Is Finland Scalable?

Finland, possibly the only advanced society on the face of Earth, holds the last hope for 8 billion people on the blue planet. A mere 6 million people have created a system that appears to maximize happiness for all. What makes Finland work?

1. Egalitarianism: The idea that everybody is equal and deserves the same initial conditions that maximizes the chance of success.
2. Education and healthcare: Two public goods with enormous returns to society have been equally accessible to everybody.
3. Collaboration, not competition: A firm belief in the idea that collaboration creates higher value than outright competition.
4. A constraint on ego: the idea that one does not have to flaunt wealth to be wealthy is subtle but an important aspect.

As the “least racist,” and the “most intelligent,” recent ruler of the West who had to sue his alma mater not to release his grades, just to make sure that his supreme academic success does not deter the next generation and the Emperor of the East who has been pulling on a temple on square wheels for years to relocate it to satisfy his religious followers, one has to wonder if Finland is scalable.

Is Finland, the last hope of humanity, scalable? The more apt question is whether the 8 billion is able to think like the Finns. I doubt it. One could think of many reasons why such a utopian idea is not practical.

1. Religion: A mental disease that afflicts over half of the world’s population is a major stumbling block. There is no cure and it has been spreading rather than declining. In a World of pain and tribulation, religion is the last hope for most and it is not easy to get over.
2. Ego: The dumb and dumber want to make Mars Great Again. And the king of the simulated universe believes he has figured everything out. And in the Money Street, the suits are riding horses, pigs and people.
3. Knowledge: Education or lack of it appear to erect major stumbling blocks to knowledge. As the great men lecture from the cathedrals of the ivy league and those less endowed struggle with bad initial conditions, it is clear that knowledge is not attainable for most.

Is Finland, the only remaining beacon on a dying planet, scalable? I doubt it.