A rhetorical question, answered in the article: a homogeneous population allows consensus more readily than a more diverse one. But the real answer is that they chose to make them themselves what they are: open, fair, and economically vibrant. What choices are we making?
The Seattle Times: Why can’t we be more like Finland?:
Finland has largely remade itself over the last 35 years, revamping its education system, transforming its medical-care structure and creating a new high-tech sector that, thanks to cellphone manufacturer Nokia, has become an international player. Today Finland is regularly cited as among the world’s best in a variety of indices and comparisons. For example:
• The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, ranks Finland’s the most competitive economy in the world.
• Yale and Columbia universities rank the nations of the world in a “sustainability index” that measures a country’s ability to “protect the natural environment over the next several decades.” Finland ranks first.
• Statistics kept by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that Finland invests more of its gross domestic product in research and development than any country except Sweden.
• According to a global survey by Transparency International, Finland is perceived as the least corrupt country in the world. (The United States is tied for 17th.)
• Finns read newspapers and take books out of libraries at rates as high or higher than all other countries.
• Finnish 15-year-olds score first in the industrial world on comparative tests of their academic abilities.
• Finland trains more musicians, per capita, than any other country.
But consider: what segment of Americans self-identifies itself the most representative American? White, northern Europeans, the so-called heirs to the Judeo-Christian founders (yes, I know it’s bulldust, but don’t quit reading just yet), living largely in the South. Yet, what group most vociferously oppose the very ideas that Finland (and other nations) have adopted that make their societies more equitable and more dynamic and competitive? Hmm, the same people who think America is the greatest place on earth (largely because they live there) consistently oppose the ideas that could actually make their boasting a reality.