Quotes from Philip Greven

The Swedes have done this already, despite a long-standing tradition, rooted in familiar biblical texts, of physical violence against children.

In 1979, the Swedish parliament passed a law declaring "A child may not be subjected to physical punishment or other injurious or humiliating treatment.

During the night, Alexander gets up to urinate, and wanders through the densely packed house. He sees his father's ghost once again and says, "Papa, why can't you go to God and tell him to kill the bishop? That is his department.

From all this historical evidence, it ought to be clear that depression is often the central mood characteristic of adults whose bodies were assaulted, whose wills were broken in childhood, and whose anger was forcibly suppressed. The rage and resentment never disappear; they just take more covert and dangerous forms, dangerous to the self and, potentially, to others.

Authoritarianism—the familial, social, and political obsession with order, control, and obedience—is rooted in violence and coercion.

A child may not be subjected to physical punishment or other injurious or humiliating treatment. PARENTHOOD AND GUARDIANSHIP CODE, SWEDEN 1979

As Jean Goodwin, a physician, observes, "Despite evidence that half of psychiatric patients were abused in childhood, psychiatrists have yet to implement standard interview schedules that would make questioning in this area routine.

When we ignore the connections between corporal punishments and authoritarianism, however, as most of us generally do, the etiology of authoritarianism is often obscured and the childhood roots of adult authoritarianism remain unnoticed.