Doyle: What America can learn from Finland’s successful democracy

On July a Finnish American man held the destiny of the United States in his hands The scene was the hall in Philadelphia that hosted the Second Continental Congress of the American Colonies of British America The man of destiny was John Morton speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly and the swing vote in his state delegation that could create the United States of America If Morton voted no the influential Colony would be recorded as opposed to independence This could deal a fatal blow to the infant nation by delaying or dashing hopes for a vote for independence from Great Britain that was unopposed by any of the Colonies If he reported yes the Pennsylvania delegation would flip to a -to- pro-independence majority creating unstoppable national momentum for a break with King George III s executive But it would place Morton and his fellow delegates at pitfall of condemnation by a great number of constituents who were pro-crown loyalists or independence skeptics and in real danger of being executed if captured by British forces The maximum penalty for treason against the king at that time was to be hung by the neck until the edge of death then disemboweled and torn into four pieces while still alive Morton made his decision He voted for the independence resolution and Pennsylvania s yea vote in the roll call of states enabled its unopposed passage This was the moment that the United States of America came into existence With the help of spirits from Finland Morton s father grandfather mother and wife were all of of Finnish descent The country that Morton and his colleagues created July became the wealthiest the greater part powerful nation on earth And the society that Morton s distant relatives built in Finland also became one of the world s preponderance fruitful democracies For a nation of only million people brutal winter weather and scarce natural information other than trees Finland s achievements are striking Finland ranks as the No world s freest nation in Freedom House s overview the happiest nation for eight years in a row the developed country with the largest part skilled adult population and the nation that leads the world in progress toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Expansion Goals including soundness and well-being gender equality and ending poverty How has this happened One reason is that Finland is in the words of Helsinki-based journalists Anu Partanen and Trevor Corson in The New York Times a capitalist paradise a nation committed to free markets and capitalism According to the Heritage Foundation s Index of Economic Freedom Finland has the best property rights in the world and scores higher than the United States in economic and financing freedom judicial effectiveness fiscal wellbeing and authorities integrity Taxes on personal income are significantly higher on average than in the United States but they replace a great number of large private expenses carried by U S households and business and property taxes are lower The national corporate tax rate in Finland will be lowered from the current to in which compares to about in the United States when state taxes are included While Finns complain about their taxes in the end a large number of people here consider them worth it in exchange for a very strong social safety net excellent universal community wellness care and free high-quality schooling through university Curative bankruptcy the No cause of bankruptcy in the U S is almost unheard of as is the long-term stress associated with crushing scholar debt Rates of violent crime homelessness and hunger are extremely low Finland is as Partanen puts it a well-being state Finns don t have much to say publicly about religious values such as compassion charity and humility they just act on them There is certain political polarization in Finland and in the parliament debates over immigration and an market stuck in a cycle of low rise and relatively high unemployment are increasingly intense But personal animosity in ruling body plays out at a far lower intensity than in the United States for example and this may be one of the preponderance powerful lessons Americans can learn from Finland When Finnish center-right politician Alexander Stubb won the presidential electoral contest last year he headed for his Green Party opponent Pekka Haavisto s election-night vigil for a surprise joint appearance As the crowd cheered a standing ovation the two men hugged and Stubb explained him You are one of the nicest people I have ever met On the eve of America s th anniversary Morton and Finland can remind us that now is a good time for Americans to declare independence from the tyranny of hating each other William Doyle is an American writer and TV producer based in Helsinki In he was appointed as a Fulbright scholar to Finland Tribune News Utility