This thesis concerns the political ideas of the Swedish author, journalist and thinker Carl Jonas Love Almqvist (1793–1866). The main source material consists of his theoretical works and the slightly more than 700 articles that he wrote for newspapers such as Aftonbladet and Jönköpingsbladet between 1839 and 1851. The study consists of an introduction and ten chapters dealing with various aspects of Almqvist’s political thinking, among them his view of man, history, religion and educational policy as well as his commitment to the Scandinavist movement and his standpoint in the question of the Swedish representative system.

The dissertation shows that Almqvist had well-reasoned ideas in all these areas and that he argued from a liberal point of view throughout. He was a political reformist who emphasized individualism, freedom and tolerance. He also had confidence in man’s ability to decide his own destiny and a negative attitude towards the old privilege society and all kinds of institutions regarded as irrational. In addition, he believed that society becomes more and more democratic and that in the long run all adults, even women, servants and unpropertied, should become citizens with political rights, even if it was still not time for a truly democratic system. So even if Almqvist had an ideal of a consistent democracy with universal suffrage, he did not consider the society of his day to be ready for such a reform. First, the people have to raise their level of political awareness and learn what a democratic form of government really implies. In that process the educational system, the press and political associations may have an important function.

Almqvist always tried to combine his utopian visions with concrete reform proposals. He did not only dream of a utopian society; he also tried to show some possible paths towards attaining that society. Besides the utopian feature in his political thinking, there is an unmistakable striving after concreteness and a desire to exert an influence on the contemporary society.

Samtidshistoriska institutet (SHI) vid Södertörns högskola har genom åren arrangerat ett antal vittnesseminarier med fokus på det radikala 1960- och 70-talet: kvinnorörelsen, miljörörelsen, daghemskampen, sexliberalismen, aktivisterna och 1968, fångkampen i KRUM, med mera.

1960-och 1970-talet var en tid när politikbegreppet vidgades. Man sökte nya former för det politiska arbetet. Dessutom gavs politiken ett delvis nytt innehåll. "Det personliga är politiskt" hävdade de nya feministerna. Även för många andra kom livet att politiseras. Att finna nya former för hur man skulle leva, bo och arbeta blev angeläget. Konsten, musiken, filmen, teatern, litteraturen kom också att politiseras och ge uttryck för det nya engagemanget.

Denna livets och kulturens politisering speglas i föreliggande skrift. Här redovisas utskriften från två vittnesseminarier: "Allt var liksom i rörelse." Ett vittnesseminarium om kulturens politisering under 1960- och 1970-talet, från gränsöverskridande formexperiment till engagemang och samhällskritik och Tillsammans. Ett vittnesseminarium om det alternativa livet och den alternativa kulturen på 1970-talet.

Vittnesmålen spelades in på band och har efter utskrift redigerats av Mari Gerdin och Lena Lennerhed. Vittnena har även läst igenom utskrifterna och gjort vissa korrigeringar.

Lettevall tager i artiklen fat på næste større fase i kosmopolitismens idéhistorie – den helt uomgængelige formulering den får i oplysningstiden og specielt hos Kant; ikke mindst i hans lille, men meget vigtige værk fra 1795, Til den evige fred. Lettevall diskuterer Kants begrænsning af kosmopolitisk ret til gæstfrihed, som han formulerede i en kritik af sin samtids kolonialisme. Hun viser også i en diskussion af Kants antropologiske forelæsninger, at kosmopolitter sagtens kan være snæversynede.