values
ignorance and bad housing conditions. In other words, each member of Norwegian society should have equal access to work, education, healthcare and a house to live in. An introduction to the Norwegian welfare state can be found in chapter 5. Nevertheless, egalitarian values are actually very controversial at the time of writing this chapter, 2021. One issue is the length of paternity leave. Today all men are granted a 10 week leave, and many people want to extend this. Homosexuals gained the right to marry under a marriage act in 2009, while the Norwegian state church allowed two persons of the same sex to marry in 2017. There is also an ongoing and heated discussion concerning egg donations and surrogacy. Equality had become an increasingly controversial value in Norway during the past 30–40 years. Some argue that egalitarianism suppresses the quest for freedom, such as the ability to do things your own way, to move boundaries, to achieve your true potential. Others argue that Norway is becoming more diverse. We are in a process of integrating immigrant minorities, and in this situation all talk of equality will only cause alienation and resentment. It is, according to these critics, vital that we do not develop a segregated society of ‘Norwegians’ and ‘immigrants’. A more detailed discussion of whether Norway may be considered an egalitarian country today, and whether equality is a desirable value or not, is found in chapter 6.
Moderation One approach to understanding a social system is to explore the way people prepare and eat their meals. In many countries, people put a lot of energy and consideration into the preparation of meals. In Norway, simplicity and moderation in preparing food have been virtues. Returning to Norway on a charter flight from the Azores in 2004, I observed a group of Norwegian tourists eating their lunch.We had been given the choice between making our own packed lunch (matpakke) at the hotel or buying a $5 sandwich on board the aircraft. Most of the tourists around me had chosen to wrap their food in sandwich paper at the hotel, and then eat it hours later. They were wealthy and over 50. They could afford to fly for hours to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for a week of sunshine. 17
