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On the basis of an extensive survey of primary and secondary sources from 19th-century central Sweden this article looks into the most neglected area of alcohol history, namely the role that alcohol played within the middle and upper classes. More specifically, it aims to analyze the relationship between drinking habits and respectability', as described by scholars such as George Mosse. The author identifies an aristocratic drinking culture with roots in the 18th century, in which respectability was not the governing structure of gendered behaviour. Among men belonging to the middle strata of society a different drinking culture existed, where the primary aim was to create a sense of brotherhood between men. The increasing insistence on respectability during the course of the period slowly eroded the old aristocratic drinking pattern, but also challenged the heavy drinking in middle-class male circles. The study thus adds detail and complexity to concepts such as 'respectability' and 'separate spheres'.

Aims We aimed to map the context of the large increase in vodka consumption in Sweden during the transition from early modern to modern times (c. 17751855). What were the attitudes to alcohol among the groups that dominated society, and how did these attitudes relate to contemporary legislation and socio-economic change? Methods Qualitative analysis of diaries and memoirs. Information was also collected from legislation, writings of the temperance movement and previous research. Findings During the period studied, attitudes to alcohol among the socio-economic elite were positive if the drinker was a person of standing, whereas drinking among the working population was scorned and, from the 1830s onwards, a cause for concern. Legislation was characterized by frequent and radical changes. Consumption levels are difficult to estimate: in the 1820s, agricultural overproduction, liberal legislation and improved distilling methods probably resulted in a major consumption increase. In 184653, permissive licensing laws and the industrialization of distilling similarly led to very high consumption levels. Conclusions In Sweden in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the social elite appears to have used alcohol as a tool in their negotiations with the working population but later, as the spread of wage labour and cheap vodka coincided with Sweden's largest ever population growth, the view that popular drinking must be checked gained support in leading circles.

År 1764: den 17-årige Lars Olofsson bestraffas av det svenska rättssystemet. Han förses med halsjärn inför ”en hel samling ungdom, som med tjenlig förestälning förmanades”.

År 2001: en akademiker ur den svenska medelklassen studerar sin släkts historia.

Vad binder samman dessa två händelser, som vid första påseende verkar så olika?

Svaret är utbildning. Bestraffningen av Lars Olofsson utformades i fostrande syfte: åskådarna skulle lära sig något av straffet. Släktforskaren, å andra sidan, utbildar sig själv. Centralmaktens hårdhänta undervisning om rätt och fel har ersatts av individens eget kunskapssökande. Eller?

I den här antologin får vi möta 1600- och 1700-talens unga brottslingar, dagens släktforskare, och en mängd lärare, elever, folkbildare, filantroper och lobbyister däremellan. Tillsammans berättar deras historier om hur bildning, i bred bemärkelse, format den moderna människan.

Antologin inleds med ett förord där redaktörerna ger sitt förslag till hur bildningens funktion kan förstås i ett historievetenskapligt sammanhang: som ett verktyg för klassformering, för hantering av samhällets unga, och för skapande av identiteter. Den avslutas med en text som diskuterar hur dagens historiker bör ställa sig till en av de senaste utbildningspolitiska frågorna: bildandet av européer med hjälp av en gemensam historieskrivning inom EU.