Survey suggests disenchantment with capitalism

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One in five Finns are ready to say that the market economy in its present form has come to the end of its road, and should be given up. The Finns’ apprehensions come out in a national attitude and value study by the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA.
      Nine out of ten Finns feel that there is too much greed and the promotion of selfish interests in the Finnish market economy. Finns feel that the Finnish economic system has too much speculation, and too many foreign investors, seekers of fast profit, companies in a monopoly position, and competition among people.
     
A large proportion of Finns (42 per cent) did not know or did not want to take a stand on the question of whether or not the market economy should be rejected. Only supporters of the National Coalition Party and those in management positions completely disagreed with the idea.
      No big change has happened after a study conducted in the autumn of 2006 in terms of how many feel that market forces guide the activities of society to an excessive degree.
     
According to the survey, Finns are prepared for a fairly long period of weak economic development, but believe that an upturn will come about within two years. Of the 2,350 Finns who responded to the survey earlier this year, 60 per cent said that they believe that the economic situation will be poor a year from now. Only 11 per cent felt that it would be weak five years from now.
      Men tend to expect a deeper and shorter slump than women. Most pessimistic with respect to the length and depth of the decline are the unemployed, residents of Northern Finland, and supporters of the True Finns party.
     
Finns blame the rest of the world for the economic downturn and growing unemployment. The most important reasons for the decline, in the Finns’ view, are the excesses of the market economy in the United States, and Finland’s dependence on the international economy. Mistakes made in Finland are not considered as significant.
      According to the EVA researchers, Ilkka Haavisto and Pentti Kiljunen, the Finnish value and attitude climate is surprisingly stable. This was seen already in the recession of the 1990s, which did not cause large changes in Finnish values, let alone any permanent shifts in direction.


Links:
  Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA

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