'A New Type of Aristocracy': Envisioning Educational Divides in the Swedish Conservative Party during the Birth of the Post-Industrial Society, ca. 1965-1972

In the 1960s, people across the West started imagining that they were in a societal transition. Crucially, in these future-oriented discussions, social class was often transformed into educational attainment as the main dividing line. These future studies garnered attention across the political spectrum, including the Swedish Conservative Party. This article aims to investigate the Conservative Party's considerations on the societal and future role of education during the 1960s and 1970s. I show how the Conservative Party was one of the first proponents in articulating visions of the post-industrial society in Sweden. It saw the societal changes it brought about as its chance to realign the electorate and the political landscape in its favour. The educated voter was constructed by the Conservative Party as a new leading class in a society centred around education. The article contributes to the history of educational ideas of the 1960s and 1970s, educational classifications, futurology and post-industrial ideas.