Från stat till marknad Apoteksväsendet och nyliberaliseringen i den politisk-ekonomiska diskursen, 1968–2008

Abstract

This thesis examines the shift in the Swedish politico-economic discourse between 1968-2008, using the pharmacy sector as a case study. Through the framework of discourse analysis outlined by Laclau & Mouffe (1985), I study how three main concepts – state, market, and welfare – have been articulated in state political discourse over time. I closely examine two official governmental reports regarding the pharmacy sector: the first proposing nationalization in 1969, and the other, published in 2008, which serves as a base for re-regulation. By placing these reports in a wider context of political economy, I argue that these three main concepts are crucial in understanding the discursive shift. I find that, in the first instance, the state is perceived to be the engine of economic growth and welfare, whereas in the second, neoliberal discourse, it is seen as an obstacle for economic efficiency and growth. The state also shifts from being perceived as representative of the public and is instead actively articulated as antagonistic to civil society. In a similar way, the market shifts from being seen as a sphere wherein the state and private businesses coexist, to being equivalent to the private economic sector. The state is thus disqualified as a market participant. Finally, I argue that the understanding of welfare is highly reliant on the understanding of state and market. Throughout the period, market principles and economization dominate the way of understanding welfare and the providing of welfare services in general. I conclude that the shifts in the concepts of state, market and welfare have been fundamental in motivating the re-regulation of the pharmacy sector, and to the neo-liberalization of the state political discourse in general.