Business in the battle of ideas, 1945-1991: conclusions from the Finnish case

This article examines the political activity - specifically lobbying and PR efforts - of major Finnish business associations during the Cold War era (c. 1945-1991). The main motivation for business political activity was the threat of socialism and state intervention in their various forms. Based on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Scandinavian economic history review 2017-09, Vol.65 (3), p.279-293
Main Author: Wuokko, Maiju
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business associations
business interest associations
Business political activity
Cold War
corporate political activity
Economic history
Economic theory
Environmentalism
Lobbying
Motivation
Political participation
Politicians
Politics
Public opinion
Radicalism
Socialism
State intervention
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Summary:This article examines the political activity - specifically lobbying and PR efforts - of major Finnish business associations during the Cold War era (c. 1945-1991). The main motivation for business political activity was the threat of socialism and state intervention in their various forms. Based on a qualitative reading of archived documents, this article illustrates a shift from the fear of an outright revolution in the 1940s, through leftist radicalism and economic regulation in the 1970s, to the rise of environmentalism in the 1980s. Influencing efforts were targeted at both politicians and the general public but, towards the end of period studied, shaping public opinion became increasingly important. This article contributes to our knowledge on business-politics links and business political activity as historical phenomena. It points out compelling similarities in the political activity of business in various Western countries and suggests that they should be examined more thoroughly in future research.
ISSN:0358-5522
1750-2837
DOI:10.1080/03585522.2017.1371638