In my inaugural lecture at the Linnaeus University in May 2014, I explored the policy discourse of a denationalized-instrumental understanding of school and education as I introduced in a corresponding lecture at Örebro University 2011(Wahlström 2011) and which since then has been the recurring focus of my research interest. The theme concerns the relationship between social change and perceptions of social needs on the one hand and the implications for what counts as knowledge and good education on the other hand. The article discusses globalization and the changing role of the state, with Europeanization as one of the consequences of globalization. In recent years, the EU has broadened its influence by also including the Member States' compulsory schools and their curricula in its policy. In the article, results from analyzes of the Swedish curriculum for compulsory school, Lgr 11, from the perspectives of curriculum typology, citizenship education and equity are presented.