The utilization and ideologies of sociology in a changing context

This article outlines the main aspects of the professional ideology of the Finnish social sciences in the context of the construction of the welfare state. The authors explore the role of the social sciences in a welfare state from the 1960s to the 1990s. They suggest that Finnish sociology changes from soft academic instrumentalism to fragmented re-flexivity. The notion of soft academic instrumentalism characterizes the period of welfare state construction when sociologists functioned unanimously as interpreters and planners of State policy. The idea of fragmented reflexivity means that while university sociologists gain knowledge in a traditional way, practical social scientists outside academic organizations produce knowledge to solve practical problems. There is a disagreement between the tasks of sociology and other social sciences and the values they should follow and implement.