Coping with COVID-19. Dugnad: a case of the moral premise of the Norwegian welfare state

Abstract

PurposeThis paper provides an analysis of the notion of dugnad (collective effort) in the context of the first weeks of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Norway. By appealing to people's sense of collective effort (dugnadsånd) Norwegian leaders successfully managed to coordinate the actions of the population and beat the outbreak.Design/methodology/approachThe argument builds on the pragmatic sociology associated with Boltanski and Thévenot and their “orders of worth”. Building on qualitative interview studies of the Norwegian middle and working classes a moral ideal type labelled “the socially responsible citizen” is identified.FindingsThe authors argue that dugnad is embedded in a moral repertoire of the socially responsible citizen that is indicative of a specific Norwegian welfare mentality and that is imperative for the sustainability and resilience of the Norwegian welfare model. This repertoire is found across social classes and has to be understood in light of the Norwegian welfare model and the role of civil society.Social implicationsThe analysis explains the societal impact of the appeal and endorsement of the notion of dugnad in the context of the outbreak of COVID-19.Originality/valueThe paper explores the roots and impact of a social phenomenon that has not been a matter for much sociological analysis.

A Macromarketing Prescription for Covid-19: Solidarity and Care Ethics

“…The re-popularization of dugnad , Norway’s cultural equivalence of social solidarity with care, is a “moral repertoire of the socially responsible citizen” (Nilsen and Skarpenes 2020, p.3). By endorsing itself as a ‘community of sufferers’, it became the chief policy frame for galvanizing action (Fritz 1996).…”

A contemporary archaeology of pandemic

“…Dugnad is a concept that in Norway refers to voluntary, collective effort or labor, often mobilized for schools, sports teams, housing complexes, neighborhoods, and in the case of COVID-19, the nation (Myhre, 2020). The term has connections to the Old Norse dugnaðr, a virtue-imbued assistance, and in Norway is associated with earlier centuries of communal (especially agricultural) work (Nilsen et al, 2020). In 2020, the Ministry of Health and Care Services explicitly outlined the application of a community dugnad model to a national cause: "Before the dugnad we plan the main tasks.…”

"In others we trust": Finland and Norway – High Trust Societies in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…From this was derived a more coherent response across countries and the rationale for successful pandemic containment to date (Strang, 2020;Nilsen & Skarpenes, 2020;Christensen & Laegreid, 2020;Höppner, 2020;Laasko, 2020Skoda et al, 2021Handelszeitung, 04.01.21;Fokus, 23.01.21).…”

“…This has given the country an advantage more powerful than any weapon, and more valuable than any petroleum fund: our confidence and trust in one another" (Coronavirus Commission, 2021, p.22). Solberg also appealed to dugnadsånd: "lt is therefore absolutely vital that each citizen participates in a dugnad to slow the virus down" (Nilsen & Skarpenes, 2020). Nilsen and Skarpenes (2020) interpreted this as an appeal to "the people's sense of a collective effort (dugnadsånd), thus invoking a mindset that put the interests of the community before those of the individual" (p. 2), expressing a strong commoning attitude.…”