a local historyassociation, was a discussion circle where focus was on self-education, but it also made decisions about action. The interest wascompletely focused on the local environment.

The conclusion will be that deliberations are probablycommon, but more conclusive evidence of discourse that could tellus about the way standpoints are created is generally lacking(Ahlberg's criteria). A related problem is the lack of evidence thatthe lifeworld of the participants is the ground on which they formtheir standpoints; neither do the seem to discuss along the lines of instrumental rationality (Habermas' criteria). The same lack of evidence makes it difficult to say if standpoints are formed

independently and not only picked up from media (The argumentof an agenda control - Foucault). One obvious problem in theinterview studies is that the interviewees do not see democracy asan aim, they do not attend a study circle to do democracy. Rather,it becomes the background of the content or activity that is in focus.Another problem is that participants have very little knowledge of the discourse around democracy, which means that they havedifficulties in identifying aspects of their study circle activities thatcould be of importance to our questions. The final problem is that itis difficult for everyone to sort out cause and effect as regards therelation between study circle activities, the discussion there, thestandpoints formed and, eventually, the political activity and theinfluence that were the outcome. In everyday life things tend to be blurred or too complex to sort out (Larsson, 1996).

KnowledgeKnowledge is power is an expression that can be traced to

Francis Bacon at the end of the 16th century (Holm, 1976). It pointsat a relation between democracy and knowledge. To be able toinfluence the society, knowledge is a crucial factor, but it also seemsto support the legitimacy of democracy: "Education attainment iscorrelated with,inter alia , the endorsement of the legitimacy of democratically elected governments; the endorsement of valuessuch as toleration (as opposed to racism) and freedom and equality(as opposed to authoritarianism and hierarchy); and politicalparticipation (voting, campaigning, party membership as well asparticipation in civil associations)" (Frazer, 1999: 9). Another aspectis that, in order to use their positions to benefit the citizens; thosewho have some position through a democratic election needknowledge. How different kinds of knowledge are related to


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democracy is, however, a complicated matter. Democracy has often been related to the enlightenment movement, as we have alreadypointed out: by the help of rationality and scientific knowledge,myths and superstition, used so effectively by, for instance, theNazis, could be fought (Ahlberg, 1935). More than 200 years agoKant (1989: 27) formulated a political vision of the enlightenment,that it is about using one's own knowledge to form opinons;sapereaude.

It is obvious that Kant is referring to a very specific kind of knowledge, one that is useful in forming opinions, to take astandpoint in the questions of life, and especially about society.Democracy is about refusing to accept subordination. Here is avision of autonomy - a knowledge that is independent and makesone independent from structures of power that are based on

authority and hierarchies. On the formal level popular adulteducation has the independence that creates conditions for free andvoluntary participation. The state does not decide on matters of content, i. e. what kind of knowledge that is considered importantwill be decided without consulting the state. Popular adulteducation is not allowed to work commercially, which means that itis not lead by employers. No one can force anyone to participate. Itis free and voluntary.

The concept of self-education is very interesting in thiscontext. It stresses the autonomy of movements and study groupsand, thus, seems to be a view of education that belongs to the civilsociety. Arvidsson writes: In the heart of this concept is that it tellsfrom where the initiative comes and who has control over thecontent and forms of the education. The prefix self is steering themeaning of the concept (Arvidsson, 1996:10). Oscar Olssoninvented another expression with a connotation that was prettymuch the same: education for and through the people. Therelation to democracy is clear. Olsson was inspired by AbrahamLincolns expression: A democracy, that is, a government of all the

people, by all the people, for all the people" (Holm, 1976). It seemsreasonable to conclude that self-education and civil society is linked.Self-education could, in fact, be thought of as the educationalparallel to democracy and civil society among the existing views of education. Here, control is supposed to be in the hands of theparticipants and not an elite. In the philosophy behind the studycircles there is an interesting possibility for participants to createtheir own knowledge and thus be knowledgeable in areas that theythemselves consider important.

If we look at empirical evidence concerning the level of knowledge among the adult Swedish population, there are a fewsources that give some indications. Firstly, adults in Sweden seem to


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be well prepared to learn. In a relatively sophisticated study of reading comprehension, based on tests of representative samples of adults in a number of the most industrialised countries, Swedishadults were on top, in terms of both a large group at the top level of performance and a very small group at the bottom level (OECD &Statistics Canada, 1995). The indication is that other countries withthe same or even better economic level in terms of GNP/capita areworse off in this respect.

Another study was more focused on knowledge fordemocracy, where the change in knowledge about politics and theskills to act as a citizen during the last 20 years was investigated.Results showed that knowledge had increased, but that activities based on citizen skills were unequal (Petersson et al, 1998).

The study circle participants' stress learning as a significant

part of their participation: learning is one of the main categoriesin the Andersson et al. qualitative study (1996:68). In Svenssons(1996:62) quantitative study a majority of the subjects seem to think along the same lines, and a very large majority indicate that studycircle participation gives them useful knowledge.

From the perspective of the participants, study circles seem tocontribute to the knowledge of the population. From the aspect of democracy one could assume that this indicates that the citizens aregenerally strengthened. A more precise understanding of theimportance of the knowledge that is gained in study circles fortaking standpoints and democratic action is, however, still missing.What kind of knowledge is important in relation to action forsocietal change? What is effective enlightenment in the circles? Herewe lack research-based insights. This problem is not only about thelack of studies, it is also about the difficulties to research suchquestions.

If we cannot say anything absolutely conclusive about theempirical evidence of study circles and their contribution toknowledge that is useful to a citizen, we can still discuss the circles

as a potential. In an international context it seems as if the studycircle institution in the Swedish society constitutes an exception,which opens up a different kind of opportunity for citizens toinform themselves about issues of political importance. As aninstitution it legitimises itself on that ground and in reality it isextremely well adapted to organising learning opportunities aimedat those who have such an interest. However, it seems that the localorganisers are more eager to serve this aim explicitly than theparticipants are (Lindgren, 1996). As a potential for the civil societyit will, however, be something important. Where important issuesare a challenge, for the population as a whole or for specific groupsof the population, study circles become an organisational


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instrument for learning more to form opinions which, to varyingdegrees, will result in action. Through the history of study circleswe can learn that they have played an important political role, inthose moments when the civil society has been vital.

It seems that the trend in many countries is to narrow thescope of adult education to vocational or professional skills or to basic education. This is also evident in the Swedish discourse oneducation, in political documents as well as the mass media, but hasnot yet had the effect of destroying the popular adult educationsector. However, in such a narrow view of education, the Kantianenlightenment disappears from the scene. As a consequence therewill not be any opportunity for adults to learn through aneducational institution for the sake of taking standpoints on issuesin the society. The downsizing of international equivalents to

popular adult education could be understood as something thatmakes the civil society substantially weaker in those countries. Inpractice this will mean a less vigorous democracy - sometimesopenly legitimated as part of a depoliticisation of society. Instead,there has been an emphasis on education and training controlled byemployers or the state. Sometimes this trend is supported by theidea that employers and the state should be in partnership asregards control. This is very far from Oscar Olssons vision of aneducation for and through the people.

DiversityDuring the last decades there has been a vigorous debate

among social theorists concerning the question of basic changes incontemporary society. Many have argued that the more affluentparts of the world are in the middle of a qualitative change into anew kind of society. Different labels have been used - high modernor post-modern. Some characteristics are often highlighted. Theglobalisation of economy and culture, where the global interferesheavily with the local, a change where life-habits are less related to

production and more to consumption, a break-down of collectiveidentities and an individualisation of identities (Giddens 1991,Usher, Bryant & Johnston, 1997). This emerging society is lesssecure, one reason being a weakened welfare state, not leastweakened by the globalisation in the economy, which means thatstates have to adapt to the interests of the global capital (Castells,1996, Walters, 1997). Another aspect of the decreased security is aflexible and fast-changing labour market.

Yet another aspect of this new society is the dissolution of boundaries: between work and leisure (e.g. distance-work), betweenthe private and the political (gender identities in the kitchen), aswell as a blur between civil society and the state. Old dividing lines


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are dissolved, not least in relation to identities: gender, race, culture,nationality and class are considered as social constructions that arehiding the more complex mixtures and active creation of identities.A comment would be that this does not seem to be completely new -it could be looked upon more as a change in perspective than adescription of a completely new society. A prominent thought isthat individuals form their identities through choice of life-styles,often in consumption patterns, opinions etc. In that way they createtheir own biographies (Alheit, 1994). It is a picture of a society thatis heterogeneous rather than homogeneous; multidimensionalrather than uniform (Kvale, 1997).

This heterogeneity is very interesting from the perspective of democracy, because it challenges a trait in some theories of democracy, i.e. that there is a common rationality which will

constitute the last instance of universal truth across all kinds of dividing lines. The alternative will be a view, where there is nouniversal truth or correct decision, but rather that democracy isabout peaceful solutions of conflicting interests and world-views, inother words, negotiations and compromises between a multitude of groups in the population who have elected representatives.Possibilities to develop a diversity of opinions and formorganisations based on this diversity become a prerequisite for sucha democracy. Johnston (1999:183) uses the term "pluralisticcitizenship", which embraces diversity and cultural pluralism. Thisis somewhat of a paradox. On the whole, the celebration of aparticularistic view is based on some universal values, such as theacceptance and respect of diversity, and the equal value of allindividuals, irrespective of what group they belong to.

The concept "politics of recognition" is developed for the samepurpose - to meet the challenges of heterogeneity (Touraine, 1995)."Recognition" is a term originally used by Hegel. The point is thatone has to recognise the other and respect her in order to gain therecognition of the other and thus be respected. The consequence of

no recognition is that both sides lose. In the context of a pluralisticsociety, the politics of recognition could be a central aim. A concreteexample is South Africa and the policy of "reconciliation" that has been a guiding principle in the post-apartheid period, stronglyconnected to Mandela. Here, in line with the concept "recognition",the basic principle is not to oppress the minority but to accept it. Inthe South African case the alternative would have been for themajority to take revenge on the minority that used such extrememeasures to oppress the majority. The results of a policy that is notrecognising the other can be found in many places: Bosnia andKosovo, East Timor and Liberia, just to mention a few.


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The loss of traditional identities that were developed withinthe movements challenges both the common views of civil societyand the contexts for study circles. The study circle tradition was inthe old days closely linked to traditional collective identities. Whatwill be the identity of the free and voluntary popular education in asociety where identities are floating and constructed andreconstructed? One such challenge comes from those that aremarginalised in the risk-society - the ones that are also marginalisedfrom the civil society. With a democratic value-base the challengeshould be to resist this marginalisation, that is, both a lack of economic and cultural capital, and subordination and lack of autonomy as the consequence of unemployment and reliance onallowances (Johnston, 1998).

The challenge that diversity puts on the study circles is about

strengthening the social networks of these groups and contributingto their possibilities to build cultural identities in a way that is notcreating more exclusion. Another aspect of the crossroads betweendemocracy and diversity is to give a possibility for citizens to form amultitude of identities, which are not leading to marginalisation.This means a deeper understanding of the concept of equal value.Contemporary society is, without doubt, heterogeneous in manyways - sometimes the expression multicultural is used. However, itis not only about cultures in a traditional sense, but it is aboutindividuals and groups of people who choose their own life-stylesand create their own identities. There will, thus, be a lot of subdivisions along all kinds of lines - musical taste, language, class,sexual preference, political preference. Often identities are based oncombinations, where social scientists can dispute what is basic andwhat is superficial. In that way dividing lines are blurred. Anyway,the challenge for democracy is to accept this diversity and to fightsocial exclusion based on differences, i.e., defending the idea that allhave equal value.

In this context we run into the discussion about universalism

and particularism. It is obvious that the ideological attitudes inpost-modernism mean a celebration of diversity and a multitude of flexible identities - a cosmopolitan ideal. Not least is there anacknowledgement of the lack of legitimation of old divisions - thatdivisions according to race, nation, class, gender, culture are not in aphilosophical sense essential, because mixtures, hybridity and lack of clear lines are obvious. These dividing lines will turn out to besocial constructions that are often oppressive, since they operatewith the notion of purity - as if we were talking about identities thatare essential - have an essence (Osman, 1999). As a result, we havethe constructions of a real Swede, a real worker, a real woman and areal gypsy. Because such constructions are rhetorical devices with a


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strong impact they are important, but the point is that they are man-made. Identities are in a constant flux, races are constructed to beable to divide and to exploit (e.g. apartheid), and national identitiesare constructed with a purpose to dominate and resist in powerplays (e.g., Balkan), and gender identities become straightjackets formen and women. An alternative to this kind of essentialism is thecelebration of hybridity, mixtures, blurring boundaries. This is alsoa critique of uniformity and totalisation of perspectives - the grandnarratives, whatever foundations they are erected on. Diversity in ademocratic perspective should also mean the paradoxical mix of paying respect to the particular as a universal value.

How do the really existing study circles relate to diversity,then? In fact, very well. Every comparison with other educationalinstitutions will point at study circles as more diverse (Larsson,

1998). As we have already pointed out, from the perspective of content, variety is very large, linking to all kinds of interests andpurposes. It is simple to introduce new types of content work in thesame direction - it will support the creation of new identities byproviding learning space. An example is within music, where thoseinterested can learn all kinds of variants: rock, jazz, folk music aswell as new forms - there are no restrictions. Content based on theinterest of specific groups is another example of the diversities:unions, immigrants from specific countries, political organisationsas well as sports

Documents

Circle Study Sweden Sreferencia