previous blog texts<\/a>, I have described the welfare state and presented arguments in its favor. In this text, I examine this theme one final time and continue to explore why the welfare state functions so well. My starting point is to approach the topic based on what we know today about individual well-being. My underlying idea here is that a well-functioning society consists of well-functioning individuals. This causal relationship, of course, also works in the opposite direction; well-functioning individuals not only build a good society, but a well-functioning society also creates well-functioning members. In my previous texts, I examined the societal level of the welfare state in more detail; in this text, I approach the topic from the opposite perspective: that of the individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPerhaps the most central observation when examining the individual and their well-being is once again that the human being is a social creature and that all individuals are ultimately dependent on one another. Already, the fact that when examining human personality, a key distinction is made between introversion and extraversion illustrates this. What is central to a human being, therefore, is the nature of our relationship with other people. However, the most important point about this social nature is probably that the first years of a human child\u2019s life, and the conditions prevailing during them, are critical to future success or misfortune<\/strong>. Childhood experiences\u2014whether positive and supportive of later well-being or harmful and contributing to later misfortune\u2014are also beyond the child’s control. This is particularly central when considering the relationship between the individual, their well-being or ill-being, and society. Of course, the individual also has personal responsibility and freedom to define their own life and its direction, but the significance of childhood experiences should nevertheless not be underestimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor this reason, it should be argued that society has an obligation to support all its members, especially when they face challenges or ill health. At the same time, a genuine opportunity should be created for everyone, regardless of their starting position, to build a meaningful, self-determined life, as I argued in my previous text. Attention should also be directed to the beginning of life. It has, in fact, been an important research finding that the earlier problems in an individual\u2019s life are addressed, the less costly it is for society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also clear that every individual needs security in their life in case things take a harmful turn, for example, due to illness or unemployment. The welfare state guarantees this security at the societal level. This, in turn, creates security also for those who do not need to rely on society\u2019s safety nets. Knowing that, in the event of misfortune, one will not, for example, become homeless, leads to the fact that satisfaction and, above all, peace of mind are not shaken as easily compared to a situation in which these things are not guaranteed. At the same time, this certainly increases peace of mind, even when these fundamental elements of well-being are already largely secured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In happiness research, a distinction has been made between life satisfaction and emotional happiness. The former refers to a sense of satisfaction, while the latter refers to experiences of happiness. Society can, in practice, influence only life satisfaction, and it does so precisely by providing safety nets and genuine opportunities for individuals to shape the course of their own lives. <\/strong>It can also be argued that the Nordic countries have performed well in happiness comparisons precisely because society positively influences this type of happiness. It can further be argued that society and the individuals within it have a moral obligation to ensure that all their members meet the minimum requirements for a dignified life, and, from this perspective, the welfare state can also be defended on moral grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe welfare state is also supported by the observation that not everything important in an individual\u2019s life should be measured solely in monetary terms. This includes access to healthcare and education, as well as, for example, independent media and respect for human rights. It can be argued that even if guaranteeing these factors is not unambiguously economically profitable, they are essential to the well-being of individuals in society. Society and its leaders should therefore take it upon themselves to ensure a well-functioning society that includes well-functioning individuals. Ensuring the above-mentioned factors also leads to a more harmonious society. Denying them, in turn, leads to a society characterized by ill-being, in which even its well-functioning members suffer, for example, through decreased security or a hostile social atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the welfare state should not be viewed solely from an economic perspective, as I have previously argued, it nevertheless requires a sufficiently viable economy in order to survive and remain sustainable. If the government must make cuts in this regard, they should never be directed to areas where they cause greater harm in the long term. This is particularly relevant to decisions and priorities regarding the beginning of life, but also certainly to investment in education. It can be argued that cutting from these areas leads to a harmful spiral, because of which more cuts must ultimately be made elsewhere than would otherwise have been necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in present-day Finland\u2014which I highlight particularly as my home country\u2014there is a development underway in which the economy has been so weak for so long that the welfare state may in the future have to be scaled back. In such a case, for example, the elderly could not be cared for with sufficient dignity. Perhaps one solution to this could be to increase community involvement, for example, by requiring ordinary citizens to perform civic service, in which each young person would be assigned an elderly person to assist. This could function reciprocally, so that every young person who has participated in society in this way would also receive similar help when they themselves are old. Another possible solution would be to increase the responsibility of relatives and close networks for the elderly. This is already practiced, for example, in Italy. In any case, such solutions could increase the sense of community in society and would therefore be desirable in that respect as well. The scenario that should naturally be avoided is one in which the elderly are left neglected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another solution for preserving the welfare state when it is under threat would be to raise the retirement age. It has been found that retirement has only a small effect on happiness, and for that reason, this solution could also be supported. Nowadays, it is also often overlooked how important many employees find their work to be. Those who experience their work in this way have often acquired a relatively high level of education, which enables them to do work that is interesting and meaningful. Nor would it be necessary in old age to work a full-time schedule; even a smaller workload would contribute to positive societal development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, it is important to emphasize that the challenges individuals experience are often complex and sometimes difficult to explain. They may also be linked to factors that span the entire life course. We have seen that many of these underlying factors may be such that the individual has been able to influence them only very little, if at all. Most often, however, problems are surmountable, and for this reason, society should always provide the individual with sufficient support. Often, the individual knows best what kind of help they need, whereas society is not always able to assess it as clearly. A basic income could be a viable solution in this regard as well, as it would provide individuals with more opportunities and freedom to influence the course of their own lives and to work through their challenges.<\/strong> Likewise, economic growth enabled by the free movement of people would be a significant factor in maintaining the vitality of current welfare states and in spreading this model to all countries worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Max Tallberg In my previous blog texts, I have described the welfare state and presented arguments in its favor. In this text, I examine this theme one final time and continue to explore why the welfare state functions so well. My starting point is to approach the topic based on what we know today about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5339,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5338\/revisions\/5339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvisions.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}