Kjartan Fløgstad on Norway as a laboratory for the future

Norway is marked by a sharp contrast between its deindustrialised centre and its productive periphery, writes Norwegian author Kjartan Fløgstad. He notes that a unique connection is being forged between the two sectors. "Today's exemplary Norwegian is a leading technocrat in the oil industry and a shepherd at the same time. ... He who drills through underwater geological formations kilometres away from the platforms today will mow the grass for his sheep in the traditional way tomorrow. Thanks to highly developed technology he is creating the foundations for the new era that will allow the good old days on the farm to go on. Using the wealth generated by oil in the form of farm subsidies, he buys what money can't buy. This radical unsimultaneous phenomenon which can also be observed elsewhere in the world is embodied in Norway by one and the same person, who acts as a museum attendant in the small farmers' business and at the same time a future-oriented laboratory assistant in the oil business."   

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