The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life

“The core idea is that authentic love and friendship are possible only between individuals who are independent and equal.” (p.50)Maybe It’s personal. After all, my parents were immigrants from Sweden, immersed in a Swedish-American culture that constituted the theme of my own growth experience in the twentieth century. Or maybe it’s just that it’s so sensible. Maybe it was my parent’s encouragement of positive goals in life and utter discouragement of humiliating child training techniques. Maybe it was the belief my neighborhood encouraged in taking responsibility for one’s own life even while granting the same right to others. Maybe it was believing in a United States where that was possible for everyone. Maybe it’s what I know as a psychologist that the core idea of authentic love as described in the author’s opening is indeed the way of personal and cultural growth. And maybe it’s what I learned in my mature years that the freedoms I accepted were not so equally available to everyone. Maybe it’s the dream I still hold for a United States where one day the ideal will be reality. Whatever the reason, that opening theme clutched my heart with longing and joyful sadness.Maybe it’s that I believe loving someone or something is open to accepting their imperfections and believing the good can be strengthened even as the bad is corrected. Maybe it’s that genuine love of my country includes the belief that, like an effective parent, I can help correct it for the good.O r maybe it’s just that I have often thought how freeing it would be not to worry about being available to love and care for one’s child while at the same time being able to pay for sufficient food and housing, or the best possible education for encouraging individual growth and responsibility from toddlerhood through adulthood, or paying for the maintenance of good health, or not losing one’s home because of a catastrophic accident or illness, or being sure of a good healthy life in old age. How it would make sense to me to pay sixty percent of my income in taxes if all needs were covered so forty percent would be available to me to develop my own creative – or just plain comfort – goals. How very practical. How free of unnecessary stress. How very much what the Nordic way has to offer, based on the idea that “authentic love and friendship are possible only between individuals who are independent and equal.” (p.50)As for the author’s personal message and style, it is so clear that she has a fondness both for her native Finland and for her adopted United States. And I love the way chapter by chapter she takes down the objections to the Nordic way.I like the final conclusion: “Individualism is one of the great foundations of Western culture. But unless society secures personal independence and basic security for the individual, it can lead to disaffection, anxiety, and chaos … While some of the praise heaped on the Nordic nations in the international media and various studies has surely been exaggerated and overpositive—no place is flawless, as Nordic people themselves will be the first to point out—the Nordic countries have undeniably created a model for what a high quality of life and a healthy society can look like in the twenty-first century.” (pp.328-329)

I learned a great deal about life in Finland from this book. I agree with reviewers who say they would love for our politicians here in the US to read it. Our country is terribly flawed, broken, corrupt, and life here is hard although we are constantly told it is the greatest nation on Earth thanks to our “freedom”, which is not real. With that said, simply based on the number of illegal immigrants in this nation, how could we emulate this government structure? There must be people there who do not contribute. What percentage of the population in Finland comprises those who do not contribute? How does that population receive benefits if they’re undocumented? The author offers a lot of opinions and, I felt, was quite critical of the United States, but what I would like to know is specifically where we stand currently financially with what it costs us as a nation to care for illegal immigrants educationally or medically, for example. Perhaps adopting this structure and eradicating our high insurance or education costs personally would mean we could all chip in for our taxes and take care of everyone medically, in retirement, etc. and not be in such terrible debt? In satisfying the curiosity that was sparked from reading this, I Googled Finland’s immigration policies. It turns out that this is a growing issue there too and apparently some years ago an offer was made to help illegal immigrants make their way back home if they left voluntarily. That was followed by a comment that here in the US there is a pro-illegal immigrant sector of our population which thinks that is unacceptable. Problem number one is that the people of the US can agree on very little. How could we agree on such a fundamental change to everything we know, even if it is corrupt? Back to immigration, Finland has apparently welcomed some refugees, but from the articles I discovered they are already realizing that not all cultures integrate well. One article I found on BBC.com indicates there is much anti-refugee sentiment and the mostly Lutheran country is highly polarized on the topic. With all the pro-free education the author raves about, how are they educating children who do not speak the languages in the Finnish utopia? Is anyone angry their children’s learning is slowed as they sit in classes with children who need more attention because they don’t speak the languages or is it all about the love? I am curious how this will play out over time and whether there will still be an overarching feeling of love for all people when the dreaded resentment Anu discusses arises for those who do not wish to assimilate or contribute. I am curious how this is being handled, and how it will be handled as the immigrant populations, in some cases with such different customs, expectations, and beliefs, grow in the Nordic countries. Quick side note, the author mentions that the US government is able to manage some things well and mentions social security as a success. The book seems well researched, although I always keep in mind data can be interpreted differently, but last I heard Social security is a disaster. So I take all of this with great interest, but wanting more facts. With all this said I must admit this conservative reader who eschews big government is intrigued by how the Nordic countries live and by the concept of love and desire for the good of all. Could smarter government here in the US enhance quality of life for everyone? We have an incredibly long way to go to get there, but this book opened my eyes to what could be.

The way America could be with better, less divisive governance.