European dimensions of Finnish culture: A survey of international and European orientation of Finnish intellectuals

Abstract

In-depth interviews were used to explore the "Finnishness" and "Europeanness" of two generations of Finnish intellectuals and a comparison group of higher civil servants. Respondents (20 from each group) were asked to describe along ten dimensions of values and life-style: (1) their national stereotypes of Finns and Finland and (2) their own trans-cultural self-identifications, in comparison with other peoples and cultures. Many traits were considered "genuinely Finnish", yet an overall pattern of "Finnishness" with German working morale, "Nordic" official behavior, "Byzantine" politics and Western European lifestyle and arts emerged. Older intellectuals emphasized the Eastern (Russian) traits of Finnish values and life-style, while younger intellectuals were more oriented to American and general cosmopolitan ways of life.