''Farmand'' (Norwegian: ''The Trade Journal of Norway'') was a business magazine published in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, from 1891 until it was discontinued in January 1989. The name ''farmand'' (or ''farmann'') was from an

old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

word for a tradesman. It is composed of the words ''far'' as in to "travel far and wide" combined with the word ''man''. The old Norwegian king Bjørn Farmann or "Bjørn the Tradesman" bore this title.

History and profile

''Farmand'' was established in 1891. The founding editor of the magazine was Einar Sundt from 1891 to 1917. Einar Hoffstad later took over, being editor from 1922 to 1926 and from 1933 to 1935. Trygve J. B. Hoff, one of the founding members of the

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders.Michael Novak, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the E ...

, edited the magazine from 1935 to 1982. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

from 1940 until 1945, Hoff was put in jail for his political views. During that time, ''Farmand'' was banned by the Nazi occupation powers. Kåre Varvin edited ''Farmand'' from 1982 to 1983, then Ole Jacob Hoff from 1983 to the end in 1989. In 1986 the magazine was sold to Cappelen, a publishing company. It was published on a weekly basis. ''Farmand'' was a conservative magazine and supported the

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econo ...

and

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

which was much inspired by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

''. ''Farmand'' enjoyed such prominent columnists as

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...

, F. A. Hayek, and Ludwig von Mises as well as many economists, intellectuals, and business leaders from the early Mont Pelerin Society. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Norway began to ban the anti-Nazi movies of American and British origin. Hoff protested over the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of these movies. The contents also included current (and inside-track) reports from East Bloc countries, not the least being the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968. There were also literary excerpts, among them those from Constantine Fitzgibbon's dystopian romance during a communist takeover of England, '' When the Kissing Had to Stop''. One of the attractions was a page of quotations with its popular naughty jokes featured in the lower right-hand corner. ''Farmand'' sold 33,800 copies in 1981 and 33,900 copies in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmand 1891 establishments in Norway 1940 disestablishments in Norway 1945 establishments in Norway 1989 disestablishments in Norway Banned magazines Business magazines published in Norway Conservatism in Norway Conservative magazines Defunct magazines published in Norway Magazines established in 1891 Magazines disestablished in 1940 Magazines established in 1945 Magazines disestablished in 1989 Magazines published in Oslo Norwegian-language magazines Weekly magazines published in Norway Censorship in Norway