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The common factor in all high trust societies seems to be that they are culturally homogenous.
Denmark? Culturally homogeneous? I'm not sure you've actually been to Denmark. Culturally homogeneous is not what I would call it.
Not only that but the huge social pressure to conform especially in work settings.
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A simple example: If the bike stoplight is red, I'll sit there and wait even if no cars are coming. As an ex-Manhattanite, this feels weird every time. But it is part of the larger society of hard-core rule following.
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Denmark has about the harshest asylum law west of the Oder. Practically zero pull factors, and the total immigration stats reflect that. If Germany copied the relevant Danish law (and the copy survived a subsequent challenge at the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe), the European migration crisis would be mostly over.
But with Geert Wilders and the PVV in the lead, likely it will be the other way around.
Europe has had it with migrants, that much is clear. Either deal with it, or set up a breeding ground for more right-wing voters.
> Adults who trust each other not to steal babies go on to trust one another around older children playing unsupervised. Such delusion to think we could have a society where people don’t steal babies the moment they are left unattended. I bet they’re not even worried about a passerby taking candy from them too.
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American in Denmark here: Yes, this is exactly right. The article covers a lot of topics but does a good job for the most part. The only thing not mentioned from HN point of view is that for tech workers, salaries are MUCH lower than in the US. My family's quality of life quotient though is very high. My kids (12, 14) have basically free reign of the city and we don't worry about them at all.
On those occasions I've often wondered how much of an impact the high trust and high social of safety has - for instance compared to salary. I'd imagine that it plays a big role in making people stay.
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I'm an immigrant (see my other comment) and I do everything I can to continue the "high trust" atmosphere. A simple example: If the bike stoplight is red, I'll sit there and wait even if no cars are coming. As an ex-Manhattanite, this feels weird every time. But it is part of the larger society of hard-core rule following.
American in Denmark here: Yes, this is exactly right. The article covers a lot of topics but does a good job for the most part. The only thing not mentioned from HN point of view is that for tech workers, salaries are MUCH lower than in the US. My family's quality of life quotient though is very high. My kids (12, 14) have basically free reign of the city and we don't worry about them at all.
American in Denmark here: Yes, this is exactly right. The article covers a lot of topics but does a good job for the most part. The only thing not mentioned from HN point of view is that for tech workers, salaries are MUCH lower than in the US. My family's quality of life quotient though is very high. My kids (12, 14) have basically free reign of the city and we don't worry about them at all.
It has some times been a political theme in Denmark that we have to attract highly skilled workers and how we can do that best. Often the talk has been about for instance giving foreign workers tax exemptions. On those occasions I've often wondered how much of an impact the high trust and high social of safety has - for instance compared to salary. I'd imagine that it plays a big role in making people stay.
It's hard to put a value on a high trust high quality of life society without living in it first
It's important that Denmark continues to attract high quality employers (such as in tech, big tech companies with American levels of pay).
I think our work ethic here seems to help with that too (Danes seem to be 100% switched on all the time at work but will not touch it once the day is over). At least the impression I get, which is of course subjective and just my experience, is that US company owners consider us more or at least as productive as folks on the west coast.