Happiness is often considered our ultimate goal in life. This essay explores the political im- plications of this view, through the critique of happiness found in the works of Simone de Beauvoir and Sara Ahmed. Ahmed and Beauvoir consider happiness to be harmful as a po- litical goal, since it tends to diminish dimensions of power and conflict in favor of harmony, and is not compatible with a political philosophy based on freedom or liberation. Happiness is often confused with the ethical Good, but this essay argues that happiness does not ne- cessarily entail good things. Indeed, happiness can be used to justify oppression and unjust political systems..

The aim of this study is to investigate the problematisation of the swedish railwaysector during the early 1990?s from a New public management-perspective. The method of approach is a ?What is the problem represented to be?-analysis as advocated by Carol Bacchi. By applying this method to the official investigation aimed at providing suggestions for increasing competition in the railway sector it has been shown that the process of deregulation has strong connections to the ideas and models suggested by the New public management-ideology of organisational theory. .

The aim of this essay is to analyze how media constructs strategic positional statements in debates of great immediate interest in order to stress ideological standpoints. Two questions are derived on the basis of this aim.- How is Russia positioned in Svenska Dagbladet's and Dagens Nyheter's editorials in the debate on the Swedish defence during 09-01-13 - 09-01-31?- Are there differences in the positional statements between the newspapers?In the study a Critical Discourse Analytical (CDA) approach is applied, and more specifically that of Teun A. van Dijk. Both the theoretical basis and the methodological tools are based on van Dijks CDA.

Adam Smith?s economic theory is often subject to criticism, in which it is claimed to be inherently inconsistent. Recently, criticism from well-known scholars has arisen claiming Smith should be characterized a labor value theorist anticipating Karl Marx. This study seeks to analyze whether such criticism is legitimate. Firstly, the economic theory of Smith is discussed in terms of consistency, and secondly, a number of typical and main points of the critique, from the most influential of his contemporary critics, are lifted up and analyzed.

Title: Similarities or differences within the centre-right? A study of the potential for party fusions within in the Swedish centre-rightAuthor: Charlie WeimersAim: The thesis seeks to find the potential for party fusions within the Swedish centre-right by analyzing the ideological similarities and differences between the parties.Method/Material: In the thesis, four dimensions of the parties? ideologies are analyzed: view of man, theory for societal structures, fiscal theory and moral values. The results of the study of the ideologies are then compared. The investigation is done with the party manifestos as starting point and with the analysis of ideas as theoretical tool.Main Results: The comparative analysis, based on the parties? ideological views, shows specific party constellations are more probable than others.

Många filosofer verkar gilla tanken om att fakta är verkliga, man menar att fakta är verklighetens byggstenar. Wittgenstein identifierar ?världen? med ?totaliteten av fakta?, och enligt Russell så tillhör fakta den ?objektiva världen?. Jag kommer här inte heller att förneka att fakta är verkliga, så jag antar att fakta tillhör den objektiva världen..

Lifelong learning (LLL), a concept dating back to the 1920s, is much used both by the OECD, UNESCO and the EU. But while intergovernmental think-tanks and supranational organisations often use the term in a positive sense, many (not least scholars) are critical of the term. The critique either deals with the lack of a universal definition, that the implicit responsibility for LLL has shifted onto the individual, or that the meaning of the term has shifted from a humanistic one linked to the personal development and a better society to a neoliberal one that involves growth, competition, globalisation and human capital theory. This study is based on interviews with nine trade union representatives on their understandings of lifelong learning. The results showed that while LLL was positively viewed by most, there was virtually no communication vis-à-vis members on the topic, most trade unions have no policy regarding LLL, and responses from representatives were sometimes self-conflicting..

The European Union has created a common plan regarding narcotics use and abuse within the European member states. The aim here is to reduce the supply and demand for drugs among the citizens of the Union. However, the opinions on how to achieve these goals greatly differ among member states. The range of attitudes varies from the strictly restrictive attitudes of countries such as Sweden, to the complete decriminalization of personal possession of all narcotic substances in Portugal. The purpose of this paper is therefore to study the underlying attitudes and approaches that these two countries have, and hopefully to give some light to how come there is this big difference in legal frameworks regarding a rather delicate political question.

Existerar det en spänning mellan frihet och jämlikhet som omöjliggör att båda värdena kan realiseras fullt ut i ett samhälle? Kan ett samhälle vara fritt och jämlikt samtidigt eller måste ett av dessa värden ?offras? för att det andra ska kunna förverkligas? I denna artikel driver jag tesen att de är förenliga förutsatt att de tolkas på ett adekvat sätt....

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights is probably the world's most known andinternationally most respected document. The purpose of this study is to examine if the UDHRreflects universal values and norms and to assess its moral and juridical relevance today, 60 yearsafter the adoption. The literature used in this literature-based critical study is mainly written bythe academic elite of the discourse on Human Rights. By comparing these sources I have reachedthe conclusion that the UDHR is still today an important document because of its continuinginfluence on international lawmaking and because of the encouragement and aspirations tomankind in the never-ending struggle for the rights it represents..

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect the Nazi threat had on the swedish labour movement between 1932 and 1939 and to enrich what kind of pre-understanding they had about the fall of the Weimar Republic and the upcoming and effects of the Third Reich.Brought by the development in Germany, a debate and struggle took place in the Social Democratic journal Tiden over the meaning of concepts and there ability, in the hands of demagogs, to overthrow democratic structures. The concept of socialism and its concepts attribute play a major part in this investigation. By establishing fields of tension such as - nation vs internationalism, socialism in theory and in practice, political democracy vs evolved democracy and the diverse principles of neutrality, the first principle meaning the defending of national boarders, the other meaning not only defending your own country but taking an active part in defending democracy in the world - I was able to observe the movement and change of concepts within this fields. The result showing that the concept of socialism and near related attributes, in the hands of national socialists had undertaken a wast change of meaning, which applied in the Swedish debate threatened to undermine the power and force of the Social Democrats applied in the political discourse in Sweden. To defend itself and strengthening the Social Democratic hegemony as well as maintaining the goal of evolved democratic expansion, they were forced to win the confidence and votes of the middle class.

This paper is an attempt to re-read Walter Benjamin?s essay ?critique of violence? by separating what we here presume being its three-part core or axis, namely Right (rätt, as in Law), Justice (rättvisa) and Violence (våld), and then make an inquiry into the relationship between them, or, to what extent these three parts relate to each other. The method for doing so is at first a close-up reading of Benjamin?s text, where the core parts are being mentioned. Thereafter we will take a look at some of the most prominent attempts to read Benjamin to see to what extent their interpretation is compatible to ours.

Central African Republic has partly been portrayed in the media as a forgotten crisis, but also as something that is completely natural for how it is in Africa. The society has perceptions about Africa, which has been reproduced and reconstructed in the selected articles. The discourses in particular have appeared in articles are discourses about: us and them, the confidence in experts, social representations especially (emotional roots), ideological inequities and power relations between different parties..

This study examines the possibilities of interpreting the moral values and ethics presented in the current curriculums in a way that makes them inclusive and constructive. The study also reveals how the liberal democratic ideal, presented in the curriculums as a hyper-ideology, is not at all easy to define or live up to in the pluralistic school of today.By close-reading and criticizing the curriculum for the Swedish senior high school (Gy11)and by looking at it from two different points of views, as rules or norms and as a process, Ishow how the curriculum can be interpreted as a basis or starting point for a communicationabout values. I also discuss wether the aim of this communication should be consensus or anongoing process..

Due to the highly competitive and busy marketplace of today, companies are forced to take unforeseen measures in defending and developing their brands. Key elements like opinion leadership and lifestyle marketing are commonplace and aim to deliver values that are more difficult to define compared to quality, price, looks and usability. This paper aims to develop what should be considered most fundamental to all commercial branding. By investigating the ideologies that are the core of many successful companies, we hope to clarify the importance of communicating these ideologies. The topic is examined by method of quantitative analysis and the main purpose is to determine; what do the companies think of their ideologies, and how do their consumers recieve them? A secondary purpose is also to investigate whether different kinds of consumers recieve the ideologies in different ways..