Den første verdenskrigs udbrud opløser de idealer og værdier, som har præget Jørgen Steins opvækst, og han formår aldrig at blive fortrolig med den nye tid

Frantz Leander Hansen has written a brilliant book about Otto Stein (Martin Zerlang, University of Copenhagen, reviewing the Danish edition in Scandinavian Studies, University of Illinois Press, Vol. 92, No. 2). Jacob Paludan's Danish classic novel Jørgen Stein (1933) includes the subordinate character Otto Stein, a man about town in the roaring 1920s and a promising barrister. Involvement in small-time crime leads to large-scale confidence trickery which ends in decline, fall and suicide. This literary portrait of an epoch of deceit and fraud as a cultural phenomenon brings to the fore the economics and criminal psychology of the period. Otto Stein is viewed as an ultra-topical figure of our time, someone whose impact on the modern world is important and felt within the spheres of literature, philosophy, jurisprudence, and criminal investigation of contemporary fraudulent behaviour. Inquiry focuses on the path that leads to his suicide. Literary sources of inspiration that contributed to the moulding of the character of Otto Stein are investigated, especially those of Herman Bang, Thomas Mann and Fjodor Dostojevskij. Relevant are Jacob Paludan's other five novels that were published prior to Jørgen Stein, where seeds to Otto's character are sown. Critical to understanding the novel and the character is the scam that deprived Paludan of a financial inheritance. Herewith a superb novelistic example of how a writer merges the historical with the contemporary to reveal a psychology of exploitation dangerously meaningful to us all.

Many societies use labor market coordination to maximize economic growth and equality, yet employers' willing cooperation with government and labor is something of a mystery. The Political Construction of Business Interests recounts employers' struggles to define their collective social identities at turning points in capitalist development. Employers are most likely to support social investments in countries with strong peak business associations, that help members form collective preferences and realize policy goals in labor market negotiations. Politicians, with incentives shaped by governmental structures, took the initiative in association-building and those that created the strongest associations were motivated to evade labor radicalism and to preempt parliamentary democratization. Sweeping in its historical and cross-national reach, the book builds on original archival data, interviews and cross-national quantitative analyses. The research has important implications for the construction of business as a social class and powerful ramifications for equality, welfare state restructuring and social solidarity.

Denmark is the oldest monarchy in Europe. At different points in its history, Denmark's boundaries have encompassed England, Sweden, West Africa, India, and the West Indies. Despite its changing and relatively small boundaries, Denmark has played a much larger part in the politics of Europe than might be expected. Additionally, through its territories (Faroe Islands and Greenland), Denmark has managed to retain an important presence in the North Atlantic. Today, democratic Denmark, with its thriving capital Copenhagen, is peaceful, prosperous, and progressive. Within NATO, Denmark has contributed to peace-keeping in the Persian Gulf and Bosnia. The "Danish Model" of welfare gives Danes a real sense of social security and presents many naysayers with a provocative example of a successfully managed welfare state. Danes have a reputation for inventiveness and good design, whether in architecture, furniture, or industrial design. The A to Z of Denmark relates the history of this successful country through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on kings, politicians, officials, explorers, authors, architects, composers, painters, astronomers, educationists, reformers, political parties, social movements, and other aspects of Danish society.

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