Scan barcode
ktymick's review against another edition
3.0
I was really excited to read this to learn more about the Nordic way of life, but after 100 pages it started to read like a student's thesis struggling to reach the minimum page limit. Partanen highlights some really elucidating aspects of Nordic life, but time and time again she brings up the same conclusion about the "Nordic Theory of Love" (an intriguing notion that "authentic love and friendship are possible only between individuals who are independent and equal.") being the key to an improved American society, being able to repair our flawed social, political, and economic ideals. Even if her conclusion is striking and justifiably warrants a closer examination in how America can model itself around Nordic society, its redundancy weakens its impact. Regardless, it is a worthwhile, relevant subject to know more about.
acschumacher's review against another edition
3.0
I liked hearing the author’s perspective and it gave some things to think about. The thing she does best is describe the anxiety induced by the American “bootstrap” ideology and how it seeps into everything, including our relationships.
purajit's review against another edition
3.0
Anu offers an in-depth, careful view of the Nordic philosophy of life. While she tends to be excessively repetitive, this book is nevertheless an important read for anyone trying to grasp what exactly the Nordic countries are doing. For people who subsribe to the rather fake and all-talk ideals of American freedom and independence, this book offers a philosophy that shows you how to actually _create_ this freedom and independence rather than talk about them as just words. For anyone else, this book still offers an interesting and unique way to look at Nordic policy creation - not just the policies themselves.
Even though I'd already read a good amount about the Nordic countries before this book, reading this made me feel a lot less hopeful since it becomes immediately obvious just how far behind America is in achieving the freedom and independence it prides itself on - not just through law, but also through cultural change and public thinking.
As a response to the other criticisms I saw of this book - this book is _not_ meant to be a guide to implementing Nordic policies in the US: it is meant to show you the mindset and thinking that went behind making these policies, and defends this mindset from the stupid (and rarely, interesting) criticisms it receives from Americans. It shows you how this process led to the policies currently in place in these countries. And it shows you how patently insane many (but not all) aspects of the American philosophy of life, freedom, independence, and equality are, how Americans are completely oblivious of that.
Even though I'd already read a good amount about the Nordic countries before this book, reading this made me feel a lot less hopeful since it becomes immediately obvious just how far behind America is in achieving the freedom and independence it prides itself on - not just through law, but also through cultural change and public thinking.
As a response to the other criticisms I saw of this book - this book is _not_ meant to be a guide to implementing Nordic policies in the US: it is meant to show you the mindset and thinking that went behind making these policies, and defends this mindset from the stupid (and rarely, interesting) criticisms it receives from Americans. It shows you how this process led to the policies currently in place in these countries. And it shows you how patently insane many (but not all) aspects of the American philosophy of life, freedom, independence, and equality are, how Americans are completely oblivious of that.
catalogthis's review against another edition
https://bookriot.com/2019/04/23/nonfiction-books-that-might-save-the-world/
juniperd's review against another edition
2.0
i was fairly so-so on this read. though much was based on partanen's personal experiences, i didn't feel i learned much, or that there was enough depth to anchor the book's premise. there are certainly interesting moments along the way, but not enough that i was completely engrossed or wowed. (sorry!)
rujein's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- American policies are skewed to create relationships of dependency between different parties: spouses of a couple, employer-employee
- Women are dependent on men because family policies are weak, women who are taking care of their children must depend on their husbands
- Employees must work excessively because they depend on their employers for healthcare. Don’t find this convincing: many countries offer public healthcare but employees still work excessively.
- Swedish theory of love: authentic love and friendship are possible only between individuals who are independent and equal. —> Nordic nations make policies towards a single goal: to ensure independence, freedom, and opportunity for every member of society
- Author dismisses the argument that such policies work only in Nordic countries because they are homogenous, arguing that such policies may have emerged in a specific context but can still address challenges of other nations.
- Good quality of life, worker satisfaction and health, economic dynamism, and political freedom and stability are all interconnected.
- From the perspective of implementing the Nordic theory of love, focusing on the family is a mistake. A family will not function well as a team unless it is first composed of strong, self-sufficient individuals
- American family policies means more “supermoms” with high positions, but overall lower female labour force participation after age 25
- Various studies show that the ideal arrangement for women’s careers seems to be paid parental leaves that are generous but not too generous (less than two years or maybe even less than a year), sharing of parental leave and reductions of working hours with men
- Education can be addressed by a demand approach or a supply approach. Demand approach treats education like any other good, and parents will send their kids to school when the benefits are higher than the cost. The problem with this approach is that the party who reaps the benefit (child) is not the same party who bears the cost and makes the decision (parent), which makes the child dependent upon the parent
- Writer says high level of education for all is good, but Goodman says (in his book head hand heart) that the payoff of tertiary education for individuals is decreasing and it’s also not what society needs.
- Nordic kindergartens do not educate. They are of uniformly high quality, and teachers are highly educated.
- “School readiness” means that the school has to prepare for the students, rather than the other way around. Teacher selection and training are rigorous. Countries that perform best in PISA are those who invest most in their teachers. As a result, schools can be given more autonomy.
- Schools give extra support to students who need it, circumventing the inequality that arises with private tutoring.
- Healthcare insurance system based on employers greatly increases employees’ dependency on employers and cause them to stay with jobs that they don’t like, and causes spouses to be dependent on the working spouse.
- Section on healthcare seems to be criticism of America’s system more than anything and, given that it’s an easy target, not clear how the nordics are outstanding. Things like public healthcare and regulating drug prices are things that most countries already do.
- Social mobility without social investment is not possible.
bookgoblin83's review against another edition
4.0
I think as a Canadian I am the ideal audience for this book. I understand the American system well enough to be outraged on their behalf but enjoy some of those benefits that Nordic countries boast like free healthcare, good vacation and parental leave. Although even I was almost booking a one way ticket by the end of the book!
arfog's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Very informative read. Detailed and important information for American's specifically to read.
kristala's review
4.0
Informative and a great read, albeit slightly repetitive. Loved the balance between facts and personal views!