The Finnuit: Finnish Culture and the Religion of Uniqueness

Finland has a unique culture.' This is uncritically accepted by many ordinary Finns, travel writers and even foreign and Finnish academics. Why is Finnish culture accepted as being unique? What do people really mean when they term Finnish culture as 'unique'? Is Finnish culture really a mystery - an enigma, beyond comparison; something that can never 'make sense'? In The Finnuit, Edward Dutton reveals Finnish 'uniqueness' to be a religious dogma. It reflects the modern-day religions of Romantic nationalism and its cousin Cultural Relativism which turn disempowered cultures into mysterious gods to be worshipped and awed at. And Dutton argues that Finnish culture can be 'understood' - like anything - through comparison. Drawing upon detailed fieldwork, he finds that Finnish culture makes sense as a diluted Greenland - the world's most advanced Arctic culture.