ABSTRACT
The point of departure of this chapter is the contention that sustainable modernity is as much a creation of political and economic institutions and social movements as it is the summary result of cultural texts, norms, rituals, philosophical traditions and folktales (forging what Alexis de Tocqueville called a “community’s habits of the heart and habits of the mind”). The key questions are: To what extent can the Scandinavian countries’ success as “well-being societies” be attributed to the potency of a unique Nordic humanism? How has it evolved? Who have been its main drivers and how has it been replicated? In what way has it interacted with political and economic realms? And finally, what are the challenges to Nordic humanism today? The chapter takes a semiotic-evolutionary perspective on the shared Nordic founding tradition, highlighting in particular the role of “Ostromian” small groups and individuals in solidifying humanism in the Nordic education system and self-image.
