>> Size difference of the 2 countries are brought up almost always brought
>> up immediately. While it does contribute to some issues, there are many
>> others it really does not matter. When related to the original
>> statement, I believe the size of the country makes very small
>> difference. I think more determining factors are the attitudes towards
>> change and eagerness to move forward.
>>
>
> I don't think you can even begin to compare the US with most countries. And it is my impression that Finland is one of the few countries out there that seem to exist in some sort of "sweet spot" that allows them to not have to worry about many problems that other countries do, including the US. In otherwords, it is easy to sit there and say the US /should/ be like Finland in some particular regard, but the reality is that Finland enjoys its current state due to accidents of geography, culture, history, and economics.
>
That is very much true, except that I don't think anyone there thinks
US, or any other country should be like Finland. Personally, I would
like to have many of Finnish qualities and such over here, but no, it
would not work. Some of the things simply would not work here......
> Finland looks like a nice place, but like I say, I don't think you can honestly expect a place like the US to suddenly mirror it on a much, much larger scale.
>
Definitely not. And even in Finland many good things are a result of
years of following certain politics. It did not happen overnight. For
instance government has been "investing" to the education for a few
decades already. These days it is really paying off. Here's an article
on the Wall Street Journal - What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120425355065601997-7Bp8YFw7Yy1n9bdKtVyP7KBAcJA_20080330.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
In Europe, one often hears Finland being called as the most American
"like" country over there, but I assume it is only in terms of
Similarities with TV programming and such. (Though over there the
programming is not determined by advertising like here.)
Petri
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Received on 12/07/08
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