The Nordic Theory of Everything

Anu Partanen

• Publisher: Harper
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9780062316561
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Communism, Post-Communism & Socialism
• Index: Politics & International Relations

A Finnish journalist, now a naturalized American citizen, asks Americans to draw on elements of the Nordic way of life to nurture a fairer, happier, more secure, and less stressful society for themselves and their children

Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life—from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare—was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. At first, she attributed her crippling anxiety to the difficulty of adapting to a freewheeling new culture. But as she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension. To understand why life is so different in the U.S. and Finland, Partanen began to look closely at both.

In The Nordic Theory of Everything, Partanen compares and contrasts life in the United States with life in the Nordic region, focusing on four key relationships—parents and children, men and women, employees and employers, and government and citizens. She debunks criticism that Nordic countries are socialist "nanny states, " revealing instead that it is we Americans who are far more enmeshed in unhealthy dependencies than we realize. As Partanen explains step by step, the Nordic approach allows citizens to enjoy more individual freedom and independence than we do.

Partanen wants to open Americans' eyes to how much better things can be—to show her beloved new country what it can learn from her homeland to reinvigorate and fulfill the promise of the American dream—to provide the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, economically secure, upwardly mobile life for everyone. Offering insights, advice, and solutions, The Nordic Theory of Everything makes a convincing argument that we can rebuild our society, rekindle our optimism, and restore true freedom to our relationships and lives.

INDEX

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Aalto, Alvar, 14

Aalto University, Helsinki, 79

Abba, 6

Abrams, Samuel, 151–52

Accel Partners, 281–82

Acne Studios, 284–85, 286

Ally McBeal (TV show), 35

American dream, 5, 18, 49, 263–77, 297, 298, 323

Nordic dream vs. 49, 50

in trouble, 25–26

American Enterprise Institute, 150

Angry Birds (game), 5, 282

anxiety, 164–65, 311–12, 315

author’s, 19–24, 25, 168, 175

Nordic lack of stress, 320, 321

in U.S., 328

Appelbaum, Eileen, 103

Australia, 172

Austria, 351n156

baby box, 78–81

baby shower, 80

Banerjee, Abhijit V., 120, 121–23

Beckham, David, 27, 341n27

Belgium, 172, 254

Berggren, Henrik, 50, 56

Beveridge, William, 171, 249

“Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us” (Brill), 191, 194, 227–28

Blitzer, Wolf, 229

Blue Is the Warmest Color (film), 132

Bold and the Beautiful, The (TV show), 34

boomerang kids, 81–83

Breaking Bad (TV show), 232

Brill, Steven, 191, 194, 198, 227–28

Britain. See United Kingdom

Brooks, David, 60–61

Buffett, Warren, 256–57, 261

Burkina Faso, 173, 174, 175

Bush, George W., 349n136

business, 279–304. See also innovation; parental leave; vacations; Supercell; Novo Nordisk; specific companies

addressing climate change, 299

administration costs, 282

employee retention, 282–83

employer gains from family-friendly measures, 296

entrepreneurs, 177, 252, 257, 268, 280, 282, 284, 285, 287–88, 293, 302, 327, 258n252

Finland’s government investment in, 281, 284

flexible workplace, 293–97

human capital for, 287

innovation, 285–88, 297–98

minimum wage, 250, 260, 275, 288–89, 361n289

motivation in, 298–304

Nordic model, 285, 287

Nordic ranking, 286–87

quality of life and, 292, 294, 297

risk reduction, 287, 293

social benefits and, 282, 283, 286, 294–95

start-ups, 279–80, 282

taxes and, 282, 292–93

worker productivity, 294, 296

worker protections, 285, 287–88

California, paid family leave, 66, 102, 103

Cambodia, 173, 174

Cameron, David, 6

Canada, 172, 173, 227, 274

Carey, Kevin, 158–59

Carlsberg, 285

cell phones, 20, 340–41n20

Cheng, Tsung-Mei, 208

child care. See day care; parental leave

Child Care Aware, 99

children, 6, 57. See also day care; education; parental leave

age of legal adulthood, 32, 48

baby box, 78–81

baby shower, 80

basic human rights of, 77, 78

boomerang kids, 81–83

breast-feeding, 92

commitment to, Nordic region, 76, 88, 117, 118, 143

cost of having, U.S., 106

dominance of child, U.S., 30

family support model, 82–83

“free-range” kids, 126–31

fresh air and exercise, 129

independence of, 58, 80, 81–82

as investment in society, 77–78

over-scheduled child, 30

parent-child relationships, 30–32, 50, 82–83, 92–93

parenting by fathers, 95

play, 131

poverty and, 124, 125

schools’ involvement in pupils’ lives, 143, 144

in single-parent families, 85–86, 87, 88, 89

social benefits and policies, Nordic countries, 86, 88, 89

transition to adulthood, 82

U.S. ranking, well-being of, 57

climate change, 299

Clinton, Bill, 1–3, 7, 261, 329

Clinton Global Initiative Conference (2010), 1–3

college. See university education

Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty (Silva), 90

Commonwealth Fund reports on healt...