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v. social movements.
It seems suitable, moreover, to assemble in this section a number of
accounts of social work of very different sorts. Sweden is rich in friendly
societies and other excellent associations for prosecuting a number of
desirable objects in social life, which are often important in themselves, although
generally they do not compare with those mentioned above. This work
deals with a multitude of such associations, under the sections which
concern their respective spheres of activity, and so our only object here must
be to mention or refer to them summarily.
1. LABOUR QUESTIONS AND SOCIAL POLITICS.
A^*already intimated in the preface to "Social Movements", social
problems and especially that of labour, occupy in Sweden the most
prominent place among the currents of social life. We shall set forth below
a more detailed account of the most important social problems and
conditions bearing a relation to those problems considered both from the
historical point of view and with regard to the legislation that has been
brought forth as a result of the social-political measures.
Labour Conditions and Workmen’s Wages.
In the following pages it is proposed to give a general sketch of labour
conditions and workmen’s wages.
Agricultural Labourers. That portion of the population of Sweden which derived
its income directly or indirectly from agriculture is estimated to have fallen between
1870 and 1910 from 72 % to 48 % of the total population. The result of this
"flight from the country" is that the body of labour available for agriculture
has been steadily diminishing, whereas the area of tilled land and the size of
the cattle stocks has either been increasing or, at any rate, ha.s not been
decreasing to any appreciable extent, It is true that in recent years attempts
have been made, by the increased use of labour-saving machinery and transport
facilities, and in general by running the farms in a more economical manner,
to reduce the need of human labour. Nevertheless, particularly in certain parts
of the country, there is a real and positive lack of agricultural labourers. An
investigation which was set on foot by the Board of Trade yielded the following
results: 5 % of the rural communes had an ample supply of agricultural labourers,
62 % an adequate supply, and 33 % an inadequate supply (in 1911).
The working population engaged in agriculture amounts at present to l’ä
millions, which approximately corresponds to 1 labourer per 3 hectares of tilled
land. This comparatively high figure receives its explanation from the following
considerations: agricultural labourers, especially in winter-time, are also employed
in other occupations (forestry, fishing, industry); the cultivated land in Sweden
is occupied to the extent of about 75 % by small holdings (småbruk) and peasant
farms (bondgård), the running of which demands a far higher number of day s
works per unit of area than that of large farms (storbruk).
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