• corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      I don’t think Norwegians are rich; just happy. I think they’re secure - food security, healthcare security, general safety, no lynching of gay people - in ways that other countries (ohai America and Somalia) may think is the kind of security only afforded to the very rich.

      So, in this case, the people of Norway may appear rich to people who don’t have their basic needs covered, and it may be an enviable state to be in, just to be free of the daily worry and grind for the most basic of needs, but I’m sure the average Norwegian doesn’t identify as rich, and is not in a position to understand how well they have it in comparison to other countries.

      • NIB@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Noone identifies as rich, because as you become richer, your social circle also becomes richer. So you never really feel rich, because there are other people who are, significantly, richer than you.

        If you dont worry about food, shelter and healthcare then you are rich(or at least “middle class”), ie free to do whatever the fuck you want with no risk or fear. You can have very low personal net worth but if your family(and/or society) has your back, no matter what, then you are not poor.

        And since Norway has one of the highest home ownership rates, among non shitty countries, then even from a networth point of view, most norwegians probably have 500k+ € networth. Most countries with high home ownership are poor countries, where houses are cheap and shitty(people are migrating out of the country, so a lot of houses are available). Or countries like China and Singapore, where housing is a major priority for the government.

        And in before “communism”, Singapore is one of the most capitalistic countries on the planet. But providing housing is a big part of their social contract and how the dictatorship has managed to maintain control over the country for over half a century with minimum opposition. And tbh, the chinese government is similar. Authoritarian but provides economic prosperity/housing in order to keep society stable. Also communist mostly in name but actually capitalistic.

    • ximtor@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      A stupid combination of lazyness, a very successfull ad campaign long ago and nostalgia.

      Same thing why they have taco friday (only due to texmex ads) or why they still stick to the absolutely boring bolle (rasinbreads) as main food for schoolkids.

      Sorry for the rant, i just hate the food “culture” here…

      Edit: ok lazyness is an unbased accusation, scratch that…