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Not sure you understand the Scandinavian/Nordic psyche. My non-Scandinavian girlfriend never understood why people pay for the bus there if they never get chec

by flurdy 6y ago

Not sure you understand the Scandinavian/Nordic psyche. My non-Scandinavian girlfriend never understood why people pay for the bus there if they never get checked. Or why people bother to leave money in a little box at an unmanned coffee/waffle/etc stand in the middle of nowhere. But most do as it is the right thing to do, guilt free. And if there is a slight chance the tax authorities might contact him the guilt/embarrassment is worse than any token fine.

jereees 6y ago
I’m on the other side of a Nordic relationship and some times I have similar thoughts coming from a third world country. My partner’s mentality seem like utopia to me. I would love to understand it a bit better, do you have any references or reading material that discuss this psyche?
- jpetso 6y ago
  Not from a Nordic country, but with some similar-minded tendencies. You understand that you enjoy living in a system that you can trust. You understand that being able to trust the system means that the system has to trust you. You value a working system more than a petty dollar or some other short-sighted piece of self-interest, because you get more benefit from having the system work in your favor than taking a little for yourself but eroding/ruining the system in the same go. If most people do the right thing, the system works and everyone benefits. Simple as that! It's the opposite of the tragedy of the commons. In non-utopian countries, you have to make an advance deposit into the system and may never do enough to make it universally trusted. People may never stop jaywalking, or taking a free coffee/waffle/etc. from the unmanned stand, or cheating your taxes with family income and business expenses. But I'm doing well for myself, so what am I really losing by doing the right thing? Life already put me ahead. I'd rather contribute a small part to a working system I can trust, than to grab another small pie just for myself.
koheripbal 6y ago
This is different. In those examples, someone is getting screwed. In this case it's just a pointless bureaucracy that can be circumvented. They aren't the same from an ethical perspective.

by flurdy 6y ago

jereees 6y ago

I’m on the other side of a Nordic relationship and some times I have similar thoughts coming from a third world country. My partner’s mentality seem like utopia to me. I would love to understand it a bit better, do you have any references or reading material that discuss this psyche?

jpetso 6y ago
Not from a Nordic country, but with some similar-minded tendencies. You understand that you enjoy living in a system that you can trust. You understand that being able to trust the system means that the system has to trust you. You value a working system more than a petty dollar or some other short-sighted piece of self-interest, because you get more benefit from having the system work in your favor than taking a little for yourself but eroding/ruining the system in the same go. If most people do the right thing, the system works and everyone benefits. Simple as that! It's the opposite of the tragedy of the commons. In non-utopian countries, you have to make an advance deposit into the system and may never do enough to make it universally trusted. People may never stop jaywalking, or taking a free coffee/waffle/etc. from the unmanned stand, or cheating your taxes with family income and business expenses. But I'm doing well for myself, so what am I really losing by doing the right thing? Life already put me ahead. I'd rather contribute a small part to a working system I can trust, than to grab another small pie just for myself.

koheripbal 6y ago

This is different. In those examples, someone is getting screwed. In this case it's just a pointless bureaucracy that can be circumvented. They aren't the same from an ethical perspective.