Episode 68 · 2021-03-14 · 52:39 · Original in Finnish
A Lousy Finland in 2021? | Heikki Pursiainen | Negotiator 68
Originally published as “Paska Suomi 2021? | Heikki Pursiainen | Neuvottelija 68”
Heikki Pursiainen revisits the arguments of his book Paska Suomi five years on: which ones he still stands behind, and where he has softened. At the heart of the discussion is the state-centredness of Finnish civil society and culture — the dependence of Veikkaus beneficiaries on Veikkaus, Yle crowding out the private field, and the fact that even sharp people stare blankly when the subject is raised. The conversation covers where the line for public support should run, what digitalisation does to the justifications for public broadcasting and library compensation, and who owns the word liberalism. It ends on the return of social democracy to fashion among leading American economists, and on how much of the state's pandemic-era growth will be rolled back.
Watch and listen
Key moments
- 00:00 — State-centredness still astonishes
- 00:52 — Introducing Heikki Pursiainen
- 01:39 — Paska Suomi 2021 as the theme
- 02:04 — From Libera to journalism at MustRead
- 03:51 — Vesa Kanniainen's working groups and the euro
- 05:08 — Immigration split the libertarians in two
- 06:28 — Globalist versus localist utility
- 07:23 — The large state and the parties
- 08:58 — Finland's parties fit into one corner
- 10:20 — Matti Virtanen, populism and the strong state
- 11:16 — Left and right need redrawing
- 11:54 — Veikkaus and corporatist structures
- 12:51 — The cultural field's dependence on state money
- 14:04 — Yle crowds out the private media field
- 15:16 — Where the line of public support runs
- 17:09 — Public goods and private goods
- 18:23 — Library compensation and the problem of digitalisation
- 19:19 — The case for public broadcasting after the technological shift
- 20:36 — The economic rationale of copyright
- 22:26 — Antti Nylén's invoice to the Finnish people
- 24:02 — A citizen's income and last-resort social assistance
- 25:26 — Unisex toilets and a defence of urinals
- 27:13 — Who owns the concept of liberalism
- 30:07 — Pontus Purokuru and the critique of capitalism
- 31:55 — Luxury space communism and the vanished budget constraint
- 32:53 — The family as an authoritarian community
- 35:20 — Demand for economists' talk is growing
- 36:00 — Humour on Twitter and the fading of rage
- 39:02 — The generation of economists after Sixten Korkman
- 40:44 — An economist identity that has crumbled
- 41:53 — The costs and business model of podcasts
- 43:21 — The written word is not dying
- 45:09 — YouTube as the world's second largest search engine
- 47:03 — Neuvottelija as marketing, and product placement
- 48:28 — Social democracy back in fashion among top economists
- 50:26 — COVID grew the role of the state
- 51:46 — Better Tanner than luxury communism
Summary
Heikki Pursiainen revisits the arguments of his book Paska Suomi five years on: which ones he still stands behind, and where he has softened. At the heart of the discussion is the state-centredness of Finnish civil society and culture — the dependence of Veikkaus beneficiaries on Veikkaus, Yle crowding out the private field, and the fact that even sharp people stare blankly when the subject is raised. The conversation covers where the line for public support should run, what digitalisation does to the justifications for public broadcasting and library compensation, and who owns the word liberalism. It ends on the return of social democracy to fashion among leading American economists, and on how much of the state’s pandemic-era growth will be rolled back.
Chapters
- 00:00 — State-centredness still astonishes
- 00:52 — Introducing Heikki Pursiainen
- 01:39 — Paska Suomi 2021 as the theme
- 02:04 — From Libera to journalism at MustRead
- 03:51 — Vesa Kanniainen’s working groups and the euro
- 05:08 — Immigration split the libertarians in two
- 06:28 — Globalist versus localist utility
- 07:23 — The large state and the parties
- 08:58 — Finland’s parties fit into one corner
- 10:20 — Matti Virtanen, populism and the strong state
- 11:16 — Left and right need redrawing
- 11:54 — Veikkaus and corporatist structures
- 12:51 — The cultural field’s dependence on state money
- 14:04 — Yle crowds out the private media field
- 15:16 — Where the line of public support runs
- 17:09 — Public goods and private goods
- 18:23 — Library compensation and the problem of digitalisation
- 19:19 — The case for public broadcasting after the technological shift
- 20:36 — The economic rationale of copyright
- 22:26 — Antti Nylén’s invoice to the Finnish people
- 24:02 — A citizen’s income and last-resort social assistance
- 25:26 — Unisex toilets and a defence of urinals
- 27:13 — Who owns the concept of liberalism
- 30:07 — Pontus Purokuru and the critique of capitalism
- 31:55 — Luxury space communism and the vanished budget constraint
- 32:53 — The family as an authoritarian community
- 35:20 — Demand for economists’ talk is growing
- 36:00 — Humour on Twitter and the fading of rage
- 39:02 — The generation of economists after Sixten Korkman
- 40:44 — An economist identity that has crumbled
- 41:53 — The costs and business model of podcasts
- 43:21 — The written word is not dying
- 45:09 — YouTube as the world’s second largest search engine
- 47:03 — Neuvottelija as marketing, and product placement
- 48:28 — Social democracy back in fashion among top economists
- 50:26 — COVID grew the role of the state
- 51:46 — Better Tanner than luxury communism
Watch
The recording lives on the Neuvottelija channel: Paska Suomi 2021? | Heikki Pursiainen | Neuvottelija 68. A Finnish edition of this episode is published at www.neuvottelija.fi.
People and topics
Guests: Heikki Pursiainen