Om Klapper-Slanger og statsborgerlige Skrighalse

Abstract

Peder Soelvold, the editor of the radical journal Statsborgeren (TheCitizen), became widely unpopular during his four yearsas the head of the most controversial political paper of the time.Fighting to establish a stronger political presence of farmers inboth parliament and the public sphere, Statsborgeren attackedthe embetsmenn ruling elites (civil servants andclergy), questioning their ability, or will, to rule justly andfairly. However, it was not merely the attacks on their power basethat infuriated the embetsmenn. They consideredthe critique dangerous because it, by way of its form and uncompromisingtone, threatened the likelihood of reaching a consensus, which inturn obstructed the general will from manifestingitself. Thus, Statsborgeren challenged the basisof the elite’s communicative model. In practice, this line of thoughtworked as an effective tool for excluding radical and even progressiveideas from the public sphere while at the same time consolidatingthe political dominance of the embetsmenn.