The Nordic countries are in the top 11 with the smallest happiness gap but USA comes in at 34th (Australia comes in at 22nd).

Nordic countries consistently rank higher than the US in various measures of well-being, including happiness, health, and work-life balance.

Nordic countries also tend to have lower levels of poverty and crime than the US, which the book attributes in part to the high levels of social trust and cooperation that are fostered by the Nordic welfare state.

In contrast, the US has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the developed world.

The Nordic model is known for its strong social safety net, which provides universal access to healthcare, education, and other essential services.

It is not just Partanen’s opinion that the Nordic model is better for its citizens but there are many metrics that show this to be the case too: Partanen also goes into the cultural differences that underlie the Nordic model, such as the importance of social trust and the willingness to pay higher taxes for public goods. The book is quite long (over 400 pages) and sometimes the personal anecdotes simply repeat what has already been said. I think there could be fewer personal anecdotes included in the book. To support her arguments, Partanen uses research, statistics, and personal anecdotes, drawing attention to the challenges faced by American families and the benefits of Nordic policies. She argues that the Nordic model, which prioritises equality, trust, and social cohesion, provides a better quality of life for its citizens than the American model, which places more emphasis on individualism, competition, and a smaller government.

Throughout the book, Partanen explores various aspects of life, including healthcare, education, childcare, parental leave, work-life balance, social welfare, and taxes. At a guess, I think Australia lies somewhere in the middle between the two countries at the moment but my fear is that we are moving more toward the US approach to government and I think that will be to Australia’s detriment. It is interesting reading the book and not being a citizen of either a Nordic country or the USA. Partanen is a Finnish journalist who moved to the United States to be with her partner, and she provides a personal perspective to analyse the key differences between the Nordic and American societies. The Nordic Theory of Everything – In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen is a non-fiction work that delves into the social, economic, and political systems of the Nordic countries, namely Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and compares them with those of the United States.

The nordic theory of everything