Nordic Theory of Everything

In Search of a Better Life

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Anu Partanen: Nordic Theory of Everything (2016, HarperCollins Canada, Limited)

448 pages

English language

Published Sept. 11, 2016 by HarperCollins Canada, Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-06-231656-1
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4 stars (6 reviews)

A Finnish journalist and naturalized American citizen compares and contrasts life in the U.S. with life in the Nordic region to encourage Americans to draw on practices from the Nordic way of life to create a fairer, happier, more secure, and less stressful society.

At a 2012 conference on social mobility, where experts discussed whether people worldwide were attaining a better life than their parents', Ed Miliband, the leader of the British Labour Party, made a surprising quip: "If you want the American dream, go to Finland." For decades, the country best known for opportunity had been the United States. No longer, said Miliband. Anu Partanen, however, had recently left Finland and moved to America for the love of her life, a man who would ultimately become her husband. Their relationship flourished, but she found that navigating the basics of everyday life--from health insurance and taxes to education and child …

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Review of 'Nordic Theory of Everything' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A thorough look at policy differences between the United States and Nordic countries.

As we’re still applying cold water after the Finnish PM’s sick burn on the American dream, this is a great book to get up to speed with the Nordic model of economic and social policies.

Written by a Finn who had lived in the U.S. for 8 years when the book was published, this is a personal account of someone living in the American system with a Nordic perspective. She doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but gives great insight into many possibilities in need of serious discussion and consideration. It's incredible how far behind the curve the U.S. is on social policies.

Paid vacation, parent/child relationships, equal maternity leave and provisions, daycare, schooling, university, healthcare, and elder care are many of the policies discussed. There's a ton I wanted to comment on here, but I'm …

Review of 'Nordic Theory of Everything' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Partanen expands the idea of freedom to include a freedom from employers -- she advocates that the state should be responsible to ensure that every child has equal access to quality education and healthcare, despite the resources of their parents.

She makes intriguing rebuttals against the argument that this makes "Nordic" countries into socialist nanny states that will inevitably lead to a Soviet-style regime. Finland, as a neighbor of Russia, has a long history of fighting them as invaders and rejecting their totalitarian policies. She says it's the "Nordic theory of love" that desires to make each individual self-sufficient that drives the Finnish policies of state-provided healthcare and education. Her comparison of the amount of taxation and common financial health metrics like debt as % of GDP to US analogues show that in many cases, Finland spends less than and is less intrusive into individuals' lives than the US, while …

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Subjects

  • Scandinavia, social conditions
  • United states, social conditions, 21st century
  • United states, social policy