An absorbing, insightful and scholarly book, grounded in emancipatory hope and humility, that captures the very essence of why Finland has become one of the most equitable countries in a highly unequal world.
Finland is one of the fairest, most inclusive and dynamic countries to live in. This is not because it is small or culturally homogeneous, or enjoys a great deal of oil wealth. As Danny Dorling and Annika Koljonen show us in this marvellous book, it is because of what Finns have learned about ‘caring for each other more and more cleverly’ over recent decades. We would do well to follow their example.
Finntopia is the remarkable story of a country on Europe’s perceived fringes that should instead be in the centre of our view for creating a better society. Dorling and Koljonen provide a compelling picture of why Finland may not be the Utopia that it sometimes is portrayed as, but can still teach us many lessons about a different kind of politics, one that has the interest of people at its heart.
Danny Dorling is the Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford, an Academician of the Academy of the Learned Societies in the Social Sciences and a former Honorary President of the Society of Cartographers. His books include, most recently, Do We Need Economic Inequality? (2018) and Slowdown (2020).
Annika Koljonen graduated in Politics and International Relations from the University of Cambridge in 2019 and was an intern at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that year. She currently lives in Helsinki.