Cutting out parts of this interview was practically impossible, so it turns out to be one of the longest we have ever published, but Massimo's narration is so fluid and engaging that anyone with curiosity or intentions to change their life about Oslo and Norway will not hesitate to delve into it with extreme and pleasant interest.
Norway is not part of the European Union but has for years been solidly at the top of the ISU - Human Development Index rankings. That is, it is the place where the quality of life is among the best in the world.
The great resource that changed the fortunes of this Scandinavian land in the 1970s, transforming it from a country of fishermen/farmers with serious economic difficulties into one of the countries with the highest per capita income in the world, is the fruit of the discovery of its immense hydrocarbon deposits in the North Sea. Hydrocarbons of which Norway is the world's third largest exporter.
For many years now, Norway has been the richest state on the European continent thanks to its hydrocarbons, the enormous proceeds of which go to feed the world's richest sovereign wealth fund.
If we calculate that every Italian, as soon as he opens his eyes on this earth, has 30,000 euros of public debt on his shoulders and therefore grows up in a country that does not have the necessary liquidity to offer him works and services adequate for the time in which he lives (51% of public schools do not have the necessary facilities, just to give an example), one can well imagine the advantage of those born in a country like Norway where the state has the richest sovereign fund in the world.
According to our impressions and listening to Massimo's interview, Norway seems to be a land of great possibilities for change, both for young people who want to conquer a peaceful future, and for those who want to retire to a place that from a naturalistic point of view is perhaps one of the most beautiful in the world.
Two concepts seemed fundamental to us in social relations in this magnificent northern land. The first is the extreme trust in one's neighbour. The Norwegian knows that any of his fellow countrymen, natural or acquired, would never do anything harmful to the community. This trust extends without hesitation to the state. Therefore, the interest of the community comes before that of the individual. But since it is clear that the wellbeing of the individual is the best contribution to the wellbeing of the community, for Norway, which is also strong with its enormous economic resources, the wellbeing of its citizens is the first item of expenditure in its budget.
Alongside the concept of trust, there is another of no less importance, namely the behavioural model that goes by the name of Jante's law or Jantelovne: it underlies a pattern of behaviour that, within all Scandinavian communities, criticises and negatively portrays, as unworthy, if you like, and inappropriate, the achievements and successes of the individual. It is expressed in various ways, but the basic gist is this: never think that you are someone special or that you are better than someone else.
This law, innervated in the culture of the Norwegians, in its positive aspect neutralises, or should neutralise, the feeling of jealousy and envy, thus leading to greater social cohesion. If seen in its opposite effect, the risk can be an excessive 'levelling' of individual characteristics.
Knowing the egocentric tendency of the human race, I believe that a cultural dose that curbs excesses can lead to more balanced societies, in which even the lust for success at all costs, and often to the detriment of others, is mitigated in favour of the well-being of the community.
After having stayed and met Italians who live it, we have become convinced that this is a stable and easily verifiable condition of Norwegian life.
I wanted to anticipate these few concepts because you will hear them expressed or at least present and underlying in Massimo's story. From his words, his love for Norway, which has become the land of his fulfilling and vital change of life, shines through.
Thank you Massimo for sharing ...
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