author
Gustaf Fredrik Steffen
1864–1929
A pioneering Swedish sociologist, economist, and politician, he helped bring the study of society into Swedish academic life. His work connected research, social reform, and public debate at a time of major industrial change.
1 Audiobook
Normalarbetsdagen
by Gustaf Fredrik Steffen
About the author
Born in Stockholm on May 4, 1864, Gustaf Fredrik Steffen became known as a Swedish economist, sociologist, and member of parliament. He is especially remembered as an early academic voice in sociology in Sweden, with a long connection to Gothenburg, where he taught and wrote during the early 20th century.
Steffen wrote about labor, social conditions, and modern society, and his career moved between scholarship and politics. That mix of interests gave his work a practical edge: he was not only studying social change, but also taking part in the public arguments around it.
He died in Gothenburg on April 15, 1929. Today he is often noted as an important, and sometimes overlooked, figure in the early history of Swedish sociology.