“I have a dream that we live in a world that is both creative and caring.” This could sum up the Finnish dream.

In our book The Information Society and the Welfare State, I argued with co-author Professor Manuel Castells that the core of the Finnish model is a unique combination of a competitive and innovative economy with a socially inclusive welfare state. The core is combining creativity with caring.

This Finnish model has been very strong economically, producing companies such as mobile phone giant Nokia.

The Finnish economy has grown fast since the mid-1990s: last year the growth rate was more than over 5 per cent.

The World Economic Forum has ranked Finland as the most competitive economy for several years in a row now, based on facts such as that of the level of labour productivity, which surpasses even that of the US. United States. The Finnish economic success is largely based on innovation, which has been supported by the national innovation strategy.

At the same time, the strong economy has been combined with a generous welfare state. By all key indicators, Finland remains one of the world’s most inclusive societies. For example, the number of people living below the poverty line and the level of economic inequality are among the lowest in the world. The Finnish model continues to be built on a universal right to public, high-quality, and mostly free systems of education, health care, and many social benefits, such as child care.

This is in contrast to the widespread belief that, in the information age, it is only possible to succeed by imitating the US American model of cutting the welfare state. Instead Finland has chosen to show the way of showing what the welfare state version 2.0, or the welfare state for the information age, could mean for Europe and the world more widely.

But the result has not come easily. It has required dreamers with shovels in their hands. Finland has had its struggle and a lot of work to do. It is worth remembering that until recently Finland used to be a relatively poor country on the periphery of Europe. As late as the end of the 19th century, the so-called Hunger Years of 1866-68 killed 6 per cent %of Finns.the population.

Politically, Finland has had to overcome first the rule of Sweden and then of Russia. Therefore history has had a lasting impact on the Finnish mentality: We can only survive together.

The fact that the elite were foreigners also meant that the Finns have remained on a very equal level to each other. The last test was the Second World War, World War II, in which the Finns had to defend themselves against the massive attack of the Soviet Union. Again it was only through joining forces by treating each other as equals, and using every person’s potential to its full, that the small nation could survive.

I still remember the stories of my grandparents that make this history very alive for me. My grandmother was born to a family of eight, of which only four survived infancy.

Because of poverty she had to leave her home at the age of 16 to work as a servant. Later she worked as a cleaner, including, at one time, at the Government Palace.

One night, while she was cleaning the Prime Minister Urho Kekkonen’s office (who later became the president), he returned unexpectedly to the room. As “just a common cleaning woman”, she was very nervous meeting him. But Kekkonen left a big impression. “I’m sorry that I have interrupted your work like this,” he said, continuing: “It is people like you, who put their heart to both their work and family, that make Finland what it is.”

He treated her my grandmother as an equal, fulfilling the dream she had always shared: “I dream that my dignity as a human being is recognised.”

As the grandson of this poor cleaner, I would argue that ultimately the Finnish dream is rooted in the ethics of dignity, which is what mothers teach their children. The fundamental basis of the Finnish model is everyone’s equal right to fulfil their unique human potential in life.

This is why we strive have strived for the combination of caring and creativity. There is naturally also a possible global dimension to this ideal of caring and creativity. At the moment, we know that global development is not giving everyone a chance to fulfil their potential. Way too many are left out.

It is embarrassing how rich countries still do not meet the agreed aid level of 0.7 per cent of GDP. It is equivalent to asking: “Could you consider giving 0.7 per cent of your time for caring about others? Is 99.3 per cent enough time for thinking about yourself?”

And it is shameful how in the current “free trade” concept rich countries demand that the poor countries open up their markets to our products while we keep our markets protected from all their main products. It is the same as a man suggesting to his woman: “Let’s have a free sex relationship. What it means is that I can have sex with anyone I want, but you must remain faithful!”

There is still a lot to do for the dreamers with shovels in their hands. As for the vision, from the Finnish perspective, this would be my paraphrase of the Martin Luther King speech: “I have a dream . . . that one day . . . we live in a world where every human being has a right to lead a dignified life.” Imagine what a world of six billion people could be like if all had the chance to use their human potential to the full.

Professor Pekka Himanen has published books in 20 languages. He is currently finishing a new book on creativity and caring.

Pekka.Himanen@Hiit.Fi