HAPPINESS: The Secret of Scandinavian Happiness

I am 42 years old and until today I didn't know that Finland was not part of Scandinavia. Guess that B- in Geography was well-earned after all. Thank you YouTube commenters for setting me straight and apologies to the Finns and Scandinavians for my American ignorance.

A finn here! I feel like its not about how much you earn or how successful youre, but how little you need to worry. Safety, willingness to help, paid sick leave, affordable housing, free education and healthcare, all those things and more that help you get back up when youre down. Some people here dont understand it and appreciate it, but i most people are fine with paying high tax to not be kicked deeper to the ground when losing their job etc.

Happiness comes at a cost to society, & Denmark is willing to pay it. I find the level of trust in the wider society so striking & beautiful.

as someone who is greatly struggling at finding my happiness, these videos are not only great bumpers to steer me in the right direction, but they are wonderfully produced and filmed. thank you!

Happiness is a choice and a mindset. It's not about what you have, or want, only what you need. Relationships are more important than "things" All my grandparents were from Norway and Sweden. We Americans just want, want, want and still aren't happy. Such a shame. I love a simple life and I'm happy and content with little. Blessings to all.

I live in Denmark, I benefit greatly from the system supporting us! We live the American dream here in Denmark, here you can truly become whatever you want no matter who you are. The freedom and security makes life easy! (Maybe to easy) The one thing Dane’s need in my opinion is to see Casey and your film “make it count”, when I watched it the first time 12 years ago I found the missing piece in the puzzle, in Denmark you tend to become to comfortable and end up missing out, if you sprinkle a bit off make it count in your life we would be number 1 again! Great video! Come and visit Ærø next time and your mind will be blown

It’s a wonderful example of circumstances that made Scandinavia such a place for security and prosperity. But an interesting thing is, that when you achieve such a Maslowian state of self realization, some weird things happen. Firstly, those who do not experience the safety and happiness, feels far more excluded, those who don’t have great social skills become far more isolated, and the families that do not have resources become taboo. So while we in Denmark have great average feeling of happiness, we have outsiders that feel a disproportionate degree of not fitting in. It’s one of those complex challenges of a homogeneous society. Again if you live in one of the wealthiest, happiest, most secure places in the world, how dare you to not be satisfied, take responsibility and do better?

Please continue making videos. Even beyond the happiness series. Great storytelling, Max!!

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times. Max, Oscar and Casey are the holy trinity of the short format documentary. No one does it better. Absolutely loved this.

I'm top of the ladder, rung 11. Life is brilliant, with love from New Zealand 🇳🇿 ❤️ 😃

All in it together and everyone is going to help each other … I love that!

11:12 actually the bike is locked, just not to the wall.. otherwise a very well researched and interesting video

I love the shots of Max running around with his thick mantle and documentary camera gear like he’s on an “Aarhus Safari”

i'm a dane and i was asking myself this question a lot through out my life and I think you pretty much hit the core of it... your deep dive gave me watery eyes! thx

Holy shit. Your documentary finally made me understand the meaning of "Les jours heureux". In the 30's and after the 2nd World War, in France one of the great themes and leitmotives of the left and unions was to build a society in which the happy days were possible. How did they do it ? With building the welfare state on the ruins of the Second World War. Free Healthcare, job security, paid leave, strong public services... It's all being dismantled in the latter years, due to the neoliberal tendencies of the current political landscape, but it still somewhat exist.

I'm so glad to see you get back on a new project again! Your Bookstores video has been one of my favorites ever on the platform, both as a viewer and a creator to learn from, how it manages to be a personal journey, an informative documentary, and an engaging vlog all at the same time is nothing short of brilliant, and I hope to apply all those things in my own work. I'll be following and sharing this series as it goes, certainly can't wait for the cumulative 2-hour long cut in the end which really ties in all these things together cohesively! Would be fun to see how the idea of happiness in science, culture, literature, western philosophy, buddhism, etc. all combine and coalesce into each other by the end.

Thanks Max. Your storytelling is therapeutical and very deep. Although you produce less content, but it’s worth to wait. Thank you man.

Dude, I loved this. Thank you for diving into this series 🙏

Thank you for your work, Max. Visuals and storytelling are stunning! The true gem of YouTube that needed to be made.

I really enjoyed this new series so far Max! However, in this video I think you’re missing the one thing that is central to the Scandinavian welfare model; a high degree of vertical redistribution. In other words, the more you earn, the more taxes you pay. This creates a high level of economic equality, and ensures social and financial support for all layers of society, which is highly beneficial for the happiness of all citizens, regardless of income level. ‘The Spirit Level’ is an amazing book if you want to know more about this topic.