The ‘infrastructure of happiness’ is built on welfare ideals, what the Americans derisively call socialist or nanny states. The focus is on citizens’ well-being. In Finland, as in the other Nordic countries, the infrastructure includes democratic governance, well-functioning public services, human rights and free basic necessities. “Free education and health care, income security and pensions are guaranteed to everyone,” says Finnish diplomat Teemu Tanner. The five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) are in the top seven happiest countries in the world. The unhappiest people live in shattered nations—Sierra Leone, Lebanon and Afghanistan.
The ‘infrastructure of happiness’ is anchored in civic virtues like honesty and equality. Says writer Merete Mazzarella, “Equality helps in societal happiness. When you see enormous difference in wealth, when you can’t make it no matter how hard you work, how can you be happy?” Equality is not a sentiment. It is law. Says teacher Katriina Apajalahti, “We have no poor, a few rich and no filthy-rich.” No Bezos and no beggars, but a support framework for all citizens.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 23, 2023-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 23, 2023-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
