Good looks and great sofas: Why Scandinavians are almost perfect

THEY’RE tall, slim and attractive, with bags of money and slick healthcare, welfare and transport systems. But is this place really utopia?

THEY’RE tall, slim and attractive, with a flair for design, bags of money and slick healthcare, welfare and transport systems.

Scandinavians seem to have it all, and then some. But are they really as perfect as we think? British author Michael Booth, who lives in Denmark, says it’s pretty close. “All of these societies have worked for over a century towards creating fair, open, equal societies with strong welfare states,” he told news.com.au. “They are kind of like the world’s head boy, or Peter Perfect. Very annoying, actually.” Education and healthcare are free and most communities are safe and secure. Housing is of a very high quality, “and you should see their sofas!” added Booth. Of course, we are already fixated on those sofas, with Ikea’s global domination spelling out the sheer mass appeal of the Scandinavian success story. Nordic design, fashions, architecture, Lego and noirish television shows including The Killing and Borgen have been exported to the world. And we can’t get enough. Booth, author of The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia, says Scandinavians “showed us all a very different way of living, both in terms of how they structure society — high levels of gender equality, for example — and aesthetically — nice lampshades and chairs. “It was all very fresh, new, clean, simple and appealing, particularly coming as they did after a period of economic turmoil [the 2008 global financial crisis],” he added. “My theory is that many people were looking for a different approach to living, for a different way of structuring society: we had all seen where the ‘greed is good’, global economic free for all had taken us and Scandinavia offered an alternative, middle way between socialism and capitalism.” Yet there are fissures in this ostensible godlike perfection. The Danes were the happiest nation in the world for decades, but that changed after the 2008 GFC, with the number who thought they were thriving dropping from 83 per cent in 2006 to 67 per cent in 2014. Apparently, money does make you happy. Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, at more than $US600 billion and rising by the day, and has wisely capped the spending of their wealth at four per cent per annum, mostly using it to buy foreign assets, including shares and property. “The only problem is, they have rather taken their foot off the gas since they struck it rich,” said Booth. “They work less, take more sick leave and holidays, and these days most of the lower paid work is done by foreigners. “Who can blame them? But with the oil price having dropped, they are now slightly concerned that an entire generation of Norwegians now just wants to be ‘something in the media’ or open a cupcake shop. The famed protestant work ethic appears to have waned somewhat.” Meanwhile, Sweden has problems with unemployment, and the Danes consume more alcohol, pork and lollies than any other nation. “As an Englishman, I am in no position whatsoever to point the finger at anyone for liking a drink, but they certainly have tendencies in that direction,” said Booth. “The Finns are epic bingers especially, and alcohol is now the number one cause of death for adults there.” Booth believes Scandinavians are marked out by “a fundamental decency and a belief in equality. That and a weird predilection for salty licorice.” Yet he contends that, while there is plenty we can learn from these societies, many of those who idealise the region would be disappointed if they were to move there. “They might find it not quite as perfect as they imagined,” he said. “And a whole lot more expensive than they could ever have dreamt.” But they could definitely teach us how to cope with snow.

Originally published as Good looks and great sofas: Why Scandinavians are almost perfect