This Is How Scandinavia Got Great 斯堪的纳维亚国家崛起的原因

长期以来，北欧在各项社会指标中名列前茅，被视为发达国家的标杆。有文章认为，北欧社会的幸福和平等，源于其全民化的教育制度。那么，这种教育制度有什么特征？它适合在其他地方推广吗？一起来听今天的讲解。

By David Brooks

Almost everybody admires the Nordic model. Countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland have high economic productivity, high social equality, high social trust and high levels of personal happiness.

几乎所有人都欣赏北欧模式。在瑞典、丹麦、挪威和芬兰等北欧国家，经济生产率高、社会平等、社会互信、个人幸福。

But Nordic nations were ethnically homogeneous in 1800, when they were dirt poor. What really launched the Nordic nations was generations of phenomenal educational policy.

但在1800年，这些属于同一种族的北欧国家一贫如洗。真正推动北欧国家发展的是数代人卓越的教育政策。

The 19th-century Nordic elites realized that if their countries were to prosper they had to create truly successful “folk schools” for the least educated among them, and that they were going to have to make lifelong learning a part of the natural fabric of society.

19世纪的北欧精英意识到，要想国家繁荣，他们就必须为其中受教育程度最低的人创办真正有效的“民间学校”，并将终身学习变成社会的一种常态。

The German word they used to describe their approach, bildung, means the complete moral, emotional, intellectual and civic transformation of the person. It was based on the idea that if people were going to be able to handle and contribute to an emerging industrial society, they would need more complex inner lives.

他们用德语词“bildung”（教化）来描述自己的教育方式，它指的是一个人在道德、情感、智力和公民性方面的彻底转变，基于的理念是：如果人们想要融入一个新兴工业社会并为其做出贡献，他们需要更为丰富的内心世界。

Bildung is devised to change the way students see the world. It is devised to help them understand complex systems and see the relations between things.

“bildung”旨在改变学生们看待世界的方式，帮助他们理解复杂的体系，了解事物之间的关系。

That educational push seems to have had a lasting influence on the culture. They have the lowest rates of corruption in the world. They have a distinctive sense of the relationship between personal freedom and communal responsibility.

这一教育上的努力似乎对他们的文化产生了持久影响。北欧国家拥有全世界最低的腐败率，他们对个人自由和集体责任之间的关系有着独特的理解。

(c) 2020 The New York Times Company

▍生词好句

ScandinaviaUK /ˌskændɪˈneɪviə/ US /ˌskændəˈneɪviə/
n. 斯堪的纳维亚
地理上指斯堪的纳维亚半岛，包括挪威和瑞典。而在文化与政治上则包含丹麦。芬兰、冰岛和法罗群岛等北欧国家因为与丹麦、挪威和瑞典相近的历史和文化背景，有时也被视为斯堪的纳维亚国家。

the Nordic model
北欧模式

Nordic adj. 北欧的
the Nordic countries 北欧国家
北欧五国：Sweden，Denmark，Norway，Finland，Iceland

dirt poor 一贫如洗（very poor）

dirt cheap 非常便宜（very cheap）

ethnically UK /ˈeθnɪkəli/ US /ˈeθnɪkəli/
adv. 民族上

ethnic adj. 种族的，民族的，人种的
ethnic minority 少数民族

homogeneous UK /ˌhɒməˈdʒiːniəs, ˌhəʊməˈdʒiːniəs/ US /ˌhoʊmoʊˈdʒiːniəs, ˌhɑːməˈdʒiːniəs/
adj. 同类的

The population of the village has remained remarkably homogeneous, namely the ethnic Miao.
这是一个地道的苗族村寨。
homosexuality n. 同性恋

phenomenal UK /fəˈnɒmɪnəl/ US /fəˈnɒmɪnəl/
adj. 现象级的

Her rise to fame was quite phenomenal. In less than a day, she was a household name.
她的成名是现象级的。在不到一天之内，她已经家喻户晓了。

elite UK /iˈliːt/ US /iˈliːt/
n. 精英
lifelong learning
终身学习
the fabric of society
社会结构

Unhappiness was woven into the natural fabric of people’s lives.
苦恼忧愁原是人们日常生活的一部分。

civic UK /ˈsɪvɪk/ US /ˈsɪvɪk/
adj. 公民的

civic leaders 公民领袖

be devised to do sth.
被设计用来做某事

devise vt. 巧妙设计，发明（to invent a plan, system, object, etc., usually using your intelligence or imagination）
The umbrella was ingeniously devised to fold up into your pocket.
这把伞的设计很巧妙，可以叠放进口袋。

distinctive UK /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/ US /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/
adj. 鲜明的，与众不同的

You’ve got a very distinctive voice.
你的声音很独特。