[tigranbs]

As a US person, I have lived in Finland for 3 years, and I can assure you that the Finns are the most content people you can imagine! They can go months without talking to anyone and still consider themselves "happy", but the correct word in English is "content".

That report is correct, it just they advertise with the wrong word in the headline, I guess because it is more click-bate title than having it as "The most content country"

[Ekaros]

As Finn I would agree. Finland is fine. Not the greatest and not happiest. But overall it is fine still. In most areas cost of living is pretty reasonable, services are sufficient. Police for example does good enough job. Probably could earn more money somewhere else, but why bother...

[euroderf]

You don't see many cops in Finland. You just don't.

Firstly because the social benefits system keeps a lot of people out of trouble ' call it bribery if you like, but it meets basic needs. Secondly because there's a lot of private "security" types around - for example in the supermarkets, keeping out drunks and dealing with shoplifters - letting the police focus on the real stuff.

[Herring]

It's extremely important if you're interested in social stability. Unhappy people have a tendency to turn authoritarian and lash about, hurting both their own society and anyone who looks different.

[QuercusMax]

I dunno, "discontent" is a pretty politically charged word, going back to Shakespeare - "Now is the winter of our discontent" from Richard III is referring to an attempted political overthrow.

Unhappiness sounds much more pedestrian.

[jfengel]

It's referring to a successful political overthrow.

The quote really needs the first two lines:

  Now is the winter of our discontent
  made glorious summer by the sun of York.

The verb in the sentence is "is made", not just "is". "Now" it is summer, not winter. They were discontent in the past. Now they are happy.

York (Richard's brother, Edward, now King Edward IV) has overthrown King Henry VI. There's also an important pun: "York" also refers to their father, also named Richard, who was the Duke of York until his death at the hands of Henry's faction. So Edward is also the "son of York".

That said, Richard is being sarcastic. He's plotting the next political overthrow, which will also be successful. And who will in turn be overthrown again. That, at least, will put an end to it, if for no other reason than that literally everybody else is dead.

[QuercusMax]

Leave it to Shakespeare to use a garden-path sentence to open one of his greatest plays....

[jfengel]

One of my most important jobs as a Shakespeare actor is to find ways to enunciate some of his over-long sentences in a way that allows the audience to follow them just by listening.

In this case, it's not too hard. Shakespeare likes giving you oppositions, like "winter" and "summer". Put the stress there, and the audience will follow. And you don't need to breathe at the end of the line; it can flow directly into the next one.

[ninalanyon]

It's only fifteen words! And very straightforward.

[nephihaha]

Authoritarianism is usually imposed from above, not below.

[edwinjm]

In democracies, you sometimes can see authoritarians being elected. Current situation in the USA is one example.

[johnp314]

You have much better (concrete) examples in South and Centeral America, e.g. Venezuela & Nicaragua, but there are plenty of others.

[nephihaha]

Not really. The US situation is engineered so only two parties ever get in, and are practically impossible to remove. Wait several years and the other lot will get in.

Even with Trump we see a lot of policies and directions that the Democrats have pursued previously.

[nephihaha]

Are they though? Alcoholism and Seasonal Affective Disorder are rife in Nordic countries.

[ninalanyon]

Do you have a reference for that? The World Population Review [1] says that alcoholism rates are similar to or less than the US, Australia, Brazil. And definitely less than many other countries around the world.

[1] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholis...

[nephihaha]

These countries often have strict rules about alcohol which reflect this. In some parts you had to buy alcohol from a government store. Then there is usual tactic of taxing it to death. As a result illegal alcohol production is common out in the countryside.