Jonas Axelsson

Exploring self-loyalty in the context of social acceleration: theorising loyalties as emotions and resistance

Abstract This article is a theoretical exploration of a layer of loyalty called self-loyalty. We define self-loyalty as an emotion that is channelled through social forms. To show the usage and relevance of the concept we present social acceleration as a contextualisation. Two self-loyalty strategies in relation to acceleration are discussed: a voluntary form based on resistance and an involuntary form based on acceptance and ‘playing the game’.

On the Track of the Worker Collectivity: Its Various Adventures Over the Past 60 Years

In the 1950s, the Norwegian sociologist Sverre Lysgaard investigated social relations at a pulp and paper mill, the result of which was his theory of the “worker collectivity.” This is an informal defense organization among subordinate employees against a company’s work organization and goals. Our research group returned to the same plant, which until 2012 was still a pulp and paper mill, with two questions in mind: Was the worker collectivity still present at the plant? What had happened since Lysgaard’s study when it came to the preconditions for the existence of the worker collectivity?