Acquisition and transmission of pacifist mentalities in Sweden.

Abstract

In this article, Sweden's cultural evolution from bellicosity to pacifism is analyzed by applying psychological principles to historical phenomena. The acquisition of pacifist attitudes and their transmission and perpetuation over long historical periods is explored for diverse social strata. The principle of differential reward/punishment appears to explain the differential learning by king and commoners. Kings could confidently expect to be spared most suffering from war, whereas suffering and death was a certainty for commoners. The transmission of the acquired attitudes is demonstrated in constitutional constraints imposed on the king and also in literary and other cultural activities. The legal constraints and the wide-spread values made it possible for peaceful resolutions to prevail against royal adventurism in crisis situations. The same factors facilitated effective political actions by trade unions and the Social Democratic party. Impressive socioeconomic advances were an indirect reward for the...