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The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

thedial.world

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Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#71
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> BTW, US per-capita healthcare cost is much, much higher than Norway's, and US life expectancy is much lower. But that's the issue -- it's not a matter of allocating the money. The US is already spending it. The question is, how do you make it more cost efficient? "Just do what Norway does" doesn't solve anything for two reasons. The first is that it doesn't tell you if that's the right answer, only that what Norway…

I think the rest of the developed world would cheer on if the US just copied any of the dozens of other models for universal healthcare that produce better outcomes cheaper than the current US system. What we find shocking is that the US appears uniquely unable to fix these things among developed countries despite the vast wealth and resources. There's a level of political dysfunction that is really hard to watch, bu…

Check out the tsunami of white American kids refusing to get even the most basic vaccines (because Jesus) ... polio and other long-forgotten diseases are about to make a big comeback.

NY Times had a big story about this.

"Insane" doesn't do it justice. We need new words.

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#72
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Exercise is difficult Which is why they invented skiing! Norwegians do quite a lot of physical exercise but it has to vary over the year. Cross country skiing is a good way to get into nature and is great full body workout. But yes, the bikini beach party season seems to be so short that I've missed it every year, unless you're talking about the quick run from the sauna to the icy sea.

Indeed, from a couple of friends who moved to Finnish Lapland, I know the frozen north is a great place for exercise in the winter because of all the skiing and fatbike opportunities, with a network of free shelters stocked with firewood so that one can do overnight trips. But now that I recall that most of Norway’s population is on the coast where temperatures stay more moderate, I wonder how many of them have acces…

This problem has been solved by everyone being rich enough to have a cabin in the mountains! Joking aside, whilst many people have access to a cabin through friends or family, most people don't have to travel far to go skiing as the temperature drops quickly as you go inland and uphill. There's also a lot of artificial snow production when it is cold enough for both downhill and cross country skiing.

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#73
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Norway is projected to produce $122,421,000,000 worth of oil next year, against a population of only 5 million people. That's about $24,400 in annual oil revenue per citizen. Their sovereign wealth fund (profits from oil re-invested into the global stock market and real estate) is about $270,000 per citizen. Take the risk-free rate of putting that in US Treasuries and it's an additional $13,500 per citizen per year.…

> enables them to have the government programs and society they currently enjoy, rather than mistakenly thinking those programs are the source of their wealth. The person you replied to didn't seem to imply they were, but conversely asked why the US is performing as it is given its wealth compared to Norway. Average salaries in the US are far higher than in Norway, and GDP per capita, so you would think the US could…

To late to edit, so let me add to this here: Out of curiosity, I decided to do a search in the Norwegian National Library (nb.no, a lot of material requires VPN if you're from a non-Norwegian IP, and of course most material is in Norwegian) for "Amerikanske tilstander" to see if I remember it correctly and if I could find where it started, and of 8640 hits in Norwegian newspapers, some observations and examples:

* The very first one coming up in a simple search was a letter in Dagbladet, then as now a major daily newspaper, August 27 1927, and funnily enough given the subject of this article, the first use of "amerikanske tilstander" there was in a letter to the editor where a Norwegian author warned that as "the power of capital was evolving" we were on our way to get American conditions. He goes on to complain about the spread of "inferior" lowbrow magazines and rant about popular literature.

* In the 1930's there were just a few dozen uses of the term - one paper has the headline "One Murder Per Day" with the subtitle "American conditions in Finland", in 1932 another writes about American conditions in Paris where apparently masked bandits were roaming the streets.

* An interesting one given the US mythology around Ford's impact on the 8 hour working day is an article in "Smaalenens Social Democrat", a left-leaning paper with "American Conditions." in big letters with the subtitle "The 'Fordian system' is hell for the workers" that goes on to describe conditions in Ford factories in excruciating detail, and what was "hell" to a left-leaning 1930's Nordic paper would not seem that out of place if you claimed it was Amazon or Tesla today... Workers rights and welfare became an increasing reason for invoking American conditions in later decades.

* Only one 1930's mention that I could find described an American condition that would be seen positively by many today (thought the writer meant it negatively): Better economic outcomes for women in divorce cases.

The big increase came in subsequent decades:

From 8 in the 1940s, to 60 in the '50s, 378 in the '60s, 766 in the 70's, 1722 in the '80s, 1923 in the '90s, 2038 in the '00s, before a drop to 1230 in the 10's.

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#74

I liked this. Good analysis. > Norwegian novels are toned down, rarely noticeably conceptual, rarely in direct conversation with theory or tradition. Here, you find page after page of plot driven middle-class angst, minimalism and melancholy, closeness to nature, mellowness, humility, and what presents itself as stripped-down honesty. Here and there a funny novel does appear, but when it does, it’s usually funny in a…

I liked A Man Called Otto. It wasn't phenomenal, but it definitely wasn't garbage. I haven't seen A Man Called Ove, though.

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#75
post #7

This feels like over-analysis. Norway, with 0.07% of the world's population, has the world's best chess player ever. Two of the top ten bridge players. One of the very best soccer players under 25. And so on. Basically, it's a very oil-rich country that uses its wealth to invest in its people . And we see the results in every field of endeavor. Many other "rich" countries, whatever the source of their wealth, do not…

Basically, it's a very oil-rich country that uses its wealth to invest in its people Agreed. It's done good for its people with its oil money - but the first thing it needed was oil. I think a more impressive country is Singapore, which has no natural resources, but projects well above its weight.

   I think a more impressive country is Singapore, which has no natural resources, but projects well above its weight. 
I think its location is a natural resource by itself?

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#76
post #71
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the rest of the developed world would cheer on if the US just copied any of the dozens of other models for universal healthcare that produce better outcomes cheaper than the current US system. What we find shocking is that the US appears uniquely unable to fix these things among developed countries despite the vast wealth and resources. There's a level of political dysfunction that is really hard to watch, bu…

Check out the tsunami of white American kids refusing to get even the most basic vaccines (because Jesus) ... polio and other long-forgotten diseases are about to make a big comeback. NY Times had a big story about this. "Insane" doesn't do it justice. We need new words.

> "Insane" doesn't do it justice. We need new words.

Norwegian has another US-inspired term for crazy: "Helt Texas" ("completely Texas") [1]

(Though to be fair, that is mostly used for a hyperbolic allusion to the Hollywood version of the wild west, and translating it as something being "wild west" would perhaps better carry the meaning, but I still find it funny)

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/2...

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#77
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting but without salary ranges it's hard to know if it worth applying. What are typical bracket for software engineer as junior, 3 years, and 5 years of experience?

>What are typical bracket for software engineer as junior, 3 years, and 5 years of experience? For Oslo the salary range is something like this, a bit lower in smaller cities. These are the "typical" brackets, but you can definitively get a lot more: - 0 YOE - €45k-€60k - 3 YOE - €55k-€90k - 5 YOE - €70k-€150k and up A "median" salary in Oslo for a developer with 3-8 YOE is around €70k-80k. Anyone who has 5 YOE and a…

>If you earn 1 million NOK (€85k) you will pay €27k in tax.

That leaves €58k. After paying all taxes I make €53k in Romania. So moving to Norway means I would lose a lot since the prices are much higher there.

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#78
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Logic of Political Survival predicts that any country with an already strong and healthy democracy which later discovers enormous natural resources will have a much better shot at overcoming the curse of resources than those where these trends are weaker. Selectorate theory is the real key here, and it's why Norway is probably going to knock it out of the park with its newly discovered phosphate deposits as well,…

Even better than EU, you're part of the Nordic Passport Union. Which I believe means you can naturalize as Norwegian with just two years residency there.

If you already have an EU passport, what would be the advantage?

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#79
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Norway model is not very replicable - we all can’t pump a huge amount of future CO2 out of the ground for almost nothing and sell it for a lot while destroying the climate such that we can invest in our tiny population

It may not be very replicable on a global basis, but given the person you replied to mentioned the US: The US has significantly higher average salaries than Norway, and so it is very much valid to raise the issue of what the US is doing with the wealth it creates.

Higher average in itself does not mean that much without taking into account Purchase Power.

From this https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/purchasin... it seems US has about a 10x PPP difference, so your main point stands.

Re: The Norway Model: How the Scandinavian country became a literary powerhouse

#80
post #70
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It fits so well with the Norwegian stereotyping of Danish people, which is likely the reason why so many believe in it. It's also worth noting that Denmark also have quite a large oil industry. Another myth seems to be that Norway was a very poor nation before the discovery of oil. According to Jan Eivind Myhre[0], professor emeritus in history at the University of Oslo, this isn't true. Norway has been one of the we…

Fascinating. Maybe a similar mental model applies as in Switzerland. I am a foreigner living in wealthy Switzerland. They also talk about themselves as being very poor a few decades ago. Maybe it is that people really were poor back then, just not as poor as the other europeans, and this for them is hard to imagine. According to the statistics that I can find, they have been one of the wealthiest european nations for…

>I am a foreigner living in wealthy Switzerland. They also talk about themselves as being very poor a few decades ago.

Well, every millionaire is very poor when compared to Musk, Gates or Bezos.

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