Values and Inter-Generational Negotiations
As discussed above, the older generations’ ethos of stability and continuity was threatened by rapid changes in almost every field of life—the economy, nature, society, and even peace.
When this results in the crisis of the economic basis of the welfare state and the questioning of equal social security systems and the familial way of life, it is possible that the values of the oldest generation will be reborn or that something totally new will appear. Nevertheless, what will be the mental reactions if an individual or a collective contest does not create possibilities for the good life either in the here and now or the future?
Table 3.2 Values of the ‘good life’ according to each of the three generations
| Nationalistic generation | Network generation | Urban Generation | |
| Values of the good life: | Religion Nation Work Managing for oneself Health Home Family Education
| Health Security Education Work Family Managing for oneself Incomes Religion Friends Nature | Friends Activities Family Education Safety Nature Work Incomes
|
The values of the oldest generation were inherited almost directly from the agrarian world, and most of them were important to the next generation, too, but in a different order. The network generation constructed its picture of the good life by using arguments that were strongly linked to the welfare state and its benefits. Health, security, and education were at the top of the list. The youngest generation still emphasised the soft values of family life and individual achievements, like sport and education. The ethos of managing for oneself came later. All in all, the values were much alike. The values reflect the changing society, but the differences can be partly explained by the process of ageing.
The age-dependency phenomenon is supported by the fact that there were no notable differences between Finland and Canada.However, notable differences could be found between the sexes and between families. Generally speaking, the male informants talked more about material issues, such as money, property, and occupations—topics often outside family life. Women talked more about soft values like family life, religion, health, and friends. It is surprising that there were notable differences between families regarding the ideals of the good life. There were families where every member of the different generations emphasised values like religion, education, entrepreneurism, sports, and social life.
As mentioned earlier, despite the challenges posed by other social institutions, the importance of family relations is still strong. They (often) remain powerful throughout the life-course, and they are often close, tight, and domineering. The importance of the family is also notable because it is an institution where the life-courses of the various family members—grandparents, parents, and children—intersect (Glick 1947). The direction of the influence cannot be regarded as one-sided; it is rather a complicated relation of negotiation where, for example, arguments about the good life are problematised and discussed.
When the parents and their children were asked about the importance of oral upbringing, their opinions surprisingly did not match. When the parents told about the teaching and instruction they had given their children, the children did not report remembering it. However, the power of example was emphasised by nearly every informant. Good traditions and practices were something worth transmitting to the next generation, and it functioned well, as the following two Finnish women noted:
| Interviewer: | Was there something that you have picked up yourself in your childhood home that you were able to transmit to your own children? |
| Informant: | If I only could formulate this some way … if you only have a household and home … and when children’s friends came, they were always welcome. They could come and stay here. Everyone from our neighbourhood visited us—no one was turned away. We learned this manner from our parents. Friends are friends, honestly and directly. Honesty mattered a lot to my mum and dad. You had to be honest whatever happened. It was trumpeted. And then, that you do your work. I can’t say more. (F1929, Fi) |
Practices that included personal application in particular were effective:
| Interviewer: | What did your parents probably find the most vital to transmit to children? Values or guidelines in life…? |
| Informant: | Maybe setting an example was the most effective method of teaching … they were very hard-working people … mum was really skilful at handiwork and a talented cook too. We girls inherited all of this, and we always had lovely Christmas parties. They were just unbelievable, and made by small things, but there were always gifts, and every spring we got new dresses for Mother’s Day and for spring festival, mum sewed and made… (F1947, Fi) |
The parents’ investment in their own children was rewarded. This viewpoint was emphasised by the female informants, both in Finland and in Canada. If this model of inheriting values and practices by following the parents’ (or the mother’s) lead is more typical among females, this data set is not large enough to support the idea alone. Nevertheless, perhaps it is not a coincidence that the following kind of gratitude was mentioned only by the female informants in Canada:
I was brought up by my parents’ hard work. They have given me the opportunity to educate myself. The local community has given me much, and so has the state. I want to become a teacher and work here in the city, if only it’s possible. If not, somewhere in the region.
(F1990s, Thunder Bay, Canada)
These examples match the research findings that highlight the meaning of family practices and example setting as the means of transmitting immaterial capital to one’s offspring.
When studying the careers of young artists and top athletes, the researchers Mikko Salasuo, Mikko Piispa, and Helena Huhta (Piispa and Salasuo 2014; Salasuo, Piispa, and Huhta 2015) found an extremely strong correlation between family practices in early childhood and activities and occupational engagements in later life. As for the transmitting of family values among the so-called common people, similar kinds of phenomena can be found as well in Finland and Canada.It has been debated whether the meaning of family has lost its power as a socialiser. A female Finnish informant of the network generation contemplated the division of work between home and school and its influence on issues of ‘good manners’. For her, it takes time for the two institutions to harmonise:
| Interviewer: | If you think about education and information in these food and health issues, whose duty is it actually? Is it the responsibility of parents and grandparents, or should the school or the state take care of it? |
| Informant: | It is the school’s business, or if we pass the roles, maybe parents should be role models during the kids’ childhood … it is useless otherwise … it is worth nothing to cherish a youngster that eats this or that, only the parents’ example leads to a result. The school should give the right models to the youngsters, but is useless if it is over-ruled at home… |
| Interviewer: | So you mean that the home should be the place… |
| Informant: | The first push should come from home. If it is weak, nothing helps. The parents’ example is crucial in every issue. (F1969, Fi) |
Again, it seems evident that the family has kept its power. Despite the challenges set by other social institutions, the importance of the family for socialisation has prevailed because its impact is long-lived (in principle for life), close (physically and emotionally), strong (supported by law), and varied (it includes mental and financial capital).
However, it is especially important because the family is a field where the values of (the good) life become internalised by repeating practices, models, and examples, which seems to effectively act as a guideline for the coming life-course. These results are supported by the analysis made on family dependency for the ideal of the good life; the dining table seems to have maintained its position as a place of socialisation.The data set includes families that possessed special family capital. In these families, there was a strong inter-generational continuity of the ideals of the good life. Religious values were typically transmitted from one generation to the next. Similar examples were found in the areas of entrepreneurship, academia, athletics, and the arts. In these cases, besides the parents’ own examples, the families invested heavily in material and immaterial resources for their descendants’ future. In the Canadian context, the mechanism of inheriting family values was somewhat stronger than in Finland. As the families were members of an ethnic minority, external pressure explains part of this phenomenon. The local Finnish Lutheran congregation and the Hilldale Church, for example, have remained among the most important meeting places for members of all the Finnish immigrant generations. Their meaning was quite striking for the Finnish community, especially for its female members, both young and old.